Consolaciones de Sentido

In my reading this semester of St. Catherine of Siena, I've become frustrated at not being able to read her words in her original language. Although I haven't studied Spanish in years, I can still speak it to some degree, and know well that translation CAN make a huge difference. One of the translator's own notes has disturbed me such that I wish I could read Italian (St. Catherine's language) to see if the changes he felt he had to make impact the meaning intended in the revelations or not.

So it was balm to my soul today, thanks to Mark at Dominican Idaho, to read the consoling words of St. Teresa of Avila in her own language (and trust me, it's even more beautiful in Spanish):

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;
Solo Dios basta.

Below is my own translation:

Let nothing disturb you.
Let nothing frighten you.
All things pass;
God never changes.
All is obtained through Patience.
Whoever is possessed by God
lacks nothing.
God alone is enough.


I'm going to memorize this consoling advice in Spanish. There is something in these words, which, in the original language, is like a balm to my soul, like the remembered words of my own mother when I was sick or fearful. There is something eternal, and I can almost hear the Saint's own voice echoing through the centuries, reminding me of the eternal attribute of our Heavenly Father.

Because, no matter what happens, no matter the generation, the century, the decade, or the most minute moment, God never changes. As dear St. Teresa of Avila has said:

Solo Dios basta.

Amen.