In my beginning,
You were there,
Constant in the throbs
That matched my own.
When I came forth
Into the light
Into the cold,
You were my warmth,
Enfolding.
Now, you carry me,
At your bosom,
I sway gently
With your every move.
Even in sleep,
As in our earlier days,
With you surrounding me,
Your rhythm is comfort,
And your heartbeat, a lullaby.
Embraced, at your breast,
I learn the dance,
Loving,
I follow your lead.
©2016 Joann Nelander
With Veronica,
I want to bathe Your Wounds.
Time and place are no obstacle.
You, in eternity, possess all.
Possess my heart,
And my poor intentions,
Render them pure and holy.
Wiping the spittle from Your Adorable Face,
I weep at Your disfigurement at the hands of Man.
I, in my time and turn, have looked away.
Here, with You, in prayer,
I turn back,
That my present ministries
May touch Your Body,
Alive, suffering in purgation,
Battling with the help of Heaven on Earth,
And triumphant with our Father in glory.
Mysteriously, my wounds,
And warts are healed,
My misery comprehended and mended,
By Your merciful gaze,
My shame surrendered,
And supplanted,
With your look of Love.
With Veronica,
I reach out,
Only to receive back,
My dignity,
I stoop,
To rise with You,
My Hope,
True Image of Our Father’s Love.
©2015 Joann Nelander
* The Latin meaning of the name Veronica is “True Image” (vera icon)
A desert You prepare for me.
In solitude You allure me.
An encounter awaits me,
Your heart waiting for mine.
A thousand betrayals,
Hasn’t dimmed Your vision
For Love’s elect.
©2012 Joann Nelander
Here I am Lord
I have brought the world and my day with me
What a motley crew arrayed before You
But not in vain.
We come with a clatter
My noise, our noise,
To the Silence.
The deafening roar
To the hallowed stillness.
Whisper in the chamber of our meeting
Where we tent with You,
Hope for the dying,
Faith to the listening,
Love to the willing.
Good morning, Jesus.
Here we are again,
At the beginning of a new day.
Can you feel me?
Here I am in Your Great Heart,
Reaching for You with my heart.
I feel Your eyes upon me.
You are perfume to my senses.
You are the touch of sweetness
I taste wafting on the breeze of Spirit.
You sound in my heart
With the beating of Yours.
Ever near, ever dear, everlasting,
Song of my soul.
Good morning, my Jesus.
Hold me here,
On the brink of eternity.
©2014 Joann Nelander
All I have known
Has possessed me,
The world and the men
Who walk its way.
All I have known
Ruled my heart
And burned on its altars
The wood of my life.
Now, You give me gold,
And open the door
To Your Kingdom,
To enter through my heart
Into Your Heart.
The fire that once
Consumed my wood,
Now, fires the gold You give me
To shape and fashion
A daughter of faith
Alive for You and in You,
Earthy flesh, taking on heaven,
As Your Spirit wants,
And woos and waits,
Upon the handmaiden
Of grace and virtue
You are creating for Yourself
As Bride to the King.
All I now know
Possesses me
For all I know is Thee.
© 2013 Joann Nelander All rights reserved
Be Holy! 