Saint Teresa of Avila, Nada te Turbe

This is a beautiful poem written by the great 16th century Spanish mystic Saint Teresa of Avila on the margin of her breviary. Unfortunately the English translation (which follows) is unable to capture entirely the beauty of the words in Spanish that make the poem so powerful.

Nada te turbe;
nada te espante;
todo se pasa;
Dios no se muda,
la paciencia
todo lo alcanza.
Quien a Dios tiene,
nada le falta.
Solo Dios basta.

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.

This is a good Lenten poem because it challenges us to recognize the transient nature of the world while acknowledging the enduring nature of God. It captures the words we hear on Ash Wednesday when ashes are placed on our foreheads, “remember you are dust and to dust you will return.”

Last Sunday a brother priest of the diocese died unexpectedly of a heart attack while getting ready for Mass. Father Robert was only 48. Moments like these remind us of the fragility of life and the fact that no one knows the hour nor the day that we will return to the Lord. Jesus tells us so many times in the Gospels to be vigilant, saying in Luke 12, 40, “You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”