Untitled trova by Unknown Writer (in Portuguese)

Eu não quero nem brincando

Dizer adeus a ninguém:

Quem parte, leva saudades,

Quem fica, saudades tem.

Untitled Poem by José Thiesen (in Portuguese)

Ao F. M. Pires

Se eu fosse,
se eu corresse,
se eu entrasse
no teu coração,

se eu pulasse,
se eu falasse,
se eu faceasse
o medo em mim,

se eu pudesse,
se eu criasse,
se eu fizesse
o beijo em ti,

se eu falasse,
se eu pensasse,
se eu mostrasse
o meu amor,

talvez então,
mas só então
os nossos olhos
o amor trovariam.

Porém, que sabes
das sombras que só eu vi?

Sombras que são medos

de superar,
de vencer,
de avançar
sobre o próprio medo;

de recuperar,
de alargar,
de possuir
a coragem de vencê-los;

de sonhar,
de gozar,
de poder

ultrapassar a mim mesmo
e desfazer essa solidão
encrustrada em mim.

"The Hotel" by Unknown Writer (in English)

art by Jim Starling - Weird Mystery Tales v1 #4 - DC Comics, February 1973.

"On Reverence for the Lord's Body and on the Cleanliness of the Altar" by St. Francis of Assisi (in English)

translated by Father Pascal Robinson [1905].

Let us all consider, O clerics, the great sin and ignorance of which some are guilty regarding the most holy Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ and His most holy Name and the written words of consecration. For we know that the Body cannot exist until after these words of consecration. For we have nothing and we see nothing of the Most High Himself in this world except [His] Body and Blood, names and words by which we have been created and redeemed from death to life.

            But let all those who administer such most holy mysteries, especially those who do so indifferently, consider among themselves how poor the chalices, corporals, and linens may be where the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ is sacrificed. And by many It is left in wretched places and carried by the way disrespectfully, received unworthily and administered to others indiscriminately. Again His Names and written words are sometimes trampled under foot, for the sensual man perceiveth not these things that are of God. Shall we not by all these things be moved with a sense of duty when the good Lord Himself places Himself in our hands and we handle Him and receive Him daily? Are we unmindful that we must needs fall into His hands?

            Let us then at once and resolutely correct these faults and others; and wheresoever the most holy Body of our Lord Jesus Christ may be improperly reserved and abandoned, let It be removed thence and let It be put and enclosed in a precious place. In like manner wheresoever the Names and written words of the Lord may be found in unclean places they ought to be collected and put away in a decent place. And we know that we are bound above all to observe all these things by the commandments of the Lord and the constitutions of holy Mother Church. And let him who does not act thus know that he shall have to render an account therefor before our Lord Jesus Christ on the day of judgment. And let him who may cause copies of this writing to be made, to the end that it may be the better observed, know that he is blessed by the Lord.

Message of John Paul II to the Prior of the Charthusian Order for the Ninth Centenary of St Bruno's Death (in English)

To the Reverend Father Marcellinus Theeuwes,

Prior of La Grande Chartreuse, General of the carthusian Order,

and to all the members of the carthusian family

    At the time when the members of the carthusian family celebrate the ninth centenary of their Founder's death, I with them give thanks to God who raised up in His Church the eminent and ever topical figure of Saint Bruno. Praying fervently I appreciate your witness of faithfulness to the see of Peter and am happy to join in with the joy of the carthusian Order which has in this good and incomparable father a master of the spiritual life. On October 6,1101, Bruno, aflame with divine love left the elusive shadows of this world to join the everlasting goods for ever (Cf. Letter to Ralph § 13). The brothers of the hermitage of Santa Maria della Torre in Calabria little knew that this dies natalis inaugurated a singular spiritual venture which even today brings forth abundant fruits for the Church and the world.

