I am the weaned child,
Upon Your knee.
Forgetful of time,
I curl Your hair about my fingers,
And tug at Your heartstrings.
My toys, the shiny objects of yesterday,
Lie by the stairs,
By which I began my ascent to You.
Comfort me.
Cuddle me.
Tickle me.
You spend Your universe,
As You had always planned,
Delighting one so small,
The least of the Children of Man.
© 2012 Joann Nelander
Words are swirling
Like leaves,
Lifted heavenward,
On bursts of emotion,
Only to settle quietly,
As the storm of love passes
Into Abiding Presence.
© 2012 Joann Nelander
Come Lord,
Feed Your Church;
It’s Sunday!
Command us,
“Rise” with You;
It’s Sunday!
Day of the Lord,
Day of Promise,
Day of supplication,
Day of fulfillment.
O Sunday!
Gathered with the Mother,
In the sunshine presence
Of celestial hosts,
Rejoicing with the Chosen,
Celebrate!
It’s Sunday.
©2012 Joann Nelander
“Who do you say I am?”
Jesus asked.
Who do you say I am?
The jars lined the walls.
Each one marked:
A weight and words,
“Products of conception.”
Parts, just parts!
Parts, just parts?
Who do you say I am?
©2012 Joann Nelander
I love waking up
In the Heart of Jesus.
Before my eyes even open
I feel You all about me.
You are looking at Me
As Mary looked on You
In slumber serene.
I am stirring.
You are smiling Your “Good morning”
I see You are not alone
I blow my heartfelt kisses
To Your happy entourage.
Heavenly family, you, too,
Welcome me to New Day.
Yes, Sweet Jesus, I am ready.
You’ve watched over me in sleep;
Now, again, I pick up my cross.
Walk the hours of today,
As Light upon my way.
By Joann Nelander
Copyright 2012
H/T Julia : Golgotha of Jasna Gora – Artist: Jerzy Duda Gracz
Here a bit more information about the images.
In the shrine at Czestochowa, upstairs from the famous icon of the Black Madonna, a 21st-century Way of the Cross reminds us that our real enemy is not the evil outside of us but the sin within us. In March 2001, the late Polish painter Jerzy Duda Gracz presented the monastery at Jasna Gora, one of the most popular pilgrimage sites in the world, with new Stations of the Cross. Gracz named these paintings after Golgotha, the mountain where Jesus was crucified, but many of the landscapes and faces he included in them are eerily recognizable to present-day viewers.
St. Gertrude Prayer:
Lord Jesus Christ, I accept this sleep in the spirit of love with which Thou didst sanctify it when Thou didst deign to sleep in Thy most sacred humanity, to the glory of God the Father, and for the salvation of all mankind; beseeching that, in union with Thee, it may tend to increase in grace and glory of all Thine Elect in heaven, on earth, and in purgatory.
Amen.
From Zoey (meaning “Life”)
“Joanna,
Overall I don’t support abortion and I understand what you are saying but I still think that there should be exceptions. There are a lot of children under the age of 12 that have given birth so it’s not a rare situation. In some instances both the mother and the baby died in childbirth. It is not God’s will for a young lady to end up pregnant and then for her and her baby to die in the process. A woman’s body is not physically prepared to deliver a child until the age of 18. It is not rare anymore for a small child to end up pregnant. I don’t believe that its ever God’s will for a child to be pregnant. A lot of people don’t have health insurance and it costs $10,000 to give birth in a hospital. We live in a very fortunate country where pregnancy centers take in young women with a baby on the way and no place to go but other countries don’t. Think of a young child in India or Mexico that has gotten raped, ended up pregnant and doesn’t have any means to take care of the child and no one to help her. Think of all the children that can’t afford to go to a hospital. If there are any problems whatsoever and they can’t deliver the baby naturally, both the mother and the baby die. Other countries don’t have non-profit charities and involved churches or pregnancy hot lines, help centers and women’s shelters. In poorer places both the mother and the child end up homeless, or dead. Just because we have the technology to ensure a proper birthing process doesn’t mean that everyone can afford it. I’m a Catholic, I don’t support abortion, I was in danger of abortion myself, my first name is the Greek word for LIFE and my grandmother gave birth to 15 children, and only 10 survived. And even *I* can make some exceptions for those that really need it.”
