Three Holy Poets

THREE HOLY POETS

“Saint” derives from “Sanctus” in Latin, which means “holy.”

SAINT FRANCIS OF ASSISI (1181/82-1226)

Saint Francis of Assisi is a major figure in the history of Western civilization. His troubadour interpretation of Christianity influenced Western philosophy, theology, Christian practice, the arts, indeed, the world at large. While many saints gave Christian witness through a life of poverty, even destitution, Saint Francis, Il Poverello, accorded this difficult virtue his own endearing interpretation, personifying it as “Lady Poverty.” His inimitable love for animals was immortalized in stories the likes of the saint preaching to the birds or taming the wolf of Gubbio. He bore the stigmata of Christ, the first recorded instance in the history of Christianity. Not surprisingly, his legacy is touched by controversy. He has been charged with the sin of prelest by the Orthodox yet described by the contemporary religious and spiritual writer and priest, Richard McBrien, as the archetypal saint. 

Historians observe that his original composition “Canticle of Brother Sun” is one of the first poems, if not the first, written in Italian, or more accurately, an Umbrian dialect of Italian. His charming spin on Biblical psalms of praise personifies the works of divine creation—the moon, the stars, water, fire, and so on—as his siblings, blood relations. Death, in particular, is personified not as a frightful stalker but rather as a blessed sister.

Cantico di Frate Sole (original language Umbrian)

Altissimu, omnipotente bon Signore,

tue so le laude, la gloria e l’honore et onne benedictione.

Ad Te solo, Altissimo, se konfano,

et nullu homo ène dignu te mentouare.

Laudato sie, mi Signore cum tucte le Tue creature,

spetialmente messor lo frate Sole,

lo qual è iorno, et allumini noi per lui.

Et ellu è bellu e radiante cum grande splendore:

de Te, Altissimo, porta significatione.

Laudato si, mi Signore, per sora Luna e le stelle:

in celu l’ài formate clarite et pretiose et belle.

Laudato si, mi Signore, per frate Uento

et per aere et nubilo et sereno et onne tempo,

per lo quale, a le Tue creature dài sustentamento.

Laudato si, mi Signore, per sor’Acqua,

la quale è multo utile et humile et pretiosa et casta.

Laudato si, mi Signore, per frate Focu,

per lo quale ennallumini la nocte:

ed ello è bello et iucundo et robustoso et forte.

Laudato si, mi Signore, per sora nostra matre Terra,

la quale ne sustenta et gouerna,

et produce diuersi fructi con coloriti fior et herba.

Laudato si, mi Signore, per quelli ke perdonano per lo Tuo amore

et sostengono infirmitate et tribulatione.

Beati quelli ke’l sosterranno in pace,

ka da Te, Altissimo, sirano incoronati.

Laudato si mi Signore, per sora nostra Morte corporale,

da la quale nullu homo uiuente pò skappare:

guai a quelli ke morrano ne le peccata mortali;

beati quelli ke trouarà ne le Tue sanctissime uoluntati,

ka la morte secunda no ’l farrà male.

Laudate et benedicete mi Signore et rengratiate

e seruiteli cum grande humilitate.

Text is copied from Wikipedia.

Canticle of Brother Sun (translation adapted from the website Custodia Terrae Sanctae: Franciscan Missionaries Serving in the Holy Land)

Most High, all-powerful, good Lord,

yours are the praises, the glory, and the honor, and all blessing.

To You alone, Most High, do they belong,

and no human is worthy to mention Your name.

Praised be You, my Lord, with all Your creatures,

especially my lord Brother Sun,

who is the day and through whom You give us light.

And he is beautiful and radiant with great splendor:

Of You, Most High One, he bears a likeness.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars:

in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Wind

and through the air, cloudy and serene, and every kind of weather,

through whom You give sustenance to Your creatures.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Water,

who is very useful and humble and precious and chaste.

Praised be You, my Lord, through Brother Fire,

through whom You light the night:

and he is beautiful and playful and robust and strong.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,

who sustains and governs us,

and who produces various fruit with colored flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord, through those who give pardon for Your love

and bear infirmity and tribulation.