    Bruno witnessed the cultural and religious upheavals of his time, in a Europe that was taking shape. He was an actor in the reform which the Church faced with internal difficulties wished to fulfill. After having been an appreciated teacher he felt called to consecrate himself to that unique Good which God is. " What it there as good as God? Better still, is there another Good than God alone? Really, a holy soul who has any sense of this Good, of its incomparable splendor and beauty, finds himself aflame with heavenly love and exclaims: ‘I am thirsting for the strong and living God; when shall I go and see the face of God?’ " (Letter to Ralph § 15) The uncompromising nature of that thirst drove Bruno, a patient listener to the Spirit, to invent with his first companions a style of eremitical life where everything favors one's response to the call from Christ - who indeed ever chooses men " to lead them into solitude and join themselves to Him in intimate love " (carthusian Statutes). By this choice of life in the desert, Bruno invites the entire Church community " never to lose sight of the highest vocation which is to remain forever with the Lord " (Vita consecrata § 7).

    Bruno, when able to forget his own plans to answer the call from the Pope, shows his strong sense of the Church. He is conscious that to follow the path of holiness is unthinkable outside of obedience to the Church: and shows us in that way that real following of Christ demands putting oneself into His hands. In abandonment of self he shows us the supreme love. And this attitude of his kept him in a permanent state of joy and praise. His brothers noticed that " his face was always radiating joy, his words modest. To a father's vigor he joined the sensitivity of a mother " (Introduction to Bruno's obituary scroll). These exquisite remarks from the obituary scroll show the fruitfulness of a life given to contemplate the face of Christ as the source of all apostolic fecundity and brotherly love. Would that Saint Bruno's sons and daughters, as did their father, may always keep on contemplating Christ, that they " keep watch in this way for the return of their Master ever ready to open when He knocks " (Letter to Ralph § 4); this will he a stimulant call for all Christians to stay vigilant in prayer in order to welcome their Lord !

    Following upon the great Jubilee of the Incarnation, the celebration of the ninth centenary of St Bruno's death acquires by this fact a supplementary emphasis. In the Apostolic Letter Novo millennio ineunte I invite the entire people of God again to take in Christ their point of departure, in order to permit those who thirst for meaningfulness and Truth to hear God's own heartbeat and that of the Church. Christ's words: " And lo, I am with you always until the end of the world " (Mt 28,20) call all those who bear the name of disciples to draw from this certitude renewed energies for their Christian existence and inspiring strength for their path (Cf. Novo millennio ineunte §29). The call to prayer and contemplation, which is the hallmark of carthusian life, shows particularly that only Christ can bring to the hopes of men a fullness of meaning and joy.

    How could one doubt for a second that such expression of pure love gives carthusian life an extraordinary fecundity, as it were, for the missions? In the retreat of their monasteries, in the solitude of their cells, the carthusians spin Holy Church's wedding garment (" beautiful as a bride decked out for her bridegroom ", 1 Rev. 21,3); every day they offer the world to God and invite all mankind to the wedding of the Lamb. The celebration of the Eucharistic sacrifice is the source and the summit of life in the desert, modeling into the very being of Christ those who give themselves up to His love. Thus the presence and the activity of Christ in this world become visible, for the salvation of all men and the joy of the Church.

    At the heart of the desert, where men are tried and their faith purified, the Father leads them on a path of dispossession which questions all logic of having, being successful and finding fleeting happiness. Guigo the carthusian would always encourage those desiring to follow Saint Bruno’s ideal to " follow the example of the poor man Christ, in order to share in His riches " (On the solitary life, § 6). This dispossession passes through a thorough break with the World, which does not mean contempt for the world but a fresh orientation of one's whole life in a tireless search for the unique Good: " You have seduced me, Lord, and I have let myself be seduced ", Jer. 20,7). The Church is fortunate to have at its disposition the carthusian witness of total alertness to the Spirit and a life entirely surrendered to Christ !

