Lifting the Veil
Lift the veil in this morass of Sin,
That faith may blossom and hope enter in.
Let the Sun of Justice shine
Upon a people in decline,
That looking up from the tyranny of power and things
Your face may captivate and solace bring.
Pour down torrents of Thy Grace
To cleanse this dry and brutal place ,
Uproot to plant anew
A Day of peace like settled dew,
That minds be bright and intellects sublime
And our only glory may be Thine.
© 2016 Joann Nelander
Daily Prayers: During the Day
O MOST sweet Jesus; I commend to Thy Divine Heart all that I have done in the hour that is gone; to be cleansed and purified, and offered to God the Father for His eternal praise. And whatsoever I shall do in the hour that is beginning; I resolve to do simply and purely for the glory of God and for the salvation of all mankind; in union with Thy Passion. Amen.
Our Lord directed St. Gertrude to tell a certain person to form the following intention before beginning any work:
O LORD Jesus; in union with Thy most perfect actions I commend to Thee this my work; to be directed according to Thine adorable will; for the salvation of all mankind. Amen.
AFTER WORK
O LORD Jesus; in union with Thy most perfect actions I offer Thee this my work; to be amended and cleansed; and presented as is fit to God the Father; to His eternal praise. Amen.
BEFORE EATING
Our Lord said to St. Gertrude: He who takes care to eat and drink; etc.; with the intention expressed in the following prayer; holds as it were a buckler before Me; to defend Me from the insults and injuries of the worldly.
O LORD Jesus, I take this food in that same love wherewith Thou hast sanctified it, when in Thy most holy Humanity Thou didst deign to eat and to drink to the glory of God the Father, and for the salvation of all the whole human race; beseeching Thee that, in union with Thy Divine love, it may tend to the increase of glory, and salvation of all Thine elect in Heaven, on earth, or in Purgatory.
WHILE TAKING SUSTENANCE
St. Gertrude was accustomed to say frequently while eating:
MAY the virtue of Thy Divine love incorporate me wholly into Thee, O my most loving Jesus!
And while drinking:
O MOST loving Jesus, pour into my heart and preserve within me the energy of Thine Own most glowing charity; may it pervade all my substance, and flow ever more through every faculty of my body and soul, to Thine eternal praise and glory. Amen.
She asked our Lord whether He would accept a like devotion from all who might offer it to Him, and received this reply: Whenever anyone eats or drinks with this intention and devotion, I will acknowledge in presence of My Father that I have eaten with Him, and that he has given Me to drink, and I will show to him in due time the utmost tenderness of My love.
AFTER FALLING INTO SIN
St. Gertrude said to our Lord: Teach me, O best of Teachers, how to efface the stains of sin which I contract from time to time. She received this answer: Never allow these stains to remain upon thy conscience; but as soon as thou feelest thyself defiled by any fault, say to Me with a devout heart:
O CHRIST Jesus, my only Salvation and Hope, grant that all my transgressions may be blotted out by Thine most efficacious death. Amen.
VIA http://www.catholictradition.org/Gertrude/prayer-book2.htm#CLOCK
ASPIRATION TO JESUS
Jesus said to St. Mechtilde: Whoever shall breathe a sigh towards Me from the bottom of his heart when he awakes in the morning, and shall ask Me to work all his works in him throughout the day, he will draw Me to him; so that his soul shall have life from Me even as his body has life from his soul, and he shall do all things through Me and by Me. For never does a man breathe a sigh of longing aspiration towards Me without drawing Me nearer to him than I was before.
O MOST loving Jesus, I breathe towards Thee this sigh, drawn from the depth of my heart, beseeching Thee with all my might that Thou wouldst deign Thyself to work in me all my works, whether of body or of soul, to cleanse them all in thy sweetest Heart, and to offer them, in union with Thine Own most perfect works, to God the Father as an eternal thanksgiving. Amen.
COVENANT WITH GOD
O ALMIGHTY God, I sanctify, dedicate, and consecrate to Thee every beating of my heart, and every pulsation of my blood; and I desire to make this compact with Thee, that their every beating shall say to Thee: Holy, holy, holy, Lord God of Sabaoth; and I beseech Thee to impute this meaning to them, so that they may be before Thy Divine Majesty as the unceasing echo of that heavenly canticle, which seraphims sing without ceasing unto Thee. Amen. Amen.