Joanna to Zoey:
Dear Zoey (meaning “life”),
You say “I’m a Catholic, I don’t support abortion.” What does that actually mean if you then turn around and become you own Magisterium with your statement, “And even *I* can make some exceptions for those that really need it.”
God loves and values the life of each individual regardless of circumstance and without discriminating on the basis of age or social situation. You seem to place a greater value on lives because of perceived need, (i.e. pregnant 12-year-old) but would abort the life of the even more vulnerable 12 week old living in the womb. Do you really think abortion doesn’t severely scar at any age ( emotionally, physically or spiritually?) Invading the womb with death is more than a moral intrusion. Abortion is a token band-aid. Allowing abortion has led to tolerance and acceptance in our broken society, so that now it is an over-the-counter/vending machine “choice” with no one the wiser. Intrinsic evil is never morally okay. One in four women in our country has had an abortion , and I’m guessing, they weren’t pregnant 12 year olds. A sin like rape or incest is also not justification for another sin, murder. The perpetrator of the killing being a man or woman with an MD after their name doesn’t make it less deadly, nor that fact that the media or law makers gives it the Good Housekeeping seal of approval.
The following is a list of useful abortion statistics as well as some facts on abortifacients. All abortion numbers are derived from pro-abortion sources courtesy of The Alan Guttmacher Institute and Planned Parenthood’s Family Planning Perspectives.Click here for the Guttmacher Institute’s latest fact sheet on abortion.WORLDWIDE
Number of abortions per year: Approximately 42 Million
Number of abortions per day: Approximately 115,000Where abortions occur:
83% of all abortions are obtained in developing countries and 17% occur in developed countries.© Copyright 1996-2008, The Alan Guttmacher Institute. (www.agi-usa.org)
UNITED STATES
Number of abortions per year: 1.37 Million (1996)
Number of abortions per day: Approximately 3,700Who’s having abortions (age)?
52% of women obtaining abortions in the U.S. are younger than 25: Women aged 20-24 obtain 32% of all abortions; Teenagers obtain 20% and girls under 15 account for 1.2%.Who’s having abortions (race)?
While white women obtain 60% of all abortions, their abortion rate is well below that of minority women. Black women are more than 3 times as likely as white women to have an abortion, and Hispanic women are roughly 2 times as likely.Who’s having abortions (marital status)?
64.4% of all abortions are performed on never-married women; Married women account for 18.4% of all abortions and divorced women obtain 9.4%.Who’s having abortions (religion)?
Women identifying themselves as Protestants obtain 37.4% of all abortions in the U.S.; Catholic women account for 31.3%, Jewish women account for 1.3%, and women with no religious affiliation obtain 23.7% of all abortions. 18% of all abortions are performed on women who identify themselves as “Born-again/Evangelical”.Who’s having abortions (income)?
Women with family incomes less than $15,000 obtain 28.7% of all abortions; Women with family incomes between $15,000 and $29,999 obtain 19.5%; Women with family incomes between $30,000 and $59,999 obtain 38.0%; Women with family incomes over $60,000 obtain 13.8%.Why women have abortions
1% of all abortions occur because of rape or incest; 6% of abortions occur because of potential health problems regarding either the mother or child, and 93% of all abortions occur for social reasons (i.e. the child is unwanted or inconvenient).At what gestational ages are abortions performed:
52% of all abortions occur before the 9th week of pregnancy, 25% happen between the 9th & 10th week, 12% happen between the 11th and 12th week, 6% happen between the 13th & 15th week, 4% happen between the 16th & 20th week, and 1% of all abortions (16,450/yr.) happen after the 20th week of pregnancy.Likelihood of abortion:
An estimated 43% of all women will have at least 1 abortion by the time they are 45 years old. 47% of all abortions are performed on women who have had at least one previous abortion.Abortion coverage:
48% of all abortion facilities provide services after the 12th week of pregnancy. 9 in 10 managed care plans routinely cover abortion or provide limited coverage. About 14% of all abortions in the United States are paid for with public funds, virtually all of which are state funds. 16 states (CA, CT, HI, ED, IL, MA , MD, MD, MN, MT, NJ, NM, NY, OR, VT, WA and WV) pay for abortions for some poor women.© Copyright 1998, The Alan Guttmacher Institute. (www.agi-usa.org)
© Copyright 1997, The Alan Guttmacher Institute. (www.agi-usa.org)
© Copyright 1995, Family Planning Perspectives
© Copyright 1988, Family Planning Perspectives
Mary Co-Redemptrix 