Poem by Saint John Jacob the New of Chozeva
Never can our soul/ Be at rest/ If we do not do our best/ "To live in the Lord."
Never can our soul
Be at rest
If we do not do our best
"To live in the Lord."
As the child does not become quiet
When it's mother is missing
In the same way the soul
Cannot be comforted.
In the Lord is peace
In Him is my rest,
The true road
Both now and forevermore.
When the mind wants to fly
To the Good God,
Then the hidden enemy
Attacks us always.
He scatters our thoughts
Like dust in the wind
And he seeks to pull
Our eyes down to the earth.
Vain sights
The evil one shows to us
So that the mind drifts
From the "eternal shore."
The rock of my hard-heartedness
Has become like a tomb
Which eternally weighs on me
And pulls me down to the earth.
Oh, if it would only move once
The stone of my soul
To make room for the light
Holy from God.
The darkness of the passions
Within me they rule
But the offspring of virtues
Turn pale in full.
So inspiring! Oasis in the middle of bareness, soul fed by tears in the middle of the desert.
Bring us a little dust when you come back!