Spirit
“The man, who knows of the universe’s spirit, walks upright. The materialist hugs the earth.” (Frank Sheed, Theology for Beginners)
THE inspired writer says, “Thou hast mercy upon all, because Thou canst do all things, and overlookest the sins of men for the sake of repentance. For Thou lovest all things that are, and hatest none of the things which Thou hast made … And how could anything endure, if Thou wouldst not? or be preserved, if not called by Thee? But Thou sparest all, because they are Thine, O Lord, who lovest souls” (Wisdom xi. 24-27). This is what brought Him from Heaven, and gave Him the Name of Jesus—for the Angel said to St. Joseph about Mary, “She shall bring forth a Son, and thou shalt call His Name Jesus; for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matt. i. 21). It was His great love for souls and compassion for sinners which drew Him from Heaven. Why did He consent to veil His glory in mortal flesh, except that He desired so much to save those who had gone astray and lost all hope of salvation.” Hence He says Himself, “The Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Matt. xvii. 11, Luke xix. 10). Rather than that we should perish, He did all that even omnipotence could do consistently with its holy Attributes, for He gave Himself. And He loves each of us so much that He has died for each one as fully and absolutely as if there were no one else for Him to die for. He is our best friend, our True Father, the only real Lover of our souls—He takes all means to make us love Him in return, and He refuses us nothing if we do.
Let us pray for the conversion of all sinners.
O Lord, “who didst give Thyself for us, that Thou mightest redeem us from all iniquity, and mightest cleanse to Thyself a people acceptable, a pursuer of good works,” look upon Thy baptized, look on the multitude of those who once were Thine and have gone from Thee. Ah, for how short a time do they keep Thy grace in their hearts, how soon do they fall off from Thee, with what difficulty do they return; and even, though they repent and come to penance, yet how soon, in the words of Scripture, doth the dog return to his vomit, and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. O my God, save us all from the seven deadly sins, and rescue those who have been made captive by them. Convert all sinners—bring judgments down upon them, if there is no other way of reclaiming them. Touch the hearts of all proud men, wrathful, revengeful men; of the obstinate, of the self-relying, of the envious, of the slanderer, of the hater of goodness and truth; of the slothful and torpid; of all gluttons and drunkards; of the covetous and unmerciful; of all licentious talkers; of all who indulge in impure thoughts, words, or deeds. Make them understand that they are going straight to hell, and save them from themselves and from Satan.
Candles on Altars
All men are candles,
Burning on some altar.
Some disappear into nothingness,
Before worldly idols,
Unable to sustain their spark
Beyond the veil,
Into eternity.
Others light the heavens
As they are consumed
On the altar of Love,
Merging imperceptibly,
Creature with Creator.
When my wax is spent,
I pray I am not distracted
By my sin.
When I melt
Into the arms of God,
May it be that Love,
That lit my flame,
Outshines my imperfections
In holy consummation.
Burn candle, all alight
Warming with mercy rays the night,
To Penetrate hearts of friend and foe,
To soothe and mend wounds,
Dispelling darkness
With the Uncreated Light
That set creation into being.
Now and forever,
I cast myself
Into the flame,
The furnace of His Sacred Heart.
Passing through pierced side,
One with the Virgin,
Holy angels and expurgated saints of ole,
Melted in union,
I am formed anew in Christ,
With the Father and Spirit,
Candle, altar and Salvation might.
© 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved
Candles on Altars
All men are candles,
Burning on some altar.
Some disappear into nothingness,
Before worldly idols,
Unable to sustain their spark
Beyond the veil,
Into eternity.
Others light the heavens
As they are consumed
On the altar of Love,
Merging imperceptibly,
Creature with Creator.
When my wax is spent,
I pray I am not distracted
By my sin.
When I melt
Into the arms of God,
May it be that Love,
That lit my flame,
Outshines my imperfections
In holy consummation.
Burn candle, all alight
Warming with mercy rays the night,
To Penetrate hearts of friend and foe,
To soothe and mend wounds,
Dispelling darkness
With the Uncreated Light
That set creation into being.
Now and forever,
I cast myself
Into the flame,
The furnace of His Sacred Heart.
Passing through pierced side,
One with the Virgin,
Holy angels and expurgated saints of ole,
Melted in union,
I am formed anew in Christ,
With the Father and Spirit,
Candle, altar and Salvation might.
© 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved
Love Sweeter Than
Your love is sweeter than the honey dripping upon the lover’s tongue,
Sweeter than wine that wakens the palate to new delight.
Your love is aroma and taste penetrating the heart.
It is the roof growing higher,
And foundation of my world,
Glimpsing heaven and begging it near.
Your love is sweeter than my life.
It is invitation and enticement,
Known and unknowing,
Higher than happiness,
Straining to the Holy.
Your Love is the beginning and end of Life.
Falling on the world,
Drop by drop,
Yet, like a river in flood,
Endless and eternal,
The crossing of Now and Forever
Meeting in my bossom,
Drawing me free from myself,
Into You.
In Your thirst
You are all poverty,
Hungry,
And yet all supplying,
Giving and spent,
Still full in Your Emptiness.
Your Love is sweeter than this life,
Holy with promise,
You ring my heart with longing
And satisfy my depths and queries.
With Truth, You show me the heaven of Your Heart,
And bid me “Come.”
© 2016 Joann Nelander
Immaculata-Patroness
Joann Nelander Studio 