Friday 7 August 2009

Ego sum Pastor Bonus...


I am fond of reading St John's Gospel in the Vulgate; the Latin is simple, and even passages where I am not entirely certain about the Latin, the story itself is probably familiar and so I can go through it without the need of a dictionary or grammar. I found this haunting image on Google Images, and thought I'd put up one of the moving chapters from St John's Gospel to go with it. I'm afraid my translation of the Eclogues will have to wait - and I know you were all so excited about it! - since I have many other pressing things to get on with (such is life). As yet, I have only translated the first three paragraphs, which considering I am by no means skilled in the Latin language (and Virgil is especially hard, my Latin teacher told me), is quite all right for the time being. Anyway, here is my translation of John 9:35-10:11 (yes I know that is an odd place to begin, but I only picked it up at an odd place!):

Jesus heard that they cast him out, and when he came (to) [demonstrative pronoun takes the accusative] him, he said to him: ''Do you believe in the Son of God?'' He responded and said: ''Who is he O Master, that I may believe in him?'' And Jesus said to him: ''And you have seen him, and he who talks with you is He.'' And he said: ''I believe, O Lord,'' and prostrating himself he adored him. Jesus said to him: ''In judgement I came into this world, that those who do not see might see, and those who see might be made blind.'' And those from among the Pharisees who were with him, heard and said to him: ''And are we blind?'' Jesus said to them: ''If you were blind, you would not have sin; now that you say that 'we see indeed,' your sin remains.

''Amen, Amen I say to you, he who does not enter by the gate of the fold but climbs up another way, he is a thief and a brigand. However, he who enters by the gate is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own [proprias] sheep by name, and he leads them out, and when his sheep are sent, he goes before them, and the sheep are led because they know his voice; however they are not led by a stranger, but fly from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.'' This proverb Jesus said to them; however, they did not understand what he said to them. Therefore Jesus said to them again: ''Amen, Amen I say to you, that I am the gate of the sheep; however many that have come are thieves and brigands, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the Door; through me, if a man enters, he shall be saved and he shall go in and go out and find pastures. The thief does not come unless he might steal and slay. I have come that they might have life, and have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd gives his soul [animam] for the sheep.''

An interesting thought I have about those who do not enter by the gate but vault the fence are those non-Catholics who through arrogance and contempt for the Faith go to receive Holy Communion in Catholic churches...

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