Joann Nelander Studio

Work of Love

Posted by Be Holy on August 21, 2012

Posted in: Advent, Christmas, Easter, Lent, Poetry, Prayer & Prose. Tagged: angels, cheribum, Ciborium, God, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Pentecost. Leave a comment

Make of every heart a tabernacle,
A holy space,
Home to Thee,
An ark,
A Mercy seat,
Where Cherubim
Spread their wings
And constantly adore.

May heaven alight
On one who prays,
And rest on that blessed soul,
As Pentecost anew.

Across the face of the earth
Find hallowed home,
Ciborium for Thy Blood,
Chalice to cup Thy loveliness,
And priestly hands to hold Thee aloft,
To smile upon Your world in dire need.

Be, O, Bread of angels,
Ever present on Your altar,
Closer than my breath,
Friend and companion
Light and Bridegroom,
All in all,
Everywhere and everyone
Transforming,
Sinner to saint,
And temple of Your Holy Spirit.

Courts of Praise

Posted by Be Holy on August 21, 2012

Posted in: Advent, Christmas, Easter, Poetry, Prayer & Prose. Tagged: angelic beings, anthems, chors, cloud of witnesses, heaven, Music, praise. Leave a comment

This poem was written to express celebration at Easter. Everyday ordinary day is so full of God’s choice blessings, that praise should flow from every corner of the earth. In the deepest darkness, may hope arise through praise of God.

I invite you to linger a while and add a stanza.

Courts of Praise

Thank you, my Lord, for my life long,
For beloved family and friends,
And all dear hearts touching mine.

My treasure trove of souls
Spills far beyond my time
To number as my own
Those who have gone before,
Your saints of ages past,
The cloud of witnesses on high
And pure angelic beings
In realms veiled from the eye.

There never was a day
In which I was alone,
Nor forgotten
Before Your throne.

There, at Your feet,
All heaven sweet anthems raise,
To set celestial hearts ablaze.
My heart, in chorus,
Swells, dilating in love,
Grown great in gratitude.

Beside Your All Love,
I make small return.
You count my debt as paid,
And bid me enter courts of praise.

Come Forth

Posted by Be Holy on August 16, 2012

Posted in: Lent, Poetry, Prayer & Prose. Tagged: burial, Death, grave, Lazarus, prayer, testament. Leave a comment

Call to me, loudly command,
When you call me forth
From the grave of my sin,
I rejoice.

When, on the Last Day,
You call me forth from the tomb,
From my burial rest,
I shall jubilantly rejoice.

With the saints,
And angels to cheer me,
Invite and speak my name,
Command, “Come forth!”
Death shall cower and fall away,
And the perfume of sanctity
Attend me.

My cloud of witnesses
Testify to Your many mercies
Showered and shown me.

Then shall my heart sing
And the feet of my testimony dance
To the music of Your Kingdom
And the song of Mary,
Who sang lullabies in my rest
Upon Your breast.

Jesus, Haven of My Soul

Posted by Be Holy on August 16, 2012

Posted in: Lent, Poetry, Prayer & Prose. Tagged: Gift, haven, heaven, Holy Spirit, life, soul, spiirit. Leave a comment

Jesus, I place myself
In the holy confines
Of Your Sacred Heart.
Heart of my heart,
Draw heaven to me.

Surround me with friends
Of Your choosing,
That my mind might be full
Of the conversation of saints.

The world is so much with me.
It is temptress and shallow.
I long for the deep
Of Your thoughts,
To speak peace and refuge
In my wilderness.

You are the haven of my soul,
The Paradise once lost,
But now given
With my Daily Bread

Exile holds no fear
For You surround me.
You are my consolation
And marrow of my bones,
Strength of my strength.

Your Holy Spirit comes to me
And turns my tears to laughter.
In a valley of vanity and pride,
Your Humanity and Humility
Take me by the hand and heart
To lead me home.

