All that I need,
All that is good,
You bring to me in this Eucharist.
Help me to desire,
All that You want to give me.
Open my eyes,
To see myself as You see me,
And long for You all the more.
I abandon myself to You,
That You may make me holy,
And do everything for me,
By Your limitless grace.
© 2017 Joann Nelander
With the rising of each sun,
I seek the Sun of Justice,
That coming up over hill or horizon,
He might climb the sky,
Shattering my limits, my lacks,
And poor persuasions.
O, Conqueror of Death,
And King of New Day,
Let nothing deter
Your mounting my sky.
As nothing could chain You in the Tomb,
Or dissuade Your Rising,
To pick up Life,
And surrmount High Heaven,
Here, at my beginning,
Call me forth.
With the Force of the Commingled,
And Communal Love,
That begot Thee,
For I choose Thee,
Thou, Who gave my soul substance without Matter,
Spirit without Space,
Dependant, only on Thee,
My Champion.
Love begot Thee.
Loves conceives in His Knowing,
And Love,
Takes wing,
To welcome me,
One God,
Thee, My Three,
Now regarding me.
O, Sun of Justice,
Arise, and in me , ever be.
© 2017 Joann Nelander
All that I need,
All that is good,
You bring to me in this Eucharist.
Help me to desire,
All that You want to give me.
Open my eyes,
To see myself as You see me,
And long for You all the more.
I abandon myself to You,
That You may make me holy,
And do everything for me,
By Your limitless grace.
© 2017 Joann Nelander
Who Notices?
How many moments in the day
Pass into a supposed oblivion?
“Just another day,” they say.
Another runny nose,
Another cranky cry,
Another, and another, and another.
Cloudy horizons,
Dreams caught off guard
By the mundane of reality,
Where is the “anything”,
They said I could be?
No time in the day just for me.
How many selfless moments,
Written in timeless sands,
Seemingly, lost with yesterday?
Hidden moments,
Stripped of vain glory.
Only God notices.
© 2017 Joann Nelander
Lord make this useless beggar useful.
Like the returning Prodigal
Nothing recommends me,
And everyone but You
Condemns me,
For my rags declare my misery.You see me
But You do not turn away.
You rush to my side,
And embrace the little one
Who wanders from Your side.I am to You
The lost and longed for
Child of Your Heart.
My provident possibility
Is all but destiny
Awaiting my “Amen”.You draw the bath Yourself.
You allow Your angels the joy
Of tending to my wounds.
They touch me in consolation
As they once ministered strength
To You in the garden,
For they beheld me then in Your Holy Agony.I am the child of Your sorrow
And Your glory.
Wash me and lovingly dress me
In Your robes of holiness and light.
You are creating me even now
While You gaze on me
For I am all “Yes”.Your kindness and Your gentleness
Convince me beyond doubt.
I yield to You my sinfulness.
Every moment in Your Presence is gracefilled.
I have but to stretch out my hand
That You might place Your ring on my finger,
Put forth my feet to see them shod for
The journey to Your house.I walk now in Your Kingdom,
For Your Presence makes light my steps
And sure the Way.
In Your embrace I find that I can dance merrily,
For the mysterious steps
Seem to come quite naturally
As long as I follow Your gentle persuasions.Dance on my Father,
My Friend, my King, my All.
In Your arms I have found myself.
I have become Onesimus.Joann Nelander
Opening my eyes
And lifting my head
From my prayer,
My eyes fell upon you,
My friend.
Your steady gaze
Fixed on the naked Savior,
Your arms crossed
Over your breast
And you,
Lost to this world,
Spoke my prayer.
You, in iconic stature,
Embodied my heart’s cry.
Bowing my soul,
I turned within
To pray with clarity
In humble poverty of spirit,
With Faith’s certainty,
The Lord had heard,
And smiled on my desire.
Rising with my closing “Amen”,
I looked
Only to find your place
Before the altar,
Now abandoned,
Yet the holy sight is seared
On my impressionable spirit.
It lingers still.
Your gifted presence
Shall long capture,
And hold fast
The essence of being
At which I hope to arrive,
In the tabernacle of my heart,
As in pleading it resounds.
Anchored to an image
Of prayerful adoration
Living in my mind’s eye.
My God be adored,
And Your children
Forever graced.
Be Holy! 