Report: Benedict XVI Resigned After ‘Mystical Experience’ | Daily News | NCRegister.com

BY EDWARD PENTIN

Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has reportedly said that he retired from the papacy after a “mystical experience” and because “God told me to.”

The news comes from an anonymous source who visited the former pope a week ago, according to the Zenit news agency.

Asked why he resigned, the pope emeritus said, “God told me to,” but added that he had not received any kind of apparition or similar phenomenon. Rather, it was a “mystical experience” in which the Lord planted a seed of “absolute desire” in his heart “to remain alone with him, secluded in prayer.”

According to the source, this mystical experience has lasted throughout these past months, increasing “more and more” his longing for a unique and direct relationship with the Lord. It has not been an “escape” from the world, he reportedly said, but a means of seeking “refuge in God and living in his love.”

He also said that the more he sees of the “charisma” of his successor, Pope Francis, the more he realizes that his decision to resign the papacy was “the will of God.”

Despite living a cloistered life in the Mater Ecclesiae Monastery in the Vatican Gardens, Benedict XVI does occasionally receive visitors privately. A few weeks ago, a seminarian at the North American College was surprised to be invited to the pope emeritus’ quarters to have a private conversation.

But during these meetings, Benedict XVI remains very prudent and typically discreet. He doesn’t reveal any secrets or say anything that may weigh on the new pontificate. He wishes to avoid declarations that could be thought of as “words said by the other pope,” Zenit reported.

At most, he will express wonder at how the Holy Spirit is working through his successor or he will talk about how his decision to resign was the result of Divine inspiration.

via Report: Benedict XVI Resigned After ‘Mystical Experience’ | Daily News | NCRegister.com.

Everyday

Everyday is good.
Everyday is holy.
All days are present
In Your Light.

With my life lived
Under Your gaze,
I implore of You
A river of love.

Pour the many waters
To wash the dross away,
Then You, Yourself,
Provide pure gold.

Through the heart
And hands of the Virgin,
Purify my gift each day
As I sigh to You.

All my ways,
The moments now arrayed
Gilded by Christ
Shine in holiness.

And, though my acts
Be as the poor trinkets of a child,
Your wearing of them,

In Our Father’s Presence,
Makes Him smile.

Look on me loving You
With every beat of my heart,
Skipping happily,
As a playmate at Your side,
Everyday.

 

©2013 Joann Nelander

Your Presence

Your presence is all around me,
And Your glory shines forth
From even the smallest of Your creation.

If I were to feel Your effects all day long
I would live in tears,
Rejoicing with tearful gladness,
And weeping, conscious of my desert.

So I avert my gaze from these flowers of love
That I may carry on
Keeping my feet anchored on earth,
Though my soul would have me take flight
And keep company with the angels.

My spirit strains upward
As over and above all
I reach for You in humility of heart,
Worn out by Your mercies,
Never tiring in Your consolation.

Come Holy Spirit!
Make Your home in me
With customary gentleness.

© 2013 Joann Nelander
All rights reserved

“The Holy Spirit Doesn’t Go on Vacation”

What about the Temple and Today, Jesus and Ed Koch

On May 21,2012, in a speech, introducing Timothy Cardinal Dolan at the Manhattan Institute – Alexander Hamilton Award Dinner, Edward I. Koch said:

I was a congressman and then mayor when I first came to know Terence Cardinal Cooke.  Of the four cardinals I have known, he was the most beloved by the public.  He was a very gentle man and perceived early on as a saintly figure.  Indeed, Cardinal Cooke is currently being considered by the Vatican for sainthood, and I have given testimony in the Vatican’s extensive inquiry into such a designation.

Having much to do with our friendship, I recall when Cardinal Cooke opened a Fifth Avenue door at St. Patrick’s Cathedral that had been closed for 100 years.  He asked me to stand with him when he unlocked the entrance.  As the sunlight poured through the open door, he said, “Mayor Ed, this cathedral belongs to you. ”  (I could never get him to call me Ed.  When he said “Mayor Ed,” I could hear the neighing of horses, there being a very popular television show at the time featuring a talking horse called “Mr. Ed,”) but at that moment, I did indeed feel as though the cathedral belonged to the cardinal and me.

