"Jesus, the Good Shepherd, is at the same time light and love.
That is to say, He is the truth in charity."
Pope Pius XII
Lord Jesus, let me be attached to You in truth and love. Grant that I may always follow You as my Shepherd amid the perils and trials of this life.
Micki,
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry that I am so late to post this, but I lacked free time yesterday.
Subject to likely corrections from people who can translate French better than I can, I dare to post the following attempt to translate your lovely card.
John
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[At the top:]
I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD,
I know my sheep,
and my sheep know me.
[At the bottom:]
O my dear sheep, feed only on that which is holy and truly lovable.
You will find in my Heart nourishment for your souls.
Blessed is the man who heeds the call of Jesus and walks in His [ways?].
[On the back:]
WISDOM, PIETY, OBEDIENCE,
MEEKNESS, FIDELITY
To the foot of the Cross, one fair night,
The divine Jesus comes to sit.
Close to Him, his dear sheep
Are grazing on the grass of the fields.
He offers them His tender love.
To speak to each of them,
He tells them to come, one by one,
That he may show pity to the unfaithful.
To the first, he says, "Child,
It is necessary to be prudent and wise
To have a share in me one day.
It is necessary to think often of Me,
To have My holy Name on your lips
In the morning upon awakening
And in the evening when sweet sleep
Comes to alight on your bed."
To another, He says,
"Devotion is useful in every matter.
Like a pure wave, it showers
The garden of holiness
And preserves in its beauty
The tender flower of innocence
Where the God of all goodness
Has placed all His kindness."
John - Wow...this was a long one and you tackled it with gusto. Thank you. I know other enjoy reading your translations and just so you know, I do too.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Micki.
ReplyDeleteI know just enough words in other languages to be successfully tempted into translating holy-card texts (even if they may take 30 to 60 minutes, as this one did)!
Arriving at the final, full meaning of a text (which is often very profound) always makes the effort worthwhile. In other words, I've never said to myself, "Gee, I wish that I had not translated that one!"
God be with you.
John
Dearest Micki,
ReplyDeleteThankfully, I scrolled down too see this. Why, this is amazing! Those words are as beautiful as the picture!
John, I tell you what, I will make it truly worthwhile for you. This day is mainly offered for you! :-)
Love to you both,
Easter:-)
Thank you again John. I know the good Lord wil consider all that time spent in translating as a time of prayer on your behalf. Just being able to read your words made me feel so close to HIM. We are so blessed to have this faith in HIM.
ReplyDeleteEaster - You are so kind to offer your day for John. I will join you also (Thursday, 5-8-08)