To understand Pope John XXIII we must work to understand how things were 60 years ago and learn Italian to read his private journals. Something similar is at work when we read the gospels. The gospel writers were striving to help us to meet Jesus. They were writing two generations or so after his death and in a language other than the one he spoke. In addition, the gospel writers had a target audience that had their own world view that needed to be taken into account. Thus, St. Luke translates one of the sayings of Jesus as: “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” Since “merciful” is not part of everyday vocabulary we have to dig deep to understand what it means for us.
MARCH92020
By Church Staff