    So I invite the members of the carthusian family to remain, by holiness and simplicity of life, like the city on the mountain or the lamp on the lamp stand (Cf. Matt. 5, 14-15). Rooted in the Word of God, quenching their thirst with the sacraments of Holy Church, upheld by the prayers of St Bruno and their brothers, let them remain for the entire Church and at the heart of the world " a sort of place for hope and discovery of the Beatitudes, where Love leaning on prayer - source of communion - is called to become logic of life, and source of joy "! (Vita consecrata § 51) The cloistered life as an outward expression of the offering up of one's whole life in union with Christ’s, shows the fleetingness of our existence and teaches us to count only on God. It increases the thirst for graces given in meditation of the Word of God. It also is " the place for spiritual communion with God and our brothers and sisters, where the restricted character both of space and of contacts favors an interiorization of Gospel values " (Ibid. § 59). The quest for God in contemplation is indeed undissociable from love of our brothers, love that makes us recognize the face of Christ in the poorest of men. Contemplation of Christ lived in brotherly love remains the safest path of all for a fruitful life. St John unceasingly reminds us of it: " Beloved, let us love each other, because love is of God, and whoever loves is born of God and knows God " (1 John 4,7). Saint Bruno understood that well, he who never separated the primacy he gave to God in all his life from the deep humanity he showed his brethren.

    The ninth centenary of Saint Bruno's dies natalis gives me the occasion to renew my trust in the carthusian Order in its mission of selfless contemplation and intercession for the Church and the world. Following Saint Bruno and his successors, the carthusian monasteries never stop awakening the Church to the eschatological dimension of its mission, calling to mind God's marvelous deeds and being watchful in the expectation of the ultimate accomplishment of the virtue of Hope (Cf. Vita consecrata § 27). Watching tirelessly for the Kingdom to come, seeking to Be rather than to Do, the carthusian Order gives the Church vigor and courage in its mission to put out in deep waters and permit the Good News of Christ to enkindle all of mankind.

    In these days of carthusian celebration I ardently pray the Lord to make resound in the heart of many young the call to leave everything to follow the poor man Christ, on the demanding but liberating path of the carthusian vocation. I also invite those in charge of the carthusian family to respond without timidity to the requests from the young Churches to found monasteries on their territories.

    In this spirit the discernment and formation of the candidates presenting themselves necessitates renewed attention from the novice masters. Indeed today's culture marked by strong hedonistic currents, by the wish for possessions and a certain wrong conception of freedom, does not make it easy for the young to express their generosity when they want to consecrate their lives to Christ, to follow him on the path of self-offering love, of concrete and generous service. The complexity of each one's itinerary, their psychological fragility, the difficulties to live faithfully over the years, all this suggests that nothing must be neglected to give those who ask for admission to the carthusian " desert " a formation spanning all the dimensions of the human person. What is more, particular attention must be given to the choice of educators able to accompany candidates on the paths of interior liberation and docility to the Holy Spirit. Finally, aware that life together as brothers is a fundamental element of the itinerary of consecrated persons, communities must be invited to live unreservedly their mutual love, and develop a spiritual climate and lifestyle in conformity with your Order's charisma.

    Dear sons and daughters of Saint Bruno, as I reminded you at the end of my post-synodal apostolic exhortation " Vita consecrata " you should not only reminisce and tell a glorious past history, but make a grand history! Look towards the future, where the Spirit is sending you to do with you still great things " (§ 110). At the heart of the world you make the Church attentive to the voice of the Bridegroom whispering in her heart: " Courage! I have defeated the world " (John 16,33). I encourage you never to give up the intuitions of you Founder, even if the impoverishment of your communities, the drop in vocations and the incomprehension, which your chosen radical lifestyle provokes, might make you doubt the fecundity of your Order and your mission whose fruits in hidden way belong to God !

