JANUARY 2022 P
laying Gloria in Modern Family, Sofia Vergara once said, “Do you even know how smart I am in Spanish?” Tere is so much we miss about
a person when we do not know their language and culture. We will never know how funny, intelligent, or insightful that person can be. Tose of us who are familiar with the difficulty of speaking two or more languages know that, when we need to speak from the heart and without the exhaustion of translating in our minds, we choose our first language, which is usually our heart’s language.
My heart language is Spanish. I was born and raised in Mexico. I came to the United States at the age of 17. Since then, I have been in translation mode 24/7. It is exhausting but, for me, necessary. I learned to speak English by translating children's Disney books word for word until the language became natural one day. I have been told in Church numerous times that I need to lose my accent in order to serve better.
Nonetheless, God has affirmed my identity as a bilingual Latina numerous times. He speaks to me in Spanglish. In truth, God speaks to us in our heart language, whatever that might be. Te Spirit moves as He pleases and finds ways to affirm our gifts.
In 2019, I was chosen along with nine other young people from different continents to have lunch with Pope Francis during World Youth Day in Panama. Since I was the only fluent bilingual speaker in the group, he asked me to interpret for him because he wanted to speak in Spanish from his heart. Tat moved me profoundly and made me realize the importance of reading his papal documents in Spanish. A few months later, Pope Francis released his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Christus Vivit. Comparing the English and Spanish versions, I realized the nuances in message or content due to mistranslations. Since then, I have continued translating Pope Francis’s documents in language and cultural context for monolingual English-speakers.
As a minister, I have encountered pastors and pastoral ministers, including liturgists and musicians, who believe that multiplicity of languages brings division. Nonetheless, the Pentecost narratives in Chapter 2 of Acts of the Apostles attest to non-descriptive notions of “unity” in the Spirit amidst diversity and to the Gospel’s universal reach. God’s united, multicultural
people, both Judean and immigrant Jews (Acts 2: 9-11), received the message of life. Te author of Acts intentionally mentions the diverse geographical and cultural audience and explicitly makes mention of how astonished the people were, for the disciples were speaking in their tongues. If you have a curious mind like me, you might wonder why the author spends time providing details on this account of language, and why this interest? Why would the Holy Spirit make the disciples speak in the language of the people? Why not give them all a speech in common or make the audience speak in the disciples' language?
A beautiful but simplistic answer is that God meets us where we are. A more detailed answer lies in the importance of language. Language is the vehicle of culture for both thinking and articulate expression. Language communicates the soul and spirit of the people and exposes their most secret sentiments. Tat is why, frequently, translation fails to convey the original sentiments effectively. Language also has the power to make us feel part of a community.
Imagine going to the movie theater, watching a comedy, and laughing after everyone else because you have to read the subtitles. People laughing before you understand the joke is the worst spoiler. I know the struggle well for almost a year after I arrived in the United States. Until one day, when I least expected it, I laughed at the same time as everyone else. I did not notice it. However, a friend of mine did. She looked at me and said, “Wait, I didn’t hear your giggles in the silence.” I started crying because, somehow, I felt like part of the group. Indeed, it was a group of strangers (besides my friends), but I was laughing with them simultaneously. I was no longer behind—at least not that day, not with that movie, not with that joke. Te Church, too, is sometimes like a movie theater. When it comes to worship and evangelization, language is performative in the sense that it captivates your audience to redirect them to God. Tis is what happened at Pentecost.
In the United States we come from many cultures and backgrounds. Nevertheless, the one Gospel and one Spirit make us the one body of Christ, wherever we are from. Whatever our differences, we, like the disciples before Pentecost, need to pray together in unity.
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