St John of the Cross and Roy Campbell, two poets

St John of the Cross

Attributed to Francisco de Zurbarán [Wikipedia]

Feast Day 14 December (24 November in the Old Calendar)

Crisis Magazine today (13 December) carries an interesting article about South African poet Roy Campbell (1901-1957) written by Joseph Pearce, under the intriguing title A Convert Among Communists and Carmelites. I have used translations by Roy Campbell of poems by St John of the Cross (1542-1591) on this blog but never knew until I read Pearce's article of the intimate connection between the poet and the archives of the saint given to him by the Carmelite friars in Toledo, Spain, during the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939) for safekeeping.

Two of Campbell's translations of the saint's poems are in the English-language Breviary approved for use by the hierarchies of Australia, England & Wales and Ireland in 1973. Below is one of them in the Spanish of St John of the Cross and the English of Roy Campbell. The English subtitles in the video are different from the latter.

Del Verbo Divino

San Juan de la Cruz

Translated by Roy Campbell

Del Verbo divino
la Virgen preñada
viene de camino :
¡ si les dais posada !

Concerning the Divine Word

St John of the Cross

With the divinest Word, the Virgin

Made pregnant, down the road

Comes walking, if you'll grant her

A room in your abode 

A View of Toledo

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

El Greco's landscape of Toledo depicts the Priory in which John was held captive, just below the old Muslim Alcazar and perched on the banks of the Tajo on high cliffs. (From Wikipedia).

From the Spiritual Canticle of St John of the Cross

(Office of Readings, Feast of St John of the Cross, 14 December)

There are depths to be fathomed in Christ. He is like a rich mine with many recesses containing treasures, and no matter how men try to fathom them the end is never reached. Rather, in each recess, men keep on finding here and there new veins of new riches.

St John wrote much of the Spiritual Canticle while he was imprisoned by other Carmelite friars.

From The Ascent of Mount Carmel by St John of the Cross

(Office of Readings, Advent Week 2, Monday)

When [God] gave us, as he did, his Son, who is his one Word, he spoke everything to us, once and for all in that one Word. There is nothing further for him to say.

I've highlighted these two texts because so often we can get caught in what are claimed to be revelations from God but that are not in harmony with the teaching of the Church. Such 'revelations' can lead us away from God.

The Annunciation (1433-34)

Blessed Fra Angelico [Web Gallery of Art]

The Incarnation

by St John of the Cross

Translated by Roy Campbell

Then He summoned an archangel, 

Saint Gabriel: and when he came, 

Sent him forth to find a maiden, 

     Mary was her name.

Only through her consenting love 

Could the mystery be preferred 

That the Trinity in human 

     Flesh might clothe the Word.

Though the three Persons worked the wonder 

It only happened to the One. 

So was the Word made incarnation 

     In Mary's womb, a son.

So He who only had a Father 

Now had a Mother undefiled, 

Though not as ordinary maids 

     Had she conceived the Child.

By Mary, and with her own flesh 

He was clothed in His own frame: 

Both Son of God and Son of Man 

     Together had one name.  

The Annunciation (1442-43)

Blessed Fra Angelico [Web Gallery of Art]

'So was the Word made incarnation / In Mary’s womb, a son.' The Immaculate Conception

The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, observed on 8 December, is a holyday of obligation in many countries, eg, Ireland, the Philippines. 

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Gospel Luke 1:26-38 (New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)  

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ 

Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

The Annunciation

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

This is but one of many paintings of the Annunciation by El Greco.

The Incarnation

by St John of the Cross

Translation from the Spanish original by Roy Campbell

Then He summoned an archangel,
Saint Gabriel: and when he came,
Sent him forth to find a maiden,
Mary was her name.

Only through her consenting love
Could the mystery be preferred
That the Trinity in human
Flesh might clothe the Word.

Though the three Persons worked the wonder
It only happened in the One.
So was the Word made incarnation
In Mary’s womb, a son.

So He who only had a Father
Now had a Mother undefiled,
Though not as ordinary maids
Had she conceived the Child.

By Mary, and with her own flesh
He was clothed in His own frame:
Both Son of God and Son of Man
Together had one name.

This poem is in The Divine Office (Breviary) approved by the hierarchies of Australia, England and Wales, Ireland. I found it online here.

Ave Maria

Setting by Franz Biebl, Sung by Voces8

Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae et concepit de Spiritu sancto.
(The angel of God declared unto Mary and she conceived of the Holy Spirit.)

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.

(Hail Mary, Full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.)

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

(Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, Holy Mary,

pray for us now and in the hour of our death. Amen.)

'So was the Word made incarnation / In Mary’s womb, a son.' Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception

The Virgin of the Immaculate Conception

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, observed on 8 December, is a holyday of obligation in many countries, eg, Ireland, the Philippines. This year it falls on the Second Sunday of Advent, which takes precedence over it. So the Solemnity is transferred to Monday 9 December. However, the obligation to attend Mass does not carry over.

Readings (New American Bible: Philippines, USA)

Readings (Jerusalem Bible: Australia, England & Wales, India [optional], Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa)

Gospel Luke 1:26-38 (New Revised Standard Version, Anglicised Catholic Edition, Canada)  

In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. And he came to her and said, ‘Greetings, favoured one! The Lord is with you.’ But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. The angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. He will reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom there will be no end.’ 

Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I am a virgin?’ The angel said to her, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. For nothing will be impossible with God.’ Then Mary said, ‘Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.’ Then the angel departed from her.

The Annunciation

El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

This is but one of many paintings of the Annunciation by El Greco.

