Part 3

“The people these days … are loath to hear God’s service. [And when they are forced to attend] they come late and leave early.” “They know not that there are any Scriptures.” “The ignorance of the priests casteth the people into a ditch.”

“For Holy Scriptures is the faith of the Church… [and] since the laity should know the faith, it should be taught in whatever language is most easily comprehended…. [After all], Christ and His apostles taught the people in the language best known to them.”

“Traduttore traditore,” or “The translator is the traitor.” “He who reads the Bible in translation is like a man who kisses his bride through a veil.”

 The Diatessaron  The Pesshita

“Frequently read the divine Scriptures; rather, never let the sacred text out of your hands. Learn what you have to teach…. The speech of a priest should be seasoned with the words of Scripture.” “I beg you, dear brother, live with [the Scriptures], meditate on them, make them the sole object of your knowledge and inquiries.”

“If there is one rule most necessary for virtue,” he wrote, “it is the one which demands the church forsake worldly riches for the riches of God and Christ and his apostles.”

“No man is so rude a scholar but that he may learn the words of the gospel according to his simplicity.” “Forasmuch as the Bible contains Christ,” he argued, “that is all that is necessary to salvation, it is necessary for all men, not for priests alone.”