By Beth DeCristofaro
So shall my word be that
goes forth from my mouth; It shall not return to me void, but shall do my will,
achieving the end for which I sent it. (Isaiah 55:11)
Jesus said to his
disciples: “In praying … Your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (Matthew 6:7)
Piety
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Tatăl nostru
(Our Father)
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Tatăl nostru
Care eşti în ceruri Sfinţească-se numele Tău Vie împărăţia Ta Facă-se voia Ta Precum în cer aşa şi pre Pământ Pâinea noastră cea de toate zilele Dă-ne-o nouă astăzi Şi ne iartă nouă greşelile noastre Precum şi noi iertăm greşiţilor noştri Şi nu ne duce pre noi în ispită Ci ne izbăveşte de cel rău Că a Ta este împărăţia Slava şi puterea În numele Tatălui Al Fiului Al Sfântului Duh Amin |
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(Romanian; language of my
grandparents)
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Study
One of my favorite Super
Bowl ads this year featured Americans singing “America the Beautiful” in
several different languages. It brought
tears to my eyes to think of so many peoples, heritages, histories, values, aspirations,
fears and faiths celebrating our country in song. What a journey this country has had, virtuous
and sinful, just like the Israelites in the desert, just like each of us in our
Lenten pilgrimage.
In our home we have
a cross with the Lord’s Prayer inscribed in Arabic. I sure can’t say it! But the script is lovely and it reminds me
that my Father knows my prayer even if I don’t know what I need myself. And that the Word has gone out to all God’s
people. On the internet one can find the
Lord’s Prayer in hundreds and hundreds of languages. As the faithful, from East to West, morning
to night, lift their voices in prayer, I imagine that the words run together in
a torrent of offering. The Lord hears
through the words to hearts full of faith, hopefulness, supplication, fear,
anger, desperation, confidence, doubt, gratitude.
Action
Listen to the Words
Jesus taught us in a language you do not know.
Listen several times so that you hear not the babble of unfamiliar words
but rather be lifted up on the human desire to find God, to do God’s will and to
be united with Our Father in heaven as Jesus, Word, showed us.
Some links:
Aleut language
thanks to the Orthodox Diocese in Alaska:
http://www.asna.ca/alaska/aleut/our-father.mp3
Old English (around
600 BCE)
Kiyombe, spoken by
Yombe people in Western Central Africa; a dialect of Kongo.
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