    It is up to you, dear sons and daughters of the Charterhouse, heirs to Saint Bruno's charisma, to maintain in all its authenticity and depth the specific spiritual path, which he traced for you by his words and example. Your pithy knowledge of God, matured in prayer and meditation of His word, calls the people of God to look further, to the very horizons of a renewed humankind inquest of fullness of meaning and unity. Your poverty, offered for the glory of God and the salvation of the world, is an eloquent contestation of the logic of profit and efficiency, which often closes the hearts of men and nations to the real need of their brothers. Your hidden life with Christ, as the Cross silently planted in the heart of redeemed mankind, remains in fact for the Church and for the world the eloquent sign and the permanent reminder that anybody, yesterday as today, can let himself be taken by Him who is only love.

    Entrusting all the members of the carthusian family to the intercession of the Virgin Mary, Mater singularis Cartusiensium, star of the evangelization of the third millennium, I give them all an affectionate apostolic blessing, which I extend to all the benefactors of the Order.

From the Vatican, May 14, 2001.

“Retirantes” by Dorival Caymmi (in Portuguese)

Vida de negro é difícil

É difícil como quê

Eu quero morrer de noite

Na tocaia me matar

Eu quero morrer de açoite

Se tu negra me deixar

Vida de negro é difícil

É difícil como quê

Meu amor, eu vou me embora

Nessa terra vou morrer

O dia não vou mais ver

Nunca mais eu vou te ver

Vida de negro é difícil

É difícil como quê

"Retirantes" sung by Dorival Caymmi.

Natal - Christmas - Noël - 2014

My best wishes to all of you for a Happy and Holy Christmas

that extends throughout the new year that's arriving.

À vous tous mes meilleurs voeux  pour un joyeux et saint Noël 

qui se étend tout au long de la nouvelle année qui est arrivée.

“A Leoa” by Raimundo Correia (in Portuguese)

Não há quem a emoção não dobre e vença

lendo o episódio da leoa brava,

que, sedenta e famélica, bramava,

vagando pelas ruas de Florença.

Foge a população espavorida,

e na cidade deplorável e erma

topa a leoa só, quase sem vida,

uma infeliz mulher débil e enferma.

Em frente à fera no estupor do assombro

não já por si tremia ela, a mesquinha

porém porque, era mãe, e o peso tinha

sempre caro pras mães, de um filho ao ombro.

Cegava-a o pranto, enrouqueci-a o choro,

desvairava-a o pavor!... e entanto, o lindo

e tenro infante, pequenino e loiro

plácido estava nos seus braços rindo.

E o olhar desfeito em pérolas celestes

crava a mãe no animal, que para e hesita

àquele olhar de súplica infinita,

que é só próprio das mães em transes destes.

Mas a leoa, como se entendesse

o amor da mãe, incólume deixou-a...

É que esse amor até nas feras vê-se...

que era mãe talvez essa leoa!

Untilted poem by José Thiesen (in Portuguese)

Faço coisas tão tolas,
a insensatez amiga eu abraço e
busco a juventude
indo pelas curvas de teu corpo,
oscultando os lábios teus.

Mas eu acho o que procuro se
estou perdendo o que encontro?
Dei-te um coração e já outro
encontra e toma o teu!
Irei, mais e mais atrás de ti,
roubando anseios de
ousar um amor que
sofre de amor demais.

Parte, coração, nesse teu vôo louco,
indo não sei pra que triste
reinado dum anelo frustrado onde
ele e só ele, somente, é
senhor desse reinado.

"The Hunchback" by Unknown Writer (in English)

art by Mac Raboy - Wow Comics #5 - Fawcett Comics, Spring 1942.

 

“The Divine Comedy” by Dante Alighieri (Inferno: Canto XVI) (in Italian)

Inferno: Canto XVI

Gia` era in loco onde s'udia 'l rimbombo
  de l'acqua che cadea ne l'altro giro,
  simile a quel che l'arnie fanno rombo,

quando tre ombre insieme si partiro,
  correndo, d'una torma che passava
  sotto la pioggia de l'aspro martiro.

Venian ver noi, e ciascuna gridava:
  <<Sostati tu ch'a l'abito ne sembri
  esser alcun di nostra terra prava>>.

