"Ballad of Reading Gaol" - Version I, Part II by Oscar Wilde (in English)

II.

Six weeks our guardsman walked the yard,

In a suit of shabby grey:

His cricket cap was on his head,

And his step seemed light and gay,

But I never saw a man who looked

So wistfully at the day.

I never saw a man who looked

With such a wistful eye

Upon that little tent of blue

Which prisoners call the sky,

And at every wandering cloud that trailed

Its raveled fleeces by.

He did not wring his hands, as do

Those witless men who dare

To try to rear the changeling Hope

In the cave of black Despair:

He only looked upon the sun,

And drank the morning air.

He did not wring his hands nor weep,

Nor did he peek or pine,

But he drank the air as though it held

Some healthful anodyne;

With open mouth he drank the sun

As though it had been wine!

And I and all the souls in pain,

Who tramped the other ring,

Forgot if we ourselves had done

A great or little thing,

And watched with gaze of dull amaze

The man who had to swing.

And strange it was to see him pass

With a step so light and gay,

And strange it was to see him look

So wistfully at the day,

And strange it was to think that he

Had such a debt to pay.

For oak and elm have pleasant leaves

That in the spring-time shoot:

But grim to see is the gallows-tree,

With its adder-bitten root,

And, green or dry, a man must die

Before it bears its fruit!

The loftiest place is that seat of grace

For which all worldlings try:

But who would stand in hempen band

Upon a scaffold high,

And through a murderer's collar take

His last look at the sky?

It is sweet to dance to violins

When Love and Life are fair:

To dance to flutes, to dance to lutes

Is delicate and rare:

But it is not sweet with nimble feet

To dance upon the air!

So with curious eyes and sick surmise

We watched him day by day,

And wondered if each one of us

Would end the self-same way,

For none can tell to what red Hell

His sightless soul may stray.

At last the dead man walked no more

Amongst the Trial Men,

And I knew that he was standing up

In the black dock's dreadful pen,

And that never would I see his face

In God's sweet world again.

Like two doomed ships that pass in storm

We had crossed each other's way:

But we made no sign, we said no word,

We had no word to say;

For we did not meet in the holy night,

But in the shameful day.

A prison wall was round us both,

Two outcast men were we:

The world had thrust us from its heart,

And God from out His care:

And the iron gin that waits for Sin

Had caught us in its snare.

“Ode To Autumn” by Lord Alfred Douglas (in English)

Thou sombre lady of down-bended head,

And weary lashes drooping to the cheek,

With sweet sad fold of lips uncomforted,

And listless hands more tired with strife than meek ;

Turn here thy soft brown feet, and to my heart,

Unmatched to Summer's golden minstrelsy,

Or Spring's shrill pipe of joy, sing once again

Sad songs, and I to thee

Well tuned, will answer that according part

That jarred with those young seasons' gladder strain.

Give me thy empty branches for the biers

Of perished joys, thy winds to sigh my sighs,

Thy falling leaves to count my falling tears,

And all thy mists to dim my aching eyes.

There is no comfort in thy lips, and none

In thy cold arms, nor pity in thy breast,

But better 'tis in gray hours to have grief,

Than to affront the sun

With sunless woe, when every flower and leaf

Conspires to make the season merriest.

The drip of rain-drops on the sodden earth,

The trampled mud-stained grass, the shifting leaves,

The silent hurrying birds, the sickly birth

Of the red sun in misty skies, the sheaves

Of rotting ruined corn, the sudden gusts

Of angry winds, the clouds that fly all night

Before the stormy moon, thy desolate moans,

All thy decays and rusts,

Thy deaths and dirges, these are tuned aright

To my unquiet soul that sorrow owns.

But ah ! thy gentler mood, the honeyed kiss

Of thy faint watery sunshine, thy pale gold,

Thy dark red berries, and the ambergris

That paints the lingering leaves, while on the mould,

Their dead make bronze and sepia carpetings

That lightly rustle in thy quiet breath.

These are the shadows of departed smiles,

The ghosts of happy things ;

These break again the broken heart, the whiles

Thou goest onto winter, I to Death.

"O Sorriso do Tio Pavel Pleffel" (Chapter VIII) by José Thiesen (in Portuguese)

            Foi u’a manhã de sol, clara e limpa.

        Ele deixou-me só no quarto para que me vestisse. A casa estava estranhamente vazia e silenciosa. Não vi sinal de minha mãe, coisa estranhíssima, pois era suposto vê-la a limpar a casa enquanto ouvia algum programa na televisão.

            Encontrei o sr. Pavel na rua.

          Quando acheguei-me a ele, Pavel começou a esquadrinhar o céu, como à procura de alguma coisa. Então, derrepente, ele exclamou:

            - Táxi! Cá em baixo, por favor!

