Remembering Father Kolvenbach.

In spite of major events like the U.S. presidential election, this blog has been silent over the past month as I contend with various academic projects. I expect to remain busy in the coming weeks, but I think it's important to write here with some news that touches in a significant way upon my life as a Jesuit: Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, the 29th Superior General of the Society of Jesus, died on Saturday in Beirut at the age of 87. Father Kolvenbach was General of the Society when I entered the novitiate and resigned his office while I was in philosophy studies, meaning that my earliest years as a Jesuit took place during his generalate. Though I've seen the election of two superiors general since then - Father Adolfo Nicolás in 2008 and, last month, Father Arturo Sosa - the fact that Father Kolvenbach was the first General of my Jesuit life gives him a special place in my heart and memory.

As Superior General of the Society from 1983 to 2008, Father Kolvenbach led the Society of Jesus through a period of great challenge and opportunity. Elected in the aftermath of Pope John Paul II's intervention into the governance of the Order, Father Kolvenbach applied the diplomatic finesse and tact he had honed as a missionary in war-torn Lebanon to the task of restoring trust between the Holy See and the Society. In his twenty-five years as General, Kolvenbach faced the challenge of changing demographics as the number of Jesuits in Europe and North America fell and vocations boomed in Africa and Asia and responded to new geopolitical realities as the fall of the Iron Curtain gave the Society greater freedom of action in the former Soviet bloc.

Though the General of the Society is elected for life, as he reached his ninth decade Father Kolvenbach sought and received permission from Pope Benedict XVI to resign his office and allow for the election of a new General. Returning to Beirut after his resignation, Father Kolvenbach quietly resumed the scholarly study of Armenian linguistics and literature that had occupied him before he was called to positions of leadership in the Society. Always humble and unassuming, Father Kolvenbach reportedly responded to the election a few weeks ago of Father Arturo Sosa as the new Jesuit general not by offering his own advice or personal opinion but by sending his successor a one-sentence note promising prayers.

As I pray for the repose of Father Peter-Hans Kolvenbach, I also pray also that many other Jesuits will be inspired to emulate his exemplary characteristics - brilliance balanced by humility, a sharp memory matched by great discretion, and a notable simplicity of life combined with gracious generosity. May his memory be eternal! AMDG.

Dies irae, dies illa.

As is now my annual custom, I am marking All Souls' Day by reposting a translation of the Latin sequence for All Souls that I made a few years ago. The translation below as well as my commentary are identical with what I have provided in years past; I still hope to eventually revise the translation, but for now I hope that my annual reposting of this text is helpful and edifying to some readers.

Attributed to the thirteenth-century Franciscan Thomas of Celano and long prescribed as part of the Latin Requiem Mass, the Dies Irae enjoys a special place in Western musical culture thanks to the memorable settings of the Requiem text by composers ranging from Mozart to Verdi to Britten, among many others. For All Souls, I typically avoid any 'classical' setting of the Dies Irae in favor of the traditional Gregorian setting, because some days when only chant will do - and for me this is one of those days.

Below you can find the Latin text of the Dies Irae followed by my own English translation. I decided to translate the text myself out of a sense of dissatisfaction with the various translations that I found online, as a spiritual exercise for All Souls' Day - and, finally, to practice my Latin. The translation was made in haste and could certainly be improved - indeed, I have sometimes thought of starting from scratch and doing a new one - and I welcome comments and criticism; my goal was to convey the sense of the original faithfully and in a style that flows well in English without trying to reproduce the poetic meter of the original. So here goes:

Dies irae! Dies illa
Solvet saeclum in favilla:
Teste David cum Sibylla!

Quantus tremor est futurus,
Quando iudex est venturus,
Cuncta stricte discussurus!

Tuba mirum spargens sonum
Per sepulchra regionum,
Coget omnes ante thronum.

Mors stupebit, et natura,
Cum resurget creatura,
Iudicanti responsura.

Liber scriptus proferetur,
In quo totum continetur,
Unde mundus iudicetur.

Iudex ergo cum sedebit,
Quidquid latet, apparebit:
Nil inultum remanebit.

Quid sum miser tunc dicturus?
Quem patronum rogaturus,
Cum vix iustus sit securus?

Rex tremendae maiestatis,
Qui salvandos salvas gratis,
Salva me, fons pietatis.

Recordare, Iesu pie,
Quod sum causa tuae viae:
Ne me perdas illa die.

Quaerens me, sedisti lassus:
Redemisti Crucem passus:
Tantus labor non sit cassus.

Iuste iudex ultionis,
Donum fac remissionis
Ante diem rationis.

Ingemisco, tamquam reus:
Culpa rubet vultus meus:
Supplicanti parce, Deus.

Qui Mariam absolvisti,
Et latronem exaudisti,
Mihi quoque spem dedisti.

Preces meae non sunt dignae:
Sed tu bonus fac benigne,
Ne perenni cremer igne.

Inter oves locum praesta,
Et ab haedis me sequestra,
Statuens in parte dextra.

Confutatis maledictis,
Flammis acribus addictis:
Voca me cum benedictis.

Oro supplex et acclinis,
Cor contritum quasi cinis:
Gere curam mei finis.

Lacrimosa dies illa,
qua resurget ex favilla
Judicandus homo reus.
Huic ergo parce, Deus:

Pie Iesu Domine,
dona eis requiem. Amen.

---

O day of wrath, that day
when the earth will be reduced to ashes,
as David and the Sibyl both testify!

What great fear there will be,
when the judge comes
to judge all things strictly.

A trumpet casts a wondrous sound
into the realm of the tombs,
calling all [to come] before the throne.

Death and nature will both marvel
as the [human] creature rises
to answer its judge.

A book will be brought forth
in which all things are recorded –
all that for which the world will be judged.

When, therefore, the judge appears,
all that is hidden will appear,
and no ills will remain unavenged.

As miserable as I am, what am I to say?
whose protection may I invoke,
when even the just lack security?

O most majestic King,
who freely saves those to be saved,
save me, source of mercy!

Remember, merciful Jesus,
that I am the one for whom you came:
may I not be lost on that day!

Seeking me, you sat down tired:
to redeem me, you suffered the Cross –
may your toil not be in vain!

Just and avenging judge,
may you grant remission [of sins]
before the day of reckoning.

Guilty, now I sigh,
my face red with shame:
save thy petitioner, o God!

Having absolved Mary [Magdalene],
and heard the plea of the thief,
may you give me hope as well.

Though my prayers are not worthy,
be kind to me, o Good One,
that I may be spared the eternal fire!

Place me among the sheep,
and separate me from the goats,
setting me at your right hand.

When the wicked are confounded
and given over to bitter flames:
call me among the blessed.

Meek and humble, I pray,
with a heart contrite as ashes:
Help me reach my final end.

How tearful that day will be,
when from the ashes will arise
the guilty man for judgment.
Therefore spare him, O God!

Merciful Lord Jesus,
grant them rest. Amen.

To some modern ears, some of the above lines may seem a bit harsh; the familiarity of the Latin text and the beauty of its poetic form can easily distract us from the admonitory content of the Dies Irae. As stern as these words may be, though, they also remind us that God is merciful - indeed, the very source of mercy - and they call on us to pray: first for our beloved dead and for our own repentance, but also that we may offer to others the same mercy that we seek for ourselves. May all of us who celebrate this Feast of All Souls take these words in the right way, and take them to heart. AMDG.