Blessed are those who endure in peace,

for by You, Most High, shall they be crowned.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,

from whom no one living can escape:

woe to those who die in mortal sin;

blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will,

for the second death shall do them no harm.

Praise and bless my Lord and give Him thanks

and serve Him with great humility.

Saint Francis in Ecstasy (c. 1480) by Giovanni Bellini

 

Saint Ephrem the Syrian (Died 373 C.E.)

The farther back in time an important historical figure goes, as a rule the less we know about them as an individual. We could say as much about Saint Ephrem the Syrian, monk and deacon. He is known to us chiefly on the basis of his reputation as a prolific composer of religious hymns in Syriac, estimated at over four hundred, some forever lost and others existing only in translation, particularly in Armenian. His popular epithet, “Harp of the Holy Spirit,” recalls, among others, that he employed hymnody as a vehicle for apologetics and religious instruction. Hymns ascribed to him are today still regularly sung in the liturgy, especially the Syriac Christian liturgy. On October 5, 1920, Benedict XV bestowed upon him the title “Doctor of the Church.” Saint Ephrem is known as the “Doctor of the Syrians.”

Although the English translation below is at least two steps removed from the original Syriac, we can still appreciate it as a lyrical exposition of lasting truths about the power of prayer. The text recapitulates key Biblical motifs.

Excerpt from Hymns Preserved in Armenian, No. 1

Prayer divided the Red Sea, allowing the people to cross through its midst; by the same prayer the sea was reunited once more, swallowing up Pharoah, the rebellious and impious. Prayer brought down manna from heaven, prayer brought the quails from the sea, prayer struck the rock in the desert, causing water to gush forth for the thirsty.

Excerpt is from The Syriac Fathers on Prayer and the Spiritual Life, introduced and translated by Sebastian Brock (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Cistercian Publications Inc., 1987), page 36.

Saint Ephrem the Syrian, National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Washington, D.C.

SAINT TERESA OF AVILA (1515-82)

So famous are Autobiography and The Interior Castle that many Roman Catholics are probably not aware that Saint Teresa of Avila is not only a mystical writer of prose but also a poet. She has written at least sixty poems. See, for example, this listing in the Table of Contents of Flame of Love: Poems of the Spanish Mystics (2005):

http://catdir.loc.gov/catdir/toc/ecip0511/2005010978.html

 

—“Table of contents for Flame of love: poems of the Spanish mystics / San Juan de la Cruz (St. John of the Cross), Santa Teresa de Jesús (St. Teresa of Avila); English translation by Elegies,” University of Toronto LibrarySearch

Saint Teresa of Avila is popularly revered in the Roman Catholic Church and widely celebrated in world culture. A canonized saint, very rare in Roman Catholicism, Saint Teresa is further distinguished by two scarce honors—co-founder, along with Saint John of the Cross, of the Discalced Carmelites, one of the major Roman Catholic religious orders; and the title “Doctor of the Church,” the “Doctor of Prayer.” Astonishingly detailed and highly original, her mystical writings contribute, along with those of Saint John of the Cross, in a major way to our world heritage. Honored as a national hero in Spain, she is extolled there as a spiritual and literary luminary of the Siglo de Oro or Golden Age.

The poem below is notable for, among others, its modern style, namely, elliptical idiom (very nearly so), and the absence of rhyme and punctuation. The close of the poem is explosive and emphatic—“solo Dios basta.”

Nada Te Turbe (original language Spanish)

nada te turbe

nada te espante

todo se pasa

Dios no se muda

la paciencia

todo lo alcanza

quien a Dios tiene

nada la falta

solo Dios basta

Let Nothing Upset You

let nothing upset you

let nothing startle you

all things pass

God does not change

patience

wins all it seeks

whoever has God

lacks nothing

God alone is enough

The above translation is put together from various sources.

nada te turbe in Saint Teresa of Avila’s original handwriting