        Ele movia a cabeça, como a acompanhar alguma coisa descendo do céu e parando à nossa frente, mas na estrada, junto ao cordão da calçada. Eu não via coisa alguma, mas já preparando-me para coisas não ordinárias, como a minha casa vazia, a despeito de mamãe, e o laboratório do tio Clóvis, simplesmente o acompanhei, preparando-me para tudo.

           O sr. Pavel avançou, pois, desceu o cordão da calçada e ficou de lado para ele, como se tivesse entrado em algum veículo.

            - Venha, disse ele e simplesmente obedeci, ficando ao seu lado.

          Eu sentia-me um pouco ridículo, parado junto ao meio-fio ao lado daquele homem tão sério que então, falou como se se dirigisse a alguém à sua frente: O salão de festas, por favor.

          E então, uma... força, talvez, nos pegou por tras obrigando-nos a sentar no ar e ergueu-nos, rumo ao céu, acima das nuvens!

Foi das coisas mais excitantes que jamais experimentei! O chão ficando lá longe, as pessoas ficando tão pequeninas que desapareciam , as ruas tornando-se um emaranhado de linhas, de riscos até chegarmos às nuvens que nos esconderam todo o bulicio do mundo lá embaixo!

"The Sleepies" by Carl Barks (in English)

art by Carl Barks - Walt Disney's Donald Duck v1 #81 - Dell, 1961.

 

"Ecclesiastes" (Chapter IX) by Qoheleth (in English)

Chapter 9

1 All this I have kept in mind and recognized: the just, the wise, and their deeds are in the hand of God. Love from hatred man cannot tell; both appear equally vain, 2 in that there is the same lot for all, for the just and the wicked, for the good and the bad, for the clean and the unclean, for him who offers sacrifice and him who does not. As it is for the good man, so it is for the sinner; as it is for him who swears rashly, so it is for him who fears an oath. 3 Among all the things that happen under the sun, this is the worst, that things turn out the same for all. Hence the minds of men are filled with evil, and madness is in their hearts during life; and afterward they go to the dead. 4 Indeed, for any among the living there is hope; a live dog is better off than a dead lion. 5 For the living know that they are to die, but the dead no longer know anything. There is no further recompense for them, because all memory of them is lost. 6 For them, love and hatred and rivalry have long since perished. They will never again have part in anything that is done under the sun.

7 Go, eat your bread with joy

and drink your wine with a merry heart,

because it is now that God favors your works.

8 At all times let your garments be white,

and spare not the perfume for your head.

9 Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of the fleeting life that is granted you under the sun. This is your lot in life, for the toil of your labors under the sun. 10 Anything you can turn your hand to, do with what power you have; for there will be no work, nor reason, nor knowledge, nor wisdom in the nether world where you are going...

11 Again I saw under the sun that the race is not won by the swift, nor the battle by the valiant, nor a livelihood by the wise, nor riches by the shrewd, nor favor by the experts; for a time of calamity comes to all alike. 12 Man no more knows his own time than fish taken in the fatal net, or birds trapped in the snare; like these the children of men are caught when the evil time falls suddenly upon them.

13 On the other hand I saw this wise deed under the sun, which I thought sublime. 14 Against a small city with few men in it advanced a mighty king, who surrounded it and threw up great siegeworks about it. 15 But in the city lived a man who, though poor, was wise, and he delivered it through his wisdom. Yet no one remembered this poor man. 16 Though I had said, "Wisdom is better than force," yet the wisdom of the poor man is despised and his words go unheeded. 17 "The quiet words of the wise are better heeded than the shout of a ruler of fools" - ! 18 "A fly that dies can spoil the perfumer's ointment, and a single slip can ruin much that is good."

Homily of Pope Francis at Cathedral of Myeong-dong, Seoul (in English)

APOSTOLIC JOURNEY

OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

TO THE REPUBLIC OF KOREA

ON THE OCCASION OF THE 6th ASIAN YOUTH DAY

(13-18 AUGUST 2014)

HOLY MASS FOR PEACE AND RECONCILIATION

HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS

Cathedral of Myeong-dong (Seoul)

Monday, 18 August 2014

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As my stay in Korea draws to a close, I thank God for the many blessings he has bestowed upon this beloved country, and in a special way, upon the Church in Korea. Among those blessings I especially treasure the experience we have all had in these recent days of the presence of so many young pilgrims from throughout Asia. Their love of Jesus and their enthusiasm for the spread of his Kingdom have been an inspiration to us all.

My visit now culminates in this celebration of Mass, in which we implore from God the grace of peace and reconciliation. This prayer has a particular resonance on the Korean peninsula. Today’s Mass is first and foremost a prayer for reconciliation in this Korean family. In the Gospel, Jesus tells us how powerful is our prayer when two or three of us join in asking for something (cf. Mt 18:19-20). How much more when an entire people raises its heartfelt plea to heaven!

The first reading presents God’s promise to restore to unity and prosperity a people dispersed by disaster and division. For us, as for the people of Israel, this is a promise full of hope: it points to a future which God is even now preparing for us. Yet this promise is inseparably tied to a command: the command to return to God and wholeheartedly obey his law (cf. Dt 30:2-3). God’s gifts of reconciliation, unity and peace are inseparably linked to the grace of conversion, a change of heart which can alter the course of our lives and our history, as individuals and as a people.

At this Mass, we naturally hear this promise in the context of the historical experience of the Korean people, an experience of division and conflict which has lasted for well over sixty years. But God’s urgent summons to conversion also challenges Christ’s followers in Korea to examine the quality of their own contribution to the building of a truly just and humane society. It challenges each of you to reflect on the extent to which you, as individuals and communities, show evangelical concern for the less fortunate, the marginalized, those without work and those who do not share in the prosperity of the many. And it challenges you, as Christians and Koreans, firmly to reject a mindset shaped by suspicion, confrontation and competition, and instead to shape a culture formed by the teaching of the Gospel and the noblest traditional values of the Korean people.

In today’s Gospel, Peter asks the Lord: “If my brother sins against me, how often must I forgive him? As many as seven times?” To which the Lord replies: “Not seven times, I tell you, but seventy times seven” (Mt 18:21-22). These words go to the very heart of Jesus’ message of reconciliation and peace. In obedience to his command, we ask our heavenly Father daily to forgive us our sins, “as we forgive those who sin against us”. Unless we are prepared to do this, how can we honestly pray for peace and reconciliation?

Jesus asks us to believe that forgiveness is the door which leads to reconciliation. In telling us to forgive our brothers unreservedly, he is asking us to do something utterly radical, but he also gives us the grace to do it. What appears, from a human perspective, to be impossible, impractical and even at times repugnant, he makes possible and fruitful through the infinite power of his cross. The cross of Christ reveals the power of God to bridge every division, to heal every wound, and to reestablish the original bonds of brotherly love.

This, then, is the message which I leave you as I conclude my visit to Korea. Trust in the power of Christ’s cross! Welcome its reconciling grace into your own hearts and share that grace with others! I ask you to bear convincing witness to Christ’s message of reconciliation in your homes, in your communities and at every level of national life. I am confident that, in a spirit of friendship and cooperation with other Christians, with the followers of other religions, and with all men and women of good will concerned for the future of Korean society, you will be a leaven of the Kingdom of God in this land. Thus our prayers for peace and reconciliation will rise to God from ever more pure hearts and, by his gracious gift, obtain that precious good for which we all long.

Let us pray, then, for the emergence of new opportunities for dialogue, encounter and the resolution of differences, for continued generosity in providing humanitarian assistance to those in need, and for an ever greater recognition that all Koreans are brothers and sisters, members of one family, one people. They speak the same language.

Before leaving Korea, I wish to thank President Park Geun-hye, the civil and ecclesiastical authorities and all those who in any way helped to make this visit possible. I especially wish to address a word of personal appreciation to the priests of Korea, who daily labor in the service of the Gospel and the building up of God’s people in faith, hope and love. I ask you, as ambassadors of Christ and ministers of his reconciling love (cf. 2 Cor 5:18-20), to continue to build bridges of respect, trust and harmonious cooperation in your parishes, among yourselves, and with your bishops. Your example of unreserved love for the Lord, your faithfulness and dedication to your ministry, and your charitable concern for those in need, contribute greatly to the work of reconciliation and peace in this country.

Dear brothers and sisters, God calls us to return to him and to hearken to his voice, and he promises to establish us on the land in even greater peace and prosperity than our ancestors knew. May Christ’s followers in Korea prepare for the dawning of that new day, when this land of the morning calm will rejoice in God’s richest blessings of harmony and peace! Amen.

Addition to the Prayer of the Faithful

Mass for Peace and Reconciliation

Seoul, 18 August 2014

Prayer for Cardinal Filoni e for Iraq:

            For Cardinal Fernando Filoni, who cannot be with us because he was sent by the Pope to the suffering people of Iraq in order to assist our persecuted and dispossessed brothers and sisters, and all the religious minorities who are afflicted in that country. May the Lord be close to him in his mission.

Sonnet XIV by William Shakespeare (in English)

Not from the stars do I my judgement pluck;

And yet methinks I have Astronomy,

But not to tell of good or evil luck,

Of plagues, of dearths, or seasons' quality;

Nor can I fortune to brief minutes tell,

Pointing to each his thunder, rain and wind,

Or say with princes if it shall go well

By oft predict that I in heaven find:

But from thine eyes my knowledge I derive,

And, constant stars, in them I read such art

As truth and beauty shall together thrive,

If from thyself, to store thou wouldst convert;

   Or else of thee this I prognosticate:

   Thy end is truth's and beauty's doom and date.