- “I stand at the door and knock”
I pass this welcoming scene everyday. I think it must qualify as an oxymoron. It may be indicative of this present age.
I call it: “I stand at the door and knock.”
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A child lost,
A child stolen,
A child abandoned,
But not by Love.
Love held his hand,
As Death pursued.
Love clutched his life
To hold him in her heart.
When all doors shut,
When clouds descended,
When law conspired,
When men called evil good.
Love shared his pain.
Love healed.
Love fostered love.
Prepared a home.
Love opened the earth
To receive the blood
Of innocence,
Once more.
Love found a way,
To thwart the grave,
To forgive, to forget,
To encompass and enfold.
Love builds a mansion
With waiting rooms,
For mother, father
And lineage long.
From Adam past
Unto blessed Eternity,
Love reclaims,
Love invites to Mercy feast.
Love simply loves,
Sinner, martyr, saint,
The lost, the stolen, the abandoned,
Now espoused.
© 2012 Joann Nelander
Father, help me be patient,
As I receive the answer
To all my prayers.
In faith, I wait.
Trial, and time
In steady supply,
Over and round
By threshing sledge ground,
Crushed be
The husk of me.
Tossed, then,
High in hope,
To brave both
Flight and fall,
As Spirit winds,
A winnowing fan,
Carry my chaff
To all forgetful clouds.
Hallowed be the ground,
On which I come to rest.
Only Son,
Of Three in One.
Waiting, winning,
Gathering the wheat,
One with me
The answer be.
© 2012 Joann Nelander
O’ God our Creator,
Through the power and working of your Holy Spirit, you call us to live our faith in the midst of the world, bringing the Light and the saving Truth of the Gospel to every corner of society.
We ask you to bless us in our vigilance for the gift of religious liberty, Give us the strength of mind and heart to readily defend our freedoms when they are threatened; give us courage in making our voices heard on behalf of the rights of your Church and the freedom of conscience of all people of faith.
Grant, we pray, O heavenly Father, a clear and united voice to all your sons and daughters gathered in your Church in this decisive hour in the history of our nation, so that, with every trial withstood and every danger overcome—for the sake of our children, our grandchildren, and all who come after us—this great land will always be “one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
A call to prayer for our great nation by our bishops has gone forth. Now it is for the people to pray.
H/T USCCB
The fourteen days from June 21—the vigil of the Feasts of St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More—to July 4, Independence Day, are dedicated to this “fortnight for freedom”—a great hymn of prayer for our country. Our liturgical calendar celebrates a series of great martyrs who remained faithful in the face of persecution by political power—St. John Fisher and St. Thomas More, St. John the Baptist, SS. Peter and Paul, and the First Martyrs of the Church of Rome. Culminating on Independence Day, this special period of prayer, study, catechesis, and public action will emphasize both our Christian and American heritage of liberty. Dioceses and parishes around the country have scheduled special events that support a great national campaign of teaching and witness for religious liberty.
Vigilance
O, Trinity, mine,
As I am Thine,
Indwelling with sacred flame,
Dispatch as for battle
Angels and Archangels,
Sword in hand.
Penetrate my darkness,
Infiltrate clandestine deceptions
Masquerading as light.
Pull down cruel strongholds,
Erected by Minion’s guile,
Surreptitious and in disguise.
Where blindness
Has made me vulnerable,
Where folly
Has let down my guard,
Where allurement
Has entrapped me,
Give power, sword and wing,
To Your Michael.
Bid him ride the dawn
To stand arrayed for the frey,
Here by my side.
Bright Angel of Truth,
Mount ye,
Who Is Like God,
Ever upward,
Empowered by my prayer,
Whispered in th Name,
All Hallowed.
Hashem, do You battle,
Vanquish the hidden
Enemies of my soul,
By my union,
In Your Death.
By my Baptism,
Let Your Blood
Cry out as Your Able,
From the ground
Of my being.
Give Life ever new.
In Your rest,
Empty Tomb,
Witness in me,
By Eucharistic grace,
The triumph of Your Resurrection.
© 2012 Joann Nelander
Did you laugh?
Did you dance?
You were there
I remember.
The invitation,
Sent from my heart,
Was as personal
As a dream.
Hopes,
Whispered and shared,
Then tucked away
With our days,
The stuff of weavers,
Spinning bright threads
Running their course
Replete with expectations
Not to be denied.
Full of welcome,
An invitation to dance,
With the bride
Loving her groom
In the Mystery of You,
Did you dance,
Did you laugh,
When our love
Blossomed and bloomed,
Bearing children
To delight our hearts,
Gladdening our garden
With sweet enchantment.
Today I pick flowers,
Memories like posies,
In colored bouquets.
Today our hearts are full.
Today we celebrate,
And spread our blanket
On grassy meadows.
Resting and remembering
All happiness,
And passing sorrow,
Shared and savored,
As water turned wine.
Come and laugh.
Come and dance.
Years like water,
Running a course.
Years full and fleeting,
Waltzing and jigging
Spent in embrace.
Our dance goes on,
On to trip through the night,
Marathon run,
Accompanied with music
Floating on Life’s breezes.
Two become one,
Dancing in You.
By Joann Salerno Nelander, Bride
If I should die today,
What have I to say?
Perhaps just one last prayer.
Grant that my heart
Should leap and quicken,
Catching sight of You
Coming from afar.
With Your Father,
You have wooed, and waited,
Sent Your Spirit
Into my dry bones,
Raising me from dust
Once again
And, now, forevermore.
Here I am, my Hallowed three.
The Bridegoom cometh;
Come for me.
(c) 2012 Joann Nelander
My Holy Three
The ground of me.
In knowing myself
May I know Thee.
Write upon my heart
The thoughts that are Your own.
Seat Yourself upon
My empty throne.
You who find no place
To rest Your Head.
Here, reign and rule
To delight and wed..
My Holy Three
The ground of me.
In knowing myself
May I forever know Thee.
I just want to rest here,
In a place beyond tears.
When You see me,
In my life’s blood,
You will not pass me by.
Shepherd,
That you are,
Lift me to Your shoulder.
Carry me
The rest of the way.
I consent to Your ministries,
Trust in Your mercies.
As Your strong arms
Enfold me.
I am comfort,
Through and through,
For I will to be
One with You,
And You have given me
My heart’s desire.
Joann Nelander Studio 