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How true it is,
That we are wretched sinners,
Dying since our birth,
Condemned by Man’s First Sin.Yet, we wait, in hope believing,
For what we have begun to be,
Since our Christ died upon a Tree
Shedding His blood at Calvary.Jesus, Jesus, Jesus,
One of the Holy Three,
All Man, All God, All Given
That for repenting
We become the Forgiven.
Open every gift like a child.
It’s okay to squeal with delight.
Look into the eyes of the Giver
Long enough to see His Heart.
Remember to share.
Share your joy.
Share your sorrow.
Share God’s Joy.
Share God’s Sorrow.
When God aches
In the Poor and Suffering,
Give Him a hug.
Kiss away His Tears.
Share your blanket,
Give God great gifts.
Offer Him the air you breathe.
Offer Him the Sun and Moon.
Offer him the color of the sky.
Hold nothing back.
Let God see you cry.
Give Him your heart.
When it breaks,
Save all the pieces for Him.
God treasures
The smallest “thank you.”
In moments of confusion,
He knows they’re hard to give,
So He saves them
To wear as His necklace.
Bring God flowers.
He doesn’t mind
A weed or two.
God likes grooming you.
By Joann Nelander
God throws kisses
He threw me one
As I left home.
You can always spot God’s kiss.
It comes with a smile
On the lips of someone
Who kinda’ glows
When they say your name.Sometimes, God blows His kisses.
At times they feel like the wind.
They’re carried on a cool breeze
That, surprisingly, warms you
When you inhale.Sometimes, you can see God’s kisses.
People think they’re only snowflakes,
But, then, you must see them
For what they really are.
I like the ones that land gently
On my face and shoulders.
Those are definitely kisses!By Joann Nelander
God is counting on you.
God’s plan for the Universe includes you.
God’s plan for History includes you.
God’s plan of Salvation includes you.
God planned you.
You count!Catch God’s vision.
When you are down,
Ask God, what’s up?
Plans can go wrong
But God is on track.
Are you?Be faithful.
Little choices add up.
The ordinary is grace-filled opportunity.
That is the stuff of Saints.By Joann Nelander
Inspired by Fr. Jeffrey Whorton
Make me all blessing, Dearest Lord.
My day lies, yet, before me,
As I wake.
Your Will shall come to me.May my arms be open
To embrace the gift.
In the giving of grace,
May I ever receive,
And not turn aside a blessing.Some blessings come disguised.
If misfortune lies at my doorstep,
Help me, in my fear,
Lest I bar the door as curse.You plot a Way across stony ground,
That will lead me, true to You,
To troves You treasure,
Hidden in dark places.You set my course.
May Your brave Spirit
Dress me for each day,
That I may know,
With steady heart,
Your Way is my way,
And I am sent,
And set upon it.I must stay that course,
Returning blessing for the curse,
Thus spreading grace
That grace abound.With seeds for the morrow
Fill my purse
That I might spend You
On the poor,
And lavish You on sinners
As I go.At day’s end
May I find myself rejoicing,
And safely rest in Thee,
My All and happy end.By Joann Nelander
Reflection on St. Augustine’s, “I seemed to hear your voice from on high: ‘I am the food of the mature: grow, then, and you shall eat me. You will not change me into yourself like bodily food; but you will be changed into me’.”
On Eucharist
O Christ, I receive Thee
That I might become Thee.
I desire to be as You would have me,
To be, Christ, living Your Life,
In the time and place and space
That is me,
Soul and matter one,
And wed to my All Holy Three.Come, O come to me, My Christ.
My blind eyes see but bread.
Hope lights my darkness.
Faith assures me
Of what I can not now behold.You are the food,
That transforms my being
To Your Being,
Though the steps and stages
Be but measured.
You respect my frailty,
Adding strength upon strength,
That the common might be wed
To the Magnificent
Without my dissolution..Only in union can I live
“Thy Will be done,”
As You, the Son.
Grow me, grace me,
That I might become mature.
Sanctify this soul
So unlike Your own,
That free of Sin.
I be as the moon to You, O Sun.I want to become,
To be of You,
And by You completely transformed.
I pray that Your Holy Spirit
Conform me to the Will of the Father,
That I may answer
As Mother Mary, “Fiat.”.In Fire’s purifying ardor
Remove my dross.
Make me malleable.
Impress Yourself on me.
Ready me, as melted wax,
That I may receive the image,
That You conceived for me.
That with all my being,
I may spend myself totally
On the Father’s All Holy Will,
Answering with the voice of Christ
One great “Amen.”As a desert penitent
May I shed my tears for Your cause in me,
And in the world of souls,
For whom You shed Your blood.
May I complete my time on this earth
Running the race with You as my Way.Although I am all effort,
And that pleases You,
A thousand efforts
Do not make the slightest grace.
So grace me, Beloved,
That the Father will delight
To see His Only Son in me.More than a Conqueror,
You become my very being.
May I live my life in Your Life.
Come, O Eucharist,
O, Sanctifier of my soul.
By Joann Nelander
Be Holy! 