The Incarnation

by St John of the Cross

Translation by Roy Campbell

Then He summoned an archangel,
Saint Gabriel: and when he came,
Sent him forth to find a maiden,
Mary was her name.

Only through her consenting love
Could the mystery be preferred
That the Trinity in human
Flesh might clothe the Word.

Though the three Persons worked the wonder
It only happened in the One.
So was the Word made incarnation
In Mary’s womb, a son.

So He who only had a Father
Now had a Mother undefiled,
Though not as ordinary maids
Had she conceived the Child.

By Mary, and with her own flesh
He was clothed in His own frame:
Both Son of God and Son of Man
Together had one name.

This poem is in The Divine Office (Breviary) approved by the hierarchies of Australia, England and Wales, Ireland. I found it online here.

Ave Maria

Setting by Franz Biebl, Sung by Voces8

Angelus Domini nuntiavit Mariae et concepit de Spiritu sancto.
(The angel of God declared unto Mary and she conceived of the Holy Spirit.)

Ave Maria, gratia plena, Dominus tecum. Benedicta tu in mulieribus, Et benedictus fructus ventris tui, Jesus.

(Hail Mary, Full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.)

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis peccatoribus, Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis, nunc et in hora mortis nostrae. Amen.

(Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, Holy Mary,

pray for us now and in the hour of our death. Amen.)

Ireland rejects life

The Nativity, Federico Fiori Barocci [Web Gallery of Art]

After I celebrated Mass yesterday in a Dublin parish a number of women approached me to tell me how devastated they were by the overwhelming majority that voted in the Republic of Ireland on Friday 25 May in favour of removing the Eighth Amendment from the Irish Constitution that protected the right to life of both the life of a pregnant mother and of the child she was carrying. The voters chose to replace this with a sentence that will allow the Oireachtas, the Irish legislature, to legalise abortion.

The government plans to introduce legislation that will allow for abortion for any reason up to twelve weeks and in limited circumstances thereafter.

The women who spoke to me were shell-shocked, as I was myself with the 67 percent to 33 percent in favour of change. One of them told me that she had felt very depressed going to Mass but that my homily had given her some hope. I had simply emphasised, without referring directly to the referendum, that the Holy Trinity is the source of all life, that only God can give life and end our earthly life and that the Holy Trinity wants us to share their life for all eternity. This woman's words were very similar to what my father had said to me after my mother's funeral Mass in 1970.

A friend from overseas who is married to an Irishman here in Ireland emailed me to express her disappointment at what she saw as the lack of leadership from bishops, priests and religious on the matter. Most of the bishops, as far as I know, had issued letters to their people and those I read were clear and charitable.

But because of the scandals caused in the last few decades in Ireland of priests abusing children, of religious treating some children with cruelty in homes they were managing, in many cases on behalf of the State for children seen to be 'in trouble' or 'troublesome', bishops, priests and religious no longer have any moral authority, or very little at the most, even if they have had no connection whatever with what happened in the past.

The pro-repeal movement, who wanted abortion to be legalised widely - it was made legal in very limited circumstances in 2013 - made great use of the word 'compassion'. They emphasised the many women 'forced' to go to England for abortions because they could not have one in Ireland. They emphasised certain cases that were, without any doubt, very difficult and distressing for the parents involved and where they judged that the better thing was to have their child aborted. Some of these spoke specifically of the child they loved.

One of the main emphases of the pro-repeal group was 'healthcare for women'. It would seem that this includes the abortion of a healthy baby being carried by a healthy mother. Yet there are hundreds of patients in Irish hospitals in need of genuine medical care who are lying on trolleys, sometimes for days.

There was no mention by the pro-repealers of the rights of the unborn child, no compassion whatever. And there was no mention of the responsibilities and rights of fathers. They can simply walk away from the mother of their child and from the child. Or their desire to take care of the child can be simply ignored.

In the Philippines I found myself a number of times helping young women who found themselves with an unplanned pregnancy. There were always others willing to help in very practical, loving ways, caring both for the young mother and the child before and after birth. Not one of these mothers every regretted giving birth to their child. And some of the mothers I knew who were not married were welcomed as teachers in Catholic schools.

What disturbs me right now is that some legislators in Ireland who very publicly opposed the change are now saying that they will not oppose the proposed legislation, though as far as I know none have said that they will support it. At least one, Senator Rónán Mullen, whom I know personally, has said that he would work 'to try and curb the worst excesses of what the Government is proposing'. I have no doubt whatever that he will but some other pro-life politicians may need some encouragement so as not to lose heart.

Breda O'Brien, a teacher, columnist and patron of Iona Institute, reflects on the aftermath of the referendum in The Irish Times today: Anti-abortion movement has not given up and will not disappear.


John Waters, another strongly pro-life Irish writer, reflects on the vote in  First Things, an American review: Ireland: An Obituary.

The Visitation, El Greco [Web Gallery of Art]

Blessed is the fruit of your womb (Luke 1: 42)

Del Verbo Divino

San Juan de la Cruz

Del Verbo divino

la Virgen preñada

viene de camino:

¡ si les dais posada !

Concerning the Divine Word

St John of the Cross

With the divinest Word, the Virgin

Made pregnant, down the road

Comes walking, if you'll grant her

A room in your abode. 

Translation by Roy Campbell

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Rachel's Vineyard

One of a number of ministries to both women and men who have been directly affected by abortion is Rachel's Vineyard. I have connections with Rachel's Vineyard, Ireland, which has brought its healing retreat to such places as the Faroe Islands, South Korea and Lebanon.