Vatican II’s document on Divine Revelation teaches us that “the invisible God (see Col. 1;15, 1 Tim. 1:17) out of the abundance of His love speaks to men as friends (see Ex. 33:11; John 15:14-15) and lives among them (see Bar. 3:38), so that He may invite and take them into fellowship with Himself.”[i] One of the Council Fathers who approved this language was then Archbishop of Krakow Karol Wojtyla (1920-2005, pope 1978-2005). As Pope John Paul II, he used words similar to this in his Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation Pastores Dabo Vobis (“I Will Give You Shepherds”) (1992): “As Paul VI once said, ‘Christ became the contemporary of some men and spoke their language. Our faithfulness to [H]im demands that this contemporaneousness should be maintained.’”[ii] As priest, bishop, cardinal and pope, Pope St. John Paul II showed us, priests and lay, how to imitate Christ in speaking to men as friends by communicating in language people can understand. He did so in three respects: He attempted to communicate the Gospel message in styles other than usual discourse; he spoke in an appropriate manner for his audiences; and he spoke in the native tongues of the people.

Before I provide details on these three respects, I’ll look at how Christ spoke the language of his contemporaries — as Pope St. Paul VI pointed out.

The Languages in Which Our Lord Communicated

There is evidence that Our Lord, the Divine Word, spoke Aramaic, Hebrew, Greek, and even Latin.

The Gospels report that He spoke a great deal. He spoke, of course, to His mother (for example at Cana and from the Cross), to His 12 apostles, to His disciples, to the crowds, to Zacchaeus, to Mary and Martha and Lazarus, and on and on. Jesus would have spoken to them in Aramaic, their daily language. The Gospels have retained some of his Aramaic utterances.[iii]

Whenever Jesus spoke in a synagogue, performing the liturgical functions of reading the Scriptures and addressing the congregation, He would have spoken in Hebrew, the language of the Torah and of the liturgy (e.g., Luke 4:16-17), just as the Apostle Paul did (Acts 22:1-2). When, in His discourses, He quoted the Scriptures or debated the educated scribes and Pharisees, He again might well have spoken in Hebrew (e.g., Matt. 21:42-43, quoting Psalm 118:22-23).[iv] At the Transfiguration, Jesus was heard talking to Elijah and Moses, presumably in Hebrew (Matt. 17:3; Mark 9:4; Luke 9:30). And when Jesus and the Eleven finished the Last Supper, they sang Psalms — in Hebrew (Matt. 26:30; Mark 14:6).[v]

Providence College professor Anthony Esolen, a poet and translator, informs us that Jesus’ language would have echoed the language of the Hebrew Scriptures. In a December 22, 2011, column entitled, “Strangers in a Strange Land, Part Two,” he wrote that “Jesus uttered oratorical poetry of the most brilliant sort. Saint Paul composed theological poems in prose form. They echoed the poetry they knew best, the prayers and prophecies of the Old Testament, which they read and uttered not in the Aramaic of the street corners, but in Hebrew, and, in the Psalms, a Hebrew that uses words that even the [First Century A.D.] Hebrews no longer used, except in their sacred poetry.”[vi]

With the Samaritan woman, and with her townspeople (John 4:39-40), Jesus might well have spoken Greek. He may have spoken Greek as well with the Greek woman who was Syro-Phoenician by birth (Mark 7:24-29).

In disputations with Herodians, e.g., in Mark 12:13-15, and with Pontius Pilate (Matt 27; Mark 15; Luke 23; John 18-19) on the day He would later be crucified, Jesus may have spoken Latin, although these same people understood Greek. In Mel Gibson’s The Passion of The Christ (2004), Jesus surprises Pilate by speaking Latin. John’s Gospel tells us that the words placed by Pilate on the sign above the Cross were in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek (John 19:19-20).

Communicating in Styles Other Than Usual Discourse

Father Karol Wojtyla gave homilies, days of recollection, retreats, and so on. He taught at university. As bishop, he wrote pastoral letters. He wrote books.[vii] As Pope, he wrote 14 encyclicals,[viii] apostolic exhortations, and gave talks during his weekly General Audiences. But he also attempted to communicate the Gospel message in ways other than this usual discourse, what students of rhetoric call “exposition” or “argument.” He also engaged in “narration.”

Thus, he wrote plays, not all of which are extant: David; Job; Jeremiah; The Jeweller’s Shop: A Meditation on the Sacrament of Matrimony, Passing on Occasion into a Drama (available in print and film); and Our God’s Brother (available in print). Presenting the Gospel in the form of a play is similar to that of Jesus presenting His message in the form of parables. Jesus spoke constantly in parables (e.g., Matt. 13:34). The Gospