This morning I received a poem in an e-mail from our friend Pierre. The poem was written in French by a religious sister, Sr. Odette Prévost, who died in Algiers on November 10, 1995 under the bullets of a terrorist as she was heading to mass. You can read more about her here (in French). She was a Little Sister of the Sacred Heart of Charles de Foucault. Here is the poem:
Live this day today
Live this day today,
God gives it to you, it is yours.
Live it in Him.Tomorrow belongs to God,
It does not belong to you.
Don’t carry tomorrow’s worry today.
Tomorrow belongs to God,
Give it back to Him.The present moment is a frail footbridge.
If you load it with yesterday’s regrets,
with tomorrow’s uncertainty,
the footbridge gives way and you lose your footingThe past? God pardons it.
The future? God gives it.
Live this day today
in communion with HimAnd if there is cause for worry
for a loved one
look at it in the light of the risen Christ© Sister Odette Prévost
little sister of Jesus (Charles de Foucault)
assassinated in Algeria on 10 November 1995
or again in the original French:
Vis le jour d’aujourd’hui
Vis le jour d’aujourd’hui,
Dieu te le donne, il est à toi.
Vis le en Lui.Le jour de demain est à Dieu
Il ne t’appartient pas.
Ne porte pas sur demain
le souci d’aujourd’hui.
Demain est à Dieu,
remets le lui.Le moment présent est une frêle passerelle.
Si tu le charges des regrets d’hier,
de l’inquiétude de demain,
la passerelle cède
et tu perds pied.Le passé ? Dieu le pardonne.
L’avenir ? Dieu le donne.
Vis le jour d’aujourd’hui
en communion avec Lui.Et s’il y a lieu de t’inquiéter pour un être aimé,
regarde-le dans la lumière du Christ ressuscité.© Sœur Odette Prévost
petite sœur de Jésus (Charles de Foucault)
assassinée en Algérie le 10 novembre 1995
As her short bio data says it so well, her life was not taken away from her, for she had already profoundly and consciously given it .
A big thank you to Pierre for this morning gift.
Photo: Sr. Odette Prévost
A beautiful poem/prayer, Claire. Thank you for posting it. I will print this one up and carry it with me. So wise.
I don’t know French, so I ask — are the pronouns differentiated for male and female? Is “lui” a masculine pronoun?
Just asking because of course I am tempted to rewrite the poem a bit to make Godde genderless/all genders. Maybe we should invent a new word: genderful!
An interesting question and point, Kathleen. “Lui” indeed is him, but it can also be ‘to him’ or ‘to her’…
Years ago, I read that the French language used to be gender-sensitive, around the time of the Renaissance. We are talking 16th c possibly even early 17th c…. Now it’s remarkably sexist.
I like your word: ‘genderful’ 🙂
I’m glad you like this poem/prayer. I was very touched by who was the writer…
Claire, I will treasure this poem and will share it with the RCIA and also the Bible study group. The advice is so wise. I especially appreciate the last stanza concerning worry for a loved one. We do need to look at everything “in the light of the risen Christ.”. Thank you for sharing this.
I am so glad you like it, Lynda, and find a use for it 🙂
So beautiful – a keeper ! Thanks Claire x
I am glad you like it, Phil 😊
Thanks, Claire, for the reminder. timing is everything!
xoxo