Ed Koch may have felt as though the cathedral belonged to the cardinal and him, but today marks the day the Lord of that cathedral and all others, arrived on the scene and was recognized by waiting, holy hearts. May God bless the soul and eternity of Mayor Ed, the Cardinal, NYC, the city of my birth, and the world.

Feast of the Presentation of the Lord

“And his father and his mother marveled at what was said about him; and Simeon blessed them and said to Mary his mother, ‘Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is spoken against (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), and thoughts out of many hearts may be revealed’” (Luke 2:33-35).[1]

The feast marks the day Jesus was carried in the arms of His mother, to be presented according to the Law of the Old Covenant into the Temple.  Sarah Ciotti writes:

It celebrates the holy convergence of Jesus the Messiah with His people who faithfully waited for His coming. Traditionally, the feast is celebrated with the greatest of joys and thanksgivings. Forty days after the solemnity of Christmas, Mary and Joseph consecrated Jesus in the Temple of Jerusalem, showing their obedience to God and fulfilling the Mosaic Law. Simeon, a just and devout man, utters a prophecy that Jesus will be the light of the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. Anna thanks God for the child and talks about him to all who looked to God for the deliverance of Jerusalem. Amid their joy looms the shadow of the cross, the opposition Jesus will face and the sword of suffering Mary, too, will experience.

Who really died?

Who really died?

I never saw
The light of day.
Black descended,
Of a kind
I knew not,
Then no more.

How did I know you?

All I knew was you.
You flavored my becoming,
Your genes, my genes,
Your feelings,
Emotional rhythms,
Touching me
By blood connection.
All this,
And then no more.

How did I feel you?

Warmth, gentle rocking
To and fro.
I felt you,
Heart-sounds surrounding me,
Pressing me,
Impressing me.
You whooshed at times
And hummed.
And then no more.

How did I leave you?

I knew anguish
As once I knew you,
Your blood feeding mine,
I knew as parting,
Leaving behind mother
As gift withdrawn,
And bid goodbye.
Too young for endings,
Too soon to die,
And then no more.

How now and by and by?

Sorrow and black
And then the Light.
New Day, as womb,
Enfolded me.
Life ended
To begin again.
And I behold
The Face of God.
I live,
And still I wait for you,
Knowing in love,
There is yet more.

Who really died?

©2013 Joann Nelander

The light of day.
Black descended,
Of a kind
I knew not,
Then no more.

How did I know you?

All I knew was you.
You flavored my becoming,
Your genes, my genes,
Your feelings,
Emotional rhythms,
Touching me
By blood connection.
All this,
And then no more.

How did I feel you?

Warmth, gentle rocking
To and fro.
I felt you,
Heart-sounds surrounding me,
Pressing me,
Impressing me.
You whooshed at times
And hummed.
And then no more.

How did I leave you?

I knew anguish
As once I knew you,
Your blood feeding mine,
I knew as parting,
Leaving behind mother
As gift withdrawn,
And bid goodbye.
Too young for endings,
Too soon to die,
And then no more.

How now and by and by?

Sorrow and black
And then the Light.
New Day, as womb,
Enfolded me.
Life ended
To begin again.
And I behold
The Face of God.
I live,
And still I wait for you,
Knowing in love,
There is yet more.

Who really died?