Ahime`, che piaghe vidi ne' lor membri
  ricenti e vecchie, da le fiamme incese!
  Ancor men duol pur ch'i' me ne rimembri.

A le lor grida il mio dottor s'attese;
  volse 'l viso ver me, e: <<Or aspetta>>,
  disse <<a costor si vuole esser cortese.

E se non fosse il foco che saetta
  la natura del loco, i' dicerei
  che meglio stesse a te che a lor la fretta>>.

Ricominciar, come noi restammo, ei
  l'antico verso; e quando a noi fuor giunti,
  fenno una rota di se' tutti e trei.

Qual sogliono i campion far nudi e unti,
  avvisando lor presa e lor vantaggio,
  prima che sien tra lor battuti e punti,

cosi` rotando, ciascuno il visaggio
  drizzava a me, si` che 'n contraro il collo
  faceva ai pie` continuo viaggio.

E <<Se miseria d'esto loco sollo
  rende in dispetto noi e nostri prieghi>>,
  comincio` l'uno <<e 'l tinto aspetto e brollo,

la fama nostra il tuo animo pieghi
  a dirne chi tu se', che i vivi piedi
  cosi` sicuro per lo 'nferno freghi.

Questi, l'orme di cui pestar mi vedi,
  tutto che nudo e dipelato vada,
  fu di grado maggior che tu non credi:

nepote fu de la buona Gualdrada;
  Guido Guerra ebbe nome, e in sua vita
  fece col senno assai e con la spada.

L'altro, ch'appresso me la rena trita,
  e` Tegghiaio Aldobrandi, la cui voce
  nel mondo su` dovria esser gradita.

E io, che posto son con loro in croce,
  Iacopo Rusticucci fui; e certo
  la fiera moglie piu` ch'altro mi nuoce>>.

S'i' fossi stato dal foco coperto,
  gittato mi sarei tra lor di sotto,
  e credo che 'l dottor l'avria sofferto;

ma perch'io mi sarei brusciato e cotto,
  vinse paura la mia buona voglia
  che di loro abbracciar mi facea ghiotto.

Poi cominciai: <<Non dispetto, ma doglia
  la vostra condizion dentro mi fisse,
  tanta che tardi tutta si dispoglia,

tosto che questo mio segnor mi disse
  parole per le quali i' mi pensai
  che qual voi siete, tal gente venisse.

Di vostra terra sono, e sempre mai
  l'ovra di voi e li onorati nomi
  con affezion ritrassi e ascoltai.

Lascio lo fele e vo per dolci pomi
  promessi a me per lo verace duca;
  ma 'nfino al centro pria convien ch'i' tomi>>.

<<Se lungamente l'anima conduca
  le membra tue>>, rispuose quelli ancora,
  <<e se la fama tua dopo te luca,

cortesia e valor di` se dimora
  ne la nostra citta` si` come suole,
  o se del tutto se n'e` gita fora;

che' Guiglielmo Borsiere, il qual si duole
  con noi per poco e va la` coi compagni,
  assai ne cruccia con le sue parole>>.

<<La gente nuova e i subiti guadagni
  orgoglio e dismisura han generata,
  Fiorenza, in te, si` che tu gia` ten piagni>>.

Cosi` gridai con la faccia levata;
  e i tre, che cio` inteser per risposta,
  guardar l'un l'altro com'al ver si guata.

<<Se l'altre volte si` poco ti costa>>,
  rispuoser tutti <<il satisfare altrui,
  felice te se si` parli a tua posta!

Pero`, se campi d'esti luoghi bui
  e torni a riveder le belle stelle,
  quando ti giovera` dicere "I' fui",

fa che di noi a la gente favelle>>.
  Indi rupper la rota, e a fuggirsi
  ali sembiar le gambe loro isnelle.

Un amen non saria potuto dirsi
  tosto cosi` com'e' fuoro spariti;
  per ch'al maestro parve di partirsi.

