O, Lord of life’s harvest,
Penetrate the depths of my misery
With Thy loveliness,
So that the new life,
Rising from this soil,
Be the embodiment
Of wisdom and grace.
May my flower and fruit be
The fresh form of holiness,
Born of virginal “Fiat”,
And humility’s abandonment
In sacrificial love.
Come forth Lazarus,
Not now from earthly grave,
But born to heavenly morrow,
After this night of sorrow.
Copyright 2014 Joann Nelander
All that matters,
To be like Christ,
What else is there?
Want what the Father wants,
Love, love, love!
Suffer with Jesus,
As He suffers,
Lack of love
In the world,
In people,
In Christians.
The world belongs to God,
Creator of Beauty, Holiness, Truth,
All that is.
Creation confesses Jesus,
Gives witness to God.
Live like him.
Talk like Him.
Let Him impress on you
His image as on Veronica’s veil,
Offered in compassion.
Impressed with the face of Jesus,
Go forward
In newness of life,
A new creation.
False images,
Reject them!
Imitate Jesus Christ.
Have Him before your eyes
All the day long.
Have Him on your tongue
All the day long.
Live with Him
Through the night,
Through the dark,
Into the smiling Light.
All is grace.
What else is there?
© 2014 Joann Nelander
O, Magnificent One,
O, Magnanimous One,
O, Adorable One,
In the splendor of Your Godhead,
You stoop to lift me.
As Father, You gently raise me,
To plant Your kiss.
You span the distance between us.
Your overcome the flesh, the world and Evil, itself,
In the humility of the Cross.
You paid the price of my son-ship.
Knowing Yourself from eternity,
Eternally begetting the Son.
You planned to make humanity holy
By the Spirit of Jesus, Your Only Son.
O, Magnificent One,
O, Magnanimous One,
O, Adorable One,
As You breathe forth Your Spirit,
I gasp and hold fast that Sacred Breath.
Seeming
Lord, you pass by.
A sea of hands reaches for You.
Straining to its end,
Determined, one hand, truly, seems all Heart.
You pass, seeming out of reach.
From Heaven the Father sees,
And satisfies the soul’s desire.
“Who touched me?”, says the Son.
© 2017 Joann Nelander
Jesus King of All Nations May Your Reign Be Recognized on Earth
See, Sweet Lord, how noisy I am.
I come before Thee, the God Who Is,
With the clash and chatter of my day.
You, O Arion, the Lamb Standing,
Who appears to have been slain,
Reign, triumphantly before me.
You, O Agnus Dei, Lamb of God,
Establish, Your Rule and Victory,
In my poor heart.
In this Stillness,
You rest,
Having vanquished all Sin, my sin.
See, Sweet Lord, how I rest in abandonment.
I sleep, as a child, in Your arms,
Stilled before Love,
You, hidden,
‘Neath the appearance of Bread,
Succor me, now, in silence.
With the Living Water,
Flowing from the East side of the Temple,
Wash my life.
Quench my thirst,
Water my way,
Provide rich and abundant fruit.
See, Sweet Lord, my need,
Here, You, heal and restore,
Your Way in this New Day.
©2017 Joann Nelander
Be Holy! 