The Breech

How great is the distance between us?

Some would say
The span from East to West,
Or measure in miles the chasm
Stretching from Heaven to Hell.
Others count the centuries
Since Your earthly Presence
In hallowed flesh.

There is no numbering
Eternity or Divinity.
You are closer than my breath.
Your Heart beats within my breast.
Day by day,
Nay, moment by moment,
I pick up Your rhythm.

Traversing the breech,
You make me Your own.
Small, but beloved,
I repose in willful abandonment.
Grace-filled faith,
A movement,
Not a measure,
Soars to the heavens,
In flights of trust in You.

Your Presence – Audio Post #Presence

The Holy Spirit depicted as a dove, surrounded...

 

Your Presence

Your presence is all around me,
And Your glory shines forth
From even the smallest of Your creation.

If I were to feel Your effects all day long
I would live in tears,
Rejoicing with tearful gladness,
And weeping, conscious of my deserts.

So I avert my gaze from these flowers of love
That I may carry on
Keeping my feet anchored on earth,
Though my soul would have me take flight
And keep company with the angels.

My spirit strains upward
As over and above all
I reach for You in humility of heart,
Worn out by Your mercies,
Never tiring in Your consolation.

Come Holy Spirit!
Make Your home in me
With customary gentleness.

[audio:///2013/11/audio-post-2013-11-01-22-21-42.mp3|titles=Audio Post]

Prayer for the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit

O Lord Jesus Christ Who, before ascending into heaven did promise to send the Holy Spirit to finish Your work in the souls of Your Apostles and Disciples, deign to grant the same Holy Spirit to me that He may perfect in my soul, the work of Your grace and Your love.
Grant me the Spirit of Wisdom that I may despise the perishable things of this world and aspire only after the things that are eternal, the Spirit of Understanding to enlighten my mind with the light of Your divine truth, the Spirit of Counsel that I may ever choose the surest way of pleasing God and gaining heaven, the Spirit of Fortitude that I may bear my cross with You and that I may overcome with courage all the obstacles that oppose my salvation, the Spirit of Knowledge that I may know God and know myself and grow perfect in the science of the Saints, the Spirit of Piety that I may find the service of God sweet and amiable, and the Spirit of Fear that I may be filled with a loving reverence towards God and may dread in any way to displease Him.
Mark me, dear Lord, with the sign of Your true disciples and animate me in all things with Your Spirit. Amen.

Prayer for a Dying Friend

Please pray for Deacon Ken Hill who is now facing his last hours:
We commend to Thee, Lord, the soul of Thy Deacon, Kenneth Hill, and we pray Thee, Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of the world, that as in mercy to him Thou became man, so now Thou would be pleased to admit him  to the bosom of Thy patriarchs. Remember, Lord, he  is Thy creature, not made by strange gods, but by Thee, the only living and true God; for there is no other but Thee, and none can equal Thy work. Let his soul rejoice in Thy presence, and remember not his  former iniquities. For although he has sinned, yet he  has always firmly believed in the Father, Son and Holy Ghost; he has had a zeal for Thy honor, and faithfully adored Thee as his God, and Creator of all things. Remember not, Lord, we pray Thee, the sins of his youth, but according to Thy great mercy, be mindful of him in Thy Heavenly glory. Let the heavens be opened to him, and the angels rejoice with him. Let the archangel St. Michael, whom Thou didst appoint the chief of the heavenly host, conduct him. Let the holy angels come out to meet him, and carry him to the city of heavenly Jerusalem. Let blessed Peter the apostle, to whom God gave the Keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, receive him. Let St. Paul the apostle, who was a vessel of election, assist him. Let St. John the beloved disciple, to whom the secrets of Heaven were revealed, intercede for him. Let all the holy apostles, who received from Jesus Christ the power of binding and loosing, pray for him. Let all the saints and elect of God, who in this world have suffered torments in the name of Christ, intercede for him; that he may be admitted into the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who with Thee and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns, world without end. Amen.Prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary

May Mary the most merciful Virgin Mother of God, kindest comforter of them that mourn, commend to her Son the soul of this His servant , that through her maternal intercession, he may overcome the dread of death and, with her as guide, joyfully reach his longed-for home in the heavenly fatherland.R. Amen.

Prayer to St. Joseph
To thee I have recourse, St. Joseph, Patron of the dying; and to thee, at whose blessed death watchfully assisted Jesus and Mary, by both these dearest pledges I earnestly recommend the soul of this servant  in the sufferings of his last agony, that he may by your protection be delivered from the snares of the devil and from eternal death, and may merit to attain everlasting joy. Through the same Christ our Lord.R. Amen.

Renew the Face of the Earth

Jesus, henceforth,
Live my life
In blessed union with me,
And accept my every breath and exertion,
As Your own witness to the Father.

Pour, through me, the graces,
That change the world,
In the power of the Holy Spirit,
So that I be a portal
In Creation’s web,
As gateway,
That Heaven may flow,
Entering Matter and Time,
As on Your Altar,
That I may say with Paul,
“I live, no longer I,
But Christ lives in me,”
To the glory of God, the Father,
God, the Son,
And God, the Holy Spirit.

Command angels fly to the aid
Of this fallen land,
As ever fresh Redemption,
Fighting Your battles in the air,
And announcing Truth,
To renew in You,
Those who You have not left orphans.

The lowly exalt You,
In the garden of Earth.
As we sing Your praise,
Turn up the volume of Your Word,
That even the deaf may hear.
Issue edicts of Love,
That, at Your command,
We be Holy,
As The Father is Holy,
And You are Holy.
Holy, holy, holy.

You dedicate Yourself, eternally,
To our sanctification,
That by Faith and “Fiat”
All creation blossom forth,
A New Heaven
And New Earth,
And Your reign recognized,
And the Lie undone,
Triumphantly in the Son.

© 2013 Joann Nelander

Morning Sigh

A sigh of longing
A sigh of love
A sigh bidding to my side
The Lord above.

Breathe in the Spirit.
Breathe in that Holy Ghost.
Breathe deeply in the morning
The God of hosts.

Copyright 2013 Joann Nelander

All rights reserved