Free to Love

Posted by Be Holy on August 14, 2012

Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: choice, freedom, gods, idolatry, liberty, license, Light, Love, truth. Leave a comment

I choose to love You, Lord.
My free will is Your gift.
I can decide Your Way too narrow,
And banish You
From my mind, my home, my life,
And the world about me.

I am free to celebrate gods,
I fashion as my own,
To revel in idolatry,
To exult with the mocking crowds
Making fun and sport of You,
You, Who are “so out of touch.”

You have fallen from fashion.
Your Cross, an embarrassment.
This world demands signs,
And leeks, and onions,
And grande cappacinos.

No, You will not stop me.
Without Your grace,
I can not stop myself.
I seem at times to prefer
The company of men,
All who purport to know.

Truth, though, gives witness
To a milieu
Of blatant braggadocio
With holes,
Through which their errors flow
To seed a field with tares.
For a prideful people
Seeking a rose garden,
Yet only thistles grow.

I choose to love You, Lord.
Be Sun to my darkness,
Be my Light
That I might see.
Protect and command me,
That I might obey.
Love demands freedom.
Freely, I turn to Thee.

Who Is the Poorest of the Poor

Posted by Be Holy on August 14, 2012

Posted in: Lent, Poetry, Prayer & Prose. Tagged: Babe, Catholic, Christ, Christian, Father God, planned parenthood, pregnancy, pro-choice, Pro-life, religious, security, supreme Court, womb.abortion. Leave a comment

Who is the poorest of the Poor?
Is it not the one deprived of womb?
Is it not the one gone unnamed?
Given a frame
But denied rightful claim,
Stripped bare of place,
No space to grow,
Deprived of a proper birth?
Is it not the one evicted,
Before drawing it’s first breath,
Whose beating heart is silenced,
With the sanction of the Court!?
With privacy,
Lest the whole world hear it’s cry?

Though a mother forget her child,
The Father of all fathers
Will not, no never, forget.
He has a place,
And a name,
For all the poor,
For the poorest
Of the poor,
Called “Beloved”
And “Poor No More”.

Mary, the Violin

Posted by Be Holy on August 14, 2012

Posted in: Advent, Christmas, Easter, Lent, Poetry, Prayer & Prose. Tagged: art, Catholic, Christ, Christian, faith, Father, Lent, Mary, Music, the Son, violin. Leave a comment

Mary, Virgin, Mother of God,
The perfectly fashioned,
And tuned instrument,
A violin,
In the hands of God,
As He plays His music
For the Son.

Make of Me a Vessel

Posted by Be Holy on August 14, 2012

Posted in: Advent, Christmas, Easter, Lent, Poetry, Prayer & Prose. Tagged: God, God's Will, prayer, purity, thanksgiving, vessel, water, wine. Leave a comment

Lord , make of me, a vessel,
Filled to over-flowing with my God.
Transform my water,
That becoming wine,
I may be poured out
At His will and direction,
As medicine and libation,
For body, mind and soul,
Ever joyful in purity,
And grateful in thanksgiving.
Amen.

When My Heart Sings

Posted by Be Holy on August 14, 2012

Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: Christ, God, Holy Spirit, new book, poetry, published, religion and spirituality. Leave a comment

The music of God is all about us. When I listen in the Spirit, my heart sings.
With these pages, I wish to share the lyric of the songs I hear in the silence of my prayer.

My Heart Sings by Joann Salerno Nelander | Make Your Own Book

When My Heart Sings

Posted by Be Holy on August 14, 2012

Posted in: Uncategorized. Tagged: Catholic, Christ, Christian — Edit Tagged with Christ, God, Holy Spirit, new book, poetry, published, religion and spirituality. Leave a comment

The music of God is all about us. When I listen in the Spirit, my heart sings.
With these pages, I wish to share the lyric of the songs I hear in the silence of my prayer.

My Heart Sings by Joann Salerno Nelander | Make Your Own Book