©2013 Joann Nelander

Healing in the Heart of Jesus

Praying for my loved ones and remembering friends of youth and later life, I began to see how feelings of love welled up within me.  God’s love drew me close to Himself and bade me come away with Him.  I feared to leave off praying for friend after friend as they came to mind that I leave someone untouched by His Mercy and Grace.  Then He came closer still, and filled me now with peace and knowledge.  His Spirit whispered to my heart, “Fear not!”  He gave me to understand that all these, that I recalled and cherished, all these, I held in my heart and rediscovered with each rising memory, all these were enclosed within my very being, held fast by my love.  As His arms embraced me in my prayer to draw me closer, the prayer of my heart for all of these sounded in His ears.  For love of me, wretched sinner though I be, He enfolded all within His bosom, loving purely and eternally the image of His Son emblazoned upon my soul.  He drew all to Himself, knowing, gracing and blessing.  He knew them as I knew them of old and also as He finds them now, in the flesh or in the spirit.  His grace is fresh and waters the ground of their present.  He opens a loving wound in them that invites His love and healing.

Take My Hand

Take My hand,
The very same hand
That in infancy
Grasped My Mother's finger,
Hugged her about the neck.

Look into My Eyes,
The very eyes
That held My Mother's gaze.

Let me take you
To your child,
Never forgotten,
Buried in secret mourning,
No day without pain.

Your little one has a heart of love,
A soul of patience
A spirit of forbearance,
And one solitary prayer.

Playing on the lap of Our Father,
Whispering the heart's desire
Into Abba's listening ear,
Full of Love's expectation,
Your babe smiles eternally
And waits for thee.

Take My hand,
The very same hand
That in infancy
Grasped My Mother's finger,
Hugged her about the neck.
Now is a time to embrace
The gift I give you in Love.

©2012 Joann Nelander

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 Dance?

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

Message from Holy Love

Holy Love
March 20, 2012
Public
Blessed Mother says:  "Praise be to Jesus."
"I am about to advise you concerning the resolution of the last Marian Dogma, and why Heaven asks for prayers toward this end.  Once this Handmaid of the Lord is officially accepted as Mediatrix, Co-Redemptrix and Advocate, the Spirit of Peace will pass over the world.  Every heart will be pervaded by Truth.  It is at that moment in time souls will need to decide either for Truth or against it."
"Truth will be as a winnowing fan separating the chaff from the grain.  All error will be exposed to the Light.  Enmity will transform to friendship."
"I tell you these things now so that no one can say they did not recognize what was taking place.  No one can discount the events as they occur and lose the opportunity for conversion of heart."
"Pay attention!"

Contemplation

I held the ocean to my ear.
I heard it speak with peaceful roar,
And hearing I went off,
Leaving on the shore,
The secret of His presence,
But not forgetting,
What He had said
In that moment of Eternity,
Which is forever
Yet, not of Time.

© 2012 Joann Nelander

Counting Stars

 

I counted stars today.
As prophets and dreamers,
Glimpsing God through the darkness,
My wonder soared.
I, too, beheld
The promise of eternity,
Stretched across the eons.

Mere points of light
In a midnight sky,
Announcing Truth veiled in mystery,
Of things hidden and unseen,
Of ages long past and yet to be.
Who with me
Knows that there is more,
Much more?

Lanterns hung in the heavens
Make of me their lampstand,
That Eternal Light
Might shine more brightly,
Giving voice to creation.

No dumb marvel,
Rather angelic themes,
To sing high praises
In celestial chants,
For all who turn their gaze
Heavenward, counting,
And losing count,
Journey home.

Copyright 2012 Joann Nelander

Awakening

I woke up with God today.
He was with me,
And I smiled.

I am smiling still,
For in His Presence,
I seem to glow,
On the inside, of course.

I hug Christ to me, all gratitude.
Being flighty like a bird,
Anxious to take to wing,
Precisely, because my spirit soars,
I count the grace of moment, a treasure,
and tuck it 'neath my pinions.

Once aloft on wings of love,
I may be distracted,
Attracted by His good creation,
Or attacked by jealous gods,
Envying His majesty,
And hating His Intimacy
With so lowly a creature.

My God, thank You,
For this favor in Time,
That I may be refreshed,
And readied for Eternity,
Where I shall never
Lose sight of You.

Steel me, O Immanuel.
Sharpen my vision,
To see You with me always,
In Your hidden Presence
Within my soul.

©2011 Joann Nelander All rights reserved