From A Saintly Friend

My Child,
Praise be to Jesus Christ.
He is our Anchor.
He is the High Tower
He is the Lamp that shines in the dark.
He is the Light that dispels all darkness.
He it is that brings us to the safe harbor.

Rough seas, storms,
Thunder in the night,
And the tumult of the deep,
All serve, our Great King.
Fear nothing that comes to you.
You have a champion in high heaven
And ministering angels about you.

See with the eyes of your soul.
Remember: “Greater is He
That is in you,
Than he who is in the world.”

Rejoice that you are His,
And that you are weak and small.
The great can not see
Their need for a savior.
You know your need,
And you know your Savior.

By Joann Nelander

Charles de Foucauld

“My God, if you exist, make your existence known to me,”

Never having seen the stars of glory,
‘Til encountering them in You.
A mansion of grace without walls
Sheltered him in desert wastes.
The good in his heart was God.

He was a monstrance
His life was Gospel
Preached by a beating heart,
On fire to win man for God.

He lived preparing to die.
He expected martyrdom,
And lived in happy anticipation.
Desert priest and brother of all,
Pray for us,
Who still don’t see the stars.

By Joann Nelander

The Call

There is a Call on your life.
Have you heard it?
A harmony of happiness and joy.
Yet, pain in good measure.

Joy for the worldly,
The giddiness
Of pleasure,
Like a purse with holes,
Emptiness,without treasure.

Deep and abiding joy,
Mark the Call of God.
Like a song played
In the Darkness
To herald the Light.

The fearful man,
Unwilling to love,
Afraid of loss,
Gobbles life.
Heedless, peace-less,
Fearing to miss out,
His way becomes a ploy,
Losing the Eternal in the bout.

A call embraced,
Won’t shield you from mistakes.
Rather impels us onward,
Love covering a multitude of aches.

Perfection left to our Lord,
Prudent, not perfect,
Polished only in your dyings.
Dying and rising, the rhythm of a Call.

Rising to the challenge of Christ,
“Be perfect as I am perfect,”
His Call, pruning and repenting,
Perfected only in your Christ.

By Joann Nelander

I Live By the Will of God

Today, I live by Your Will.
Today, I live by Your Cross.
Today, I live by the grace of God.

I call on all heaven
To pray for me,
As I am weak,
And prone to sin.

With Isaiah, I promise God,
That I will not be silent,
I will cry out
For the sake of Jerusalem.

You saints of God
I station you on my walls
And at the city gate.

Do not cease
To petition the King,
For He is poised
To answer the persistent.

By Joann Nelander

With St. Ambrose By My Side

St Ambrose converting Theodosius

St Ambrose converting Theodosius /Wikipedia

St. Ambrose
Walk with me
This entire year,
As a friend and mentor.

In your lifetime,
You had marvelous friends,
All of whom, you led
Closer to God.
May they also pray for me,
So to honor you.
Monica, Augustine, Marcella, Satyrus,
Were made holier
By your counsel.
You walked with Wisdom
By your side,
And made great strides.

Counsel me,
For the glory of the God
That loves me.
I will thank you most properly in heaven;
Yet, my poor heart embraces you
As my particular friend in Christ, even now.
To God be the glory.
Amen

By Joann Nelander

If Sinner’s Be Damned

https://i0.wp.com/www.yvonnedevilliers.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/heart-fire-65184286.jpg

Heart Fire/Yvonne Devilliers

“If sinners be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies.  And if they perish, let them perish with our arms about their knees, imploring them to stay.  If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.” Charles H. Spurgeon

H/T One Passion, One Devotion