You, by Your Presence, O Lord,
Are Light to my darkness.
You are the kiss upon my brow,
The oil upon my head,
The arms of sweet embrace,
The banner over my heart.
You, All Love,
Bless this child of Your magnificent
And magnanimous Mercy.
Day by day.
I find You all about me.
Flowers and fields,
Spread before me
As a welcoming blanket.
Come rest awhile, You invite.
I come and I delight.
“She was baptized, with her household” (Acts 16:15). The Philippian jailer whom Paul and Silas had converted to the faith was baptized that night along with his household. We are told that “the same hour of the night . . . he was baptized, with all his family” (Acts 16:33). And in his greetings to the Corinthians, Paul recalled that, “I did baptize also the household of Stephanas” (1 Cor. 1:16).
No one would argue
That I exist
And live this day
On Earth.
Yet, I know
That I am with You.
Here in this place
At this Time,
I breathe Heaven’s air
As I pray
“Come Holy Spirit”
And You come,
Bringing Heaven with You
To dwell in the land
You make Your own
And, by grace, call holy.
Here, love and truth meet,
Justice and peace kiss.
Am I not caught
In this embrace?
©2012 Joann Nelander
O Man, believe
That the Virgin did conceive
Her God and mine
And happily thine.©2013 Joann Nelander
I love You, Lord. You embrace me in our communion of Eucharist. I believe in Your love for the sinner. I am that sinner. You come to me. I am empty and poor, yet You make my poverty Your paradise. Here I bring to You all You have given me.
Behold Your streaming waters tumbling over my rocky ground. Your light penetrates my depths; the caverns of my heart yield their darkness to You, O Holy Sun! Sit here beside me in silence, as praise becomes an uncontainable river within me. Flow from my humble abode to water Your thirsting world without. Delight, O Lord, at the crashing thunder as majestic waves rise before You in a crescendo of thanksgiving, finally pounding down upon the shore of my unworthiness. They ebb and flow and gather strength as I remember Your Mercies. All You have given me, I give now with gratitude.
Eagles dance in the air above our heads, grasping as claws hold fast, spinning in wedded bliss; their flight a symbol of our holy love.
Joann Nelander
My Shalom, My Shalom,
Reigning over the waters,
Conquering the watery depths,
Making clear,
Revealing by discernment
Benefactor or maleficence.
Quieted soul,
Ever vigil heart,
Desirous of My Holy Body,
Gazing through the fiery flame
Serene against the tumult,
Drinking from the Chalice of My Blood,
Covenanted through my Sacred Cross,
Lifted high above the world,
Rest in Me,
As I, Myself, pass as flaming brazier,
Between the broken pieces of your life.
My Shalom, My Shalom,
I call you
By My All Holy Name,
To dwell secure in Love.
Cost counted, chosen,
And placed in the balance.
Infinity pays the price
And tips the scale of Life to
Favor a son of God.
©2012. Joann Nelander
Come Wind of the Spirit.
O Holiness, fill my sails
That we may traverse the oceans,
And laugh at the power of the seas.
Set my course
According to the plan of the Father,
Brought to fruition in the Son,
Who purifies the many waters.
©2013 Joann Nelander All rights reserved
Why apart?
From the in-gathering, all embracing Mother Church you flee,
To remain apart all the while,
Calling and yearning for your God.You flee and I run after you,
Pursuing you at every turn,
As I reach and you pull your hand away.
Why not stay?
My Body yearns for you.
My members long to know you.I wait upon your prayers
With angels ready to dispatch.
O, Pardoned Soul,
You seek your God in myriad ways,
I am here, wedded to My Bride,
Always at her side,
Promised never to depart.
You hold yourself apart.You’ve built a chapel in your heart
For others that play God,
I call and draw you by Love
Within the chapel of your heart.You sigh as I tug
At heart strings tight and taunt.
You resist Me for fear they’ll break.
I woo, I’m told to wait.
You say you are not ready
For Love’s music.“Measure me Your Love,” you say.
“Give comfort, strength and sure supply,
But do not on my ‘Yes’ rely.”Perhaps the Bride, the Church,
Who bears My Word forth
Unto all centuries,
Has words you n’er obey,
In dread fear of the “ought”
You can not bear.You will your will be done on earth
And choose to judge all heaven.
You want only love’s first glance,
The sweet embrace
And kiss upon the cheek,
Nothing too dear, nothing too deep.
It seems a bitter end,
To lose yourself in giving all.O Measured One.
You know Love comes with a Cross,
A Cross you fear to carry.
You choose to stay apart
And skirt the Cross.Alas, the world without has crosses, too.
They may come disguised in promised delight,
But soon you’ll drag that empty dream uphill.How long one longs
And labors longingly
And all alone
Beneath the weight
Of vanities profane,
I do not say.
I only await a cry, a plea, A glance of recognition.
When our eyes meet, then our hearts meet;
At long last your leap into the arms
Of One Who grasps you in your fall.Be mine as Church joined to Husband.
At last the Lord of All
Can leap the walls you’ve built about yourself
To know you now
Within His Sacred Heart,
Bearing your cross in His,
Making all things new
And all your burdens light.
Count now as joy life
Without measure.Fear not my Church.
She is My Spouse,
My very Body;
I, the Head.I woo and wait,
Now, as Groom upon the altar.
It is for you
To give yourself away.by Joann Nelander
Robed in splendor,
Wrapped in might,
Clothed in a mantle of power,
Holy Majesty, now come Your Hour.
Mercy inclining
Embracing spirit poor,
Abundance kissing
With generous grace.
Common ground
Of God’s own Holiness,
Love’s living bridge
Spanning the breech.
All are called.
Please all come
To live the revelation
Of the Holy Son.
© Joann Nelander 2013
All rights reserved
Come Wind of the Spirit.
O Holiness, fill my sails
That we may traverse the oceans,
And laugh at the power of the seas.
Set my course
According to the plan of the Father,
Brought to fruition in the Son,
Who purifies the many waters.
©2013 Joann Nelander All rights reserved
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