Lift the veil in this morass of Sin,
That faith may blossom and hope enter in.
Let the Sun of Justice shine
Upon a people in decline,
That looking up from the tyranny of power and things
Your face may captivate and solace bring.
Pour down torrents of Thy Grace
To cleanse this dry and brutal place ,
Uproot to plant anew
A Day of peace like settled dew,
That minds be bright and intellects sublime
And our only glory may be Thine.
© 2016 Joann Nelander
All men are candles,
Burning on some altar.
Some disappear into nothingness,
Before worldly idols,
Unable to sustain their spark
Beyond the veil,
Into eternity.
Others light the heavens
As they are consumed
On the altar of Love,
Merging imperceptibly,
Creature with Creator.
When my wax is spent,
I pray I am not distracted
By my sin.
When I melt
Into the arms of God,
May it be that Love,
That lit my flame,
Outshines my imperfections
In holy consummation.
Burn candle, all alight
Warming with mercy rays the night,
To Penetrate hearts of friend and foe,
To soothe and mend wounds,
Dispelling darkness
With the Uncreated Light
That set creation into being.
Now and forever,
I cast myself
Into the flame,
The furnace of His Sacred Heart.
Passing through pierced side,
One with the Virgin,
Holy angels and expurgated saints of ole,
Melted in union,
I am formed anew in Christ,
With the Father and Spirit,
Candle, altar and Salvation might.
© 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved
In Time,
Yet above it,
Beholding Past, Present and Future,
Christ, look upon my fore-bearers,
Still alive by virtue of an immortal soul.
Look upon my world, spinning in Space,
Held in its journey through Time,
By Your Father’s Almighty Word,
Destined for Judgement,
Bequeathed Mercy.
Look upon me,
In my time,
In my place,
On my journey.
My Jesus, Mercy.
© 2016 Joann Nelander
I love the way
You keep trying
To take the beautiful,
And make it more beautiful.
Is there no city on a hill,
No mountain grandeur,
Nor sweeping vista,
That can truly satisfy,
In its worldly reality?
Having travelled all byways,
Having scaled the heights,
Plumbed the depths
As far as you dare,
Seek still you will.
You want yet more.
You always will.
Memory does not suffice,
Camera and canvas fail.
Pixels and pigments,
Even when teased to their ends,
Falter and fall short
Of the image
Engraved on your heart.
It is as though,
At some level,
You intuit.
You fear.
You suspect.
No, you truly know.
There will always be,
One more quest,
Another dream,
Perfecting,
The not yet perfect.
You glimpse the Creator in creating.
With moon and stars,
With waterfall and rainbow,
With the wilderness and the wild,
You point.
For the sum of all,
Sunrises and sunsets,
Venues and vistas,
Still will not equal,
Just simply point.
You rise to the challenge,
Build to the crescendo,
And then must wait,
Wait till the Perfect comes.
At last,
At long, long last,
To know
The One to whom creation points
To know at last
The One True,
All Beautiful,
God.
© 2016 Joann Nelander
In these precious moments before dawn
Prepare my waking body and soul
to serve You,
As You served our heavenly Father,
In Your Incarnation.
Dawning in the Virgin’s
Womb,
Hidden Divinity,
Secret, sacred, Savior,
Announced and served by Angels,
Alive in hallowed Love,
Glorifying Man in Your Mortal Garb,
You are hidden now in me.
Manifest Your glory,
In all humility,
As, yet again,
You dawn anew,
In this heart that longs for You.
copyright 2015 Joann Nelander
Fleeting prayers,
Known but to God
Recorded on His Heart,
Nothing wasted.All to flower, and bear fruit.
Supplying for the need
Of His People, His Bride, His Church,
Reaching throughout Time,Nothing wasted,
Nothing forgotten,
All in flower,
all bearing fruit.Fleeting prayers,
Known but to God,
Nothing forgotten,
Arrows to His Heart.By Joann Nelander
Be Holy! 