Friday, November 13, 2009

Seek a place in your soul for Jesus

"God and always God. Not even the heart is fed up, nor the soul finds rest outside of God.

Men don't tell you anything. You don't find anything in books; only in the silence of everything and everyone..., in that silence that not even thought dares to disturb, in that silence that muses on love and hope, only there is it possible to live. Outside of that, everything is noise, turmoil. Outside of God, there is nothing; peace is only in God, and God lives in the soul of his friends, and while we do not  seek God in the silence and in prayer, while we do not remain still..., we will not find peace, nor will we find God.

Only in silence is it possible to live, but not in the silence of words and deeds..., no; it is something very difficult to explain... It is the silence of one who loves much, very much, and that does not know what to say, nor what to think, nor what to desire, nor what to do... Only God inside there, very quiet..., waiting, hoping, I don't know..., the Lord is very good.

Poor suffering soul..., are you seeking rest? You will not find it in anything or anyone... Hush a little, seek a place in your soul, very hidden, very quiet, and put there a little love for Jesus... and you will see; neither sorrows nor joys will disturb your peace, and even the waiting [period] will become sweet. Jesus in your soul!"

-- Hermano Rafael Arnáiz Barón: Obras Completas prepared by Fr M Alberico Feliz Carbajal, ocso. Translated by ocdsister.

Note: There are two main types of translators: dynamic and literal. I'm a literal translator. Thus, I have kept Br Rafael's (now Saint) writing style even though a more dynamic rendition would make for a smooth reading in English.

2 comments:

Mark said...

Thanks for this wonderful post.

I very much appreciate your literal approach to translation.

When translating spiritual writers, I think it's important that the translator should not interpose himself/herself between the reader and the author.

Maybe the dynamic approach is more suited to translating literary texts?

Anyway, thank you for this particular piece - and, indeed, for all the other posts on your lovely blog.

ocd sister said...

Hi, Mark!

I'm glad you liked the post. I apologize for not replying sooner. We lost our DSL connection on Vet's day.
I agree with you 100%. Dynamic translations are usually suitable for literary works such as short stories and novels. But when it comes to spiritual / theological pieces, in my experience it is better to stick to a literal translation.
More translations coming up soon...

God bless you! And please pray for me.