Io lo seguiva, e poco eravam iti,
  che 'l suon de l'acqua n'era si` vicino,
  che per parlar saremmo a pena uditi.

Come quel fiume c'ha proprio cammino
  prima dal Monte Viso 'nver' levante,
  da la sinistra costa d'Apennino,

che si chiama Acquacheta suso, avante
  che si divalli giu` nel basso letto,
  e a Forli` di quel nome e` vacante,

rimbomba la` sovra San Benedetto
  de l'Alpe per cadere ad una scesa
  ove dovea per mille esser recetto;

cosi`, giu` d'una ripa discoscesa,
  trovammo risonar quell'acqua tinta,
  si` che 'n poc'ora avria l'orecchia offesa.

Io avea una corda intorno cinta,
  e con essa pensai alcuna volta
  prender la lonza a la pelle dipinta.

Poscia ch'io l'ebbi tutta da me sciolta,
  si` come 'l duca m'avea comandato,
  porsila a lui aggroppata e ravvolta.

Ond'ei si volse inver' lo destro lato,
  e alquanto di lunge da la sponda
  la gitto` giuso in quell'alto burrato.

'E' pur convien che novita` risponda'
  dicea fra me medesmo 'al novo cenno
  che 'l maestro con l'occhio si` seconda'.

Ahi quanto cauti li uomini esser dienno
  presso a color che non veggion pur l'ovra,
  ma per entro i pensier miran col senno!

El disse a me: <<Tosto verra` di sovra
  cio` ch'io attendo e che il tuo pensier sogna:
  tosto convien ch'al tuo viso si scovra>>.

Sempre a quel ver c'ha faccia di menzogna
  de' l'uom chiuder le labbra fin ch'el puote,
  pero` che sanza colpa fa vergogna;

ma qui tacer nol posso; e per le note
  di questa comedia, lettor, ti giuro,
  s'elle non sien di lunga grazia vote,

ch'i' vidi per quell'aere grosso e scuro
  venir notando una figura in suso,
  maravigliosa ad ogne cor sicuro,

si` come torna colui che va giuso
  talora a solver l'ancora ch'aggrappa
  o scoglio o altro che nel mare e` chiuso,

che 'n su` si stende, e da pie` si rattrappa.

“Para Navidad” by St. Therese of Avila (in Spanish)

Pues el amor

nos ha dado Dios,

ya no hay que temer,

muramos los dos.

Danos el Padre

a su único Hijo:

hoy viene al mundo

en pobre cortijo.

¡Oh gran regocijo,

que ya el hombre es Dios!

no hay que temer,

muramos los dos.

Mira, Llorente

qué fuerte amorío,

viene el inocente

a padecer frío;

deja un señorío

en fin, como Dios,

ya no hay que temer,

muramos los dos.

Pues ¿cómo, Pascual,

hizo esa franqueza,

que toma un sayal

dejando riqueza?

Mas quiere pobreza,

sigámosle nos;

pues ya viene hombre,

muramos los dos.

Pues ¿qué le darán

por esta grandeza?

Grandes azotes

con mucha crudeza.

Oh, qué gran tristeza

será para nos:

si esto es verdad

muramos los dos.

Pues ¿cómo se atreven

siendo Omnipotente?

¿Ha de ser muerto

de una mala gente?

Pues si eso es, Llorente,

hurtémosle nos.

¿No ves que Él lo quiere?

muramos los dos.

“The Ass and the Grasshopper” by Aesop (in English)

An Ass having heard some Grasshoppers chirping, was highly enchanted; and, desiring to possess the same charms of melody, demanded what sort of food they lived on to give them such beautiful voices.They replied, "The dew." The Ass resolved that he would live only upon dew, and in a short time died of hunger.

             Even a fool is wise-when it is too late!

“Ossa Mea” by Alphonsus de Guimaraens (in Portuguese)

II

Mãos de finada, aquelas mãos de neve,

De tons marfíneos, de ossatura rica,

Pairando no ar, num gesto brando e leve,

Que parece ordenar mas que suplica.

Erguem-se ao longe como se as eleve

Alguém que ante os altares sacrifica:

Mãos que consagram, mãos que partem breve,

Mas cuja sombra nos meus olhos fica...

Mãos de esperança para as almas loucas,

Brumosas mãos que vêm brancas, distantes,

Fechar ao mesmo tempo tantas bocas...

Sinto-as agora, ao luar, descendo juntas,

Grandes, magoadas, pálidas, tateantes,

Cerrando os olhos das visões defuntas...

Untitled Poem by José Thiesen (in Portuguese)

Meu amor, pelo teu, amante.
Teu amor, pelo meu, enquanto
Meu amor pelo teu, garante.

"The Infinity Mechanism" by Mike Pellowski (in English)

art by Vicente Alcazar – Space:1999 #6 - Charlton, August 1976.

“O Amor...” by Cecília Meireles (in Portuguese)

É difícil para os indecisos.

É assustador para os medrosos.

Avassalador para os apaixonados!

Mas, os vencedores no amor são os fortes.

Os que sabem o que querem e querem o que têm!

Sonhar um sonho a dois,

e nunca desistir da busca de ser feliz,

é para poucos!!"

“Ballad of Reading Gaol - Version I”, final by Oscar Wilde (in English)

VI.

In Reading gaol by Reading town

There is a pit of shame,

And in it lies a wretched man

Eaten by teeth of flame,

In burning winding-sheet he lies,

And his grave has got no name.

And there, till Christ call forth the dead,

In silence let him lie:

No need to waste the foolish tear,

Or heave the windy sigh:

The man had killed the thing he loved,

And so he had to die.

And all men kill the thing they love,

By all let this be heard,

Some do it with a bitter look,

Some with a flattering word,

The coward does it with a kiss,

The brave man with a sword!

“Ato de Abandono” by Réginald Marie Garrigou-Lagrange, O.P. (in Portuguese)

Em vossas mãos, ó meu Deus, eu me entrego.

Virai e revirai esta argila,

sicut lutum in manu figuli (Jeremias 18, 6),

como a vasilha que se modela nas mãos do oleiro.

Dai-lhe forma;

e em seguida despedaçai-a, se assim quiserdes;

ela vos pertence, e nada tem a dizer.

Basta-me que ela sirva a todos os vossos desígnios

e que em nada resista a vosso divino beneplácito,

para o qual eu fui criado.

Pedi, ordenai;

que quereis que eu faça?

que quereis que eu deixe de fazer?

Exaltado ou rebaixado,

perseguido, consolado ou aflito,

utilizado em vossas obras ou sem para nada servir,

a mim não resta senão dizer,

a exemplo de vossa Mãe Santíssima:

“Seja feito segundo a vossa palavra”.

Concedei-me o amor por excelência,

o amor da cruz,

não destas cruzes heroicas

cujo esplendor poderia nutrir o amor próprio,

mas destas cruzes ordinárias

que nós carregamos, ai de nós, com tanta repugnância,

destas cruzes de todos os dias,

com as quais a vida está repleta

e com as quais nos deparamos a todo momento,

no caminho, na contradição, no esquecimento,

no fracasso, nos falsos julgamentos, nas contrariedades,

nas friezas ou no entusiasmo de alguns,

na grosseria ou no desprezo dos outros,

na enfermidade do corpo, nas trevas do espírito,

no silêncio e na secura do coração.

Somente então sabereis que vos amo,

embora, às vezes, nem eu mesmo o saiba nem sinta;

e isto me basta!

Untitled Poem by José Thiesen (in Portuguese)

Caminho com passos trôpegos,
Vascilantes.
Caminho por só uma vereda,
Arenosa.
Voam folhas secas dum plátano,
solitárias.
Asnos rosados contemplam-me,
melancólicos.
Vou apenas, caminhando sempre,
Solitário.

“12 Angry Men” by Reginald Rose (in English)

Juror #3: [as Juror 8 sets up an experiment to see if the old man could reach his front door in 15 seconds] What do you mean, *you* wanna try it? Why didn't his lawyer bring it up if it's so important?

Juror #5: Well, maybe he just didn't think about it, huh?

Juror #10: What do you mean didn't think of it? Do you think the man's an idiot or something? It's an obvious thing!

Juror #5: Did *you* think of it?

Juror #10: Listen, smart guy, it don't matter whether I thought of it. He didn't bring it up because he knew it would hurt his case. What do you think of that?

Juror #8: Maybe he didn't bring it up because it would've meant bullying and badgering a helpless old man. You know that doesn't sit very well with a jury; most lawyers avoid it if they can.

Juror #7: So what kind of a bum is he, then?

Juror #8: That's what I've been asking, buddy.

"The Lost Genius" by Dick Wood (in English)

art by Joe Orlando - The Twilight Zone #14 – Gold Key,  February 1966. 

Untitled Poem by José Thiesen (in Portuguese)

Ao M. L. de Souza

Haverá sempre risos para quem sorrir
E abraços para quem abraçar.
Haverá sempre canções para o cantor
e trilhas para o viajor.

Para um amigo sempre haverá
um coração ofertado
como o silencioso desabrochar
de uma rosa.

“Sonnet on the Sonnet” by Lord Alfred Douglas (in English)

To see the moment holds a madrigal,

To find some cloistered place, some hermitage

For free devices, some deliberate cage

Wherein to keep wild thoughts like birds in thrall;

To eat sweet honey and to taste black gall,

To fight with form, to wrestle and to rage,

Till at the last upon the conquered page

The shadows of created Beauty fall.

This is the sonnet, this is all delight

Of every flower that blows in every Spring,

And all desire of every desert place;

This is the joy that fills a cloudy night

When bursting from her misty following,

A perfect moon wins to an empty space.

"Book of Nahum", (chapter 1) (in English)

Chapter 1

1 Oracle about Nineveh. The book of the vision of Nahum of Elkosh.

2 Aleph - A jealous and avenging God is Yahweh,

an avenger is the Yahweh, and angry;

Yahweh brings vengeance on his adversaries,

and lays up wrath for his enemies;

3 Yahweh is slow to anger, yet great in power,

and Yahweh never leaves the guilty unpunished.

    Beth - In hurricane and tempest is his path, and clouds are the dust at his feet;

4 Ghimel - He rebukes the sea and leaves it dry,

and all the rivers he dries up.

   Daleth - Withered are Bashan and Carmel,

and the bloom of Lebanon fades;

5 He - The mountains quake before him,

and the hills dissolve;

   Waw - The earth is laid waste before him,

the world and all who dwell in it.

6 Zain - Before his wrath, who can stand firm,

and who can face his blazing anger?

   Heth - His fury is poured out like fire,

and the rocks are rent asunder before him.

7 Teth - Yahweh is good, a refuge

on the day of distress;

   Yod - He takes care of those who have recourse to him,

8 when the flood rages;

   Kaph - He makes an end of his opponents,

and his enemies he pursues with darkness.

9 to Judah - What are you imputing to Yahweh?

It is he who will make an end!

The enemy shall not rise a second time;

10 As when a tangle of thornbushes is set aflame,

like dry stubble, they shall be utterly consumed.

11 to Assyria – From you has sprung

            One who plots evil against Yahweh,

            A man with the mind of Belial.

12 to Judah - For, says Yahweh,

be they ever so many and so vigorous,

still they shall be mown down and disappear.

Though I have humbled you,

I will humble you no more.

13 Now will I break his yoke from off you,

and burst asunder your bonds.

14 to the King of Nineveh - Yahweh has commanded regarding you:

no descendant shall come to bear your name;

From your temple I will abolish the carved and the molten image;

I will make your grave a mockery.