St Peter's Basilica,
Vatican [Web Gallery of Art]
St Teresa of Ávila, who lived from 1515 to 1582 in Spain, could never have imagined the internet, though if she were around today I'm certain that she'd be involved in this digital continent, as Pope Benedict calls it, and as a woman who travelled considerably, despite being a contemplative nun, she would certain journey along the digital highways - las 'calles' digitales - of Pope Francis.
Eighty-three followers of St Teresa, Discalced Carmelite nuns from 24 countries, recently created a virtual choir to sing and record the saint's poem Nada te turbe - Let nothing disturb you. Sr Claire Sokol of the Carmelites in Reno, Nevada, wrote the music.
Nada te turbe Let nothing disturb you
Nada te turbe,
nada te espante,
todo
se pasa,
Dios
no se muda;
la
paciencia
todo
lo alcanza;
quien a Dios tiene
nada le falta:
Sólo Dios basta.
Let nothing disturb you,
let
nothing frighten you,
everything
passes,
but God stays.
Patience reaches it all;
he who has God
nothing lacks:
God alone suffices.
Eleva tu pensamiento,
al
cielo sube,
por
nada te acongojes,
nada
te turbe.
Lift your thinking,
raise
up to heaven,
let
nothing anguish you,
let nothing disturb you.
A Jesucristo sigue
con
pecho grande,
y,
venga lo que venga,
nada
te espante.
Follow Jesus Christ
with
an open heart,
and,
no matter what may come,
let nothing frighten you.
¿Ves la gloria del mundo?
Es
gloria vana;
nada
tiene de estable,
todo
se pasa.
See the glory of the world?
It's
vainglory;
it is
not everlasting,
everything passes.
Aspira a lo celeste,
que
siempre dura;
fiel
y rico en promesas,
Dios
no se muda.
Yearn for the celestial
that
lasts forever:
faithful
and rich in promises,
God doesn't change.
Ámala cual merece
bondad
inmensa;
pero
no hay amor fino
sin
la paciencia.
Love it the way it deserves
immense
kindness;
but
there is not fine love
without the patience.
Confianza y fe viva
mantenga
el alma,
que
quien cree y espera
todo
lo alcanza.
Confidence and alive faith
let
the soul maintain,
that
he who believes and hopes
reaches it all.
Del infierno acosado
aunque
se viere,
burlará
sus furores
quien
a Dios tiene.
Although harassed by hell
one
may see himself,
he
who has God
will defeat its rage.
Vénganle desamparos,
cruces,
desgracias;
siendo
Dios tu tesoro
nada
te falta.
Come abandonment,
crosses,
misfortune;
God
being your treasure,
you lack nothing.
Id, pues, bienes del mundo;
id
dichas vanas;
aunque
todo lo pierda,
sólo
Dios basta.
Go, then,
wordly goods
go, vain happiness;
even if everything is lost
God alone suffices.
Copy of an original painting by Fray Juan de la Miseria when St Teresa was 61.
My thanks to Sr Mary Carmela OCD of the Carmel of Vilvoorde, Belgium who sent me the link to the video. Sr Carmela belonged to the Carmel of Cebu and has written in MISYONonline.com, the magazine of the Columbans in the Philippines of which I am editor, of how three Filipino nuns left their communities to join that in Vilvoorde, founded in 1469 and the oldest existing community of Carmelite nuns in the world. Another article she wrote for MISYONonline.com, Touches of God, led Sr Marie Paul Thérèse From Iligan to Vilvoorde (via the Carmel in Cebu).
Sr Marie Paul Thérèse kneeling on right with Sr Mary Carmela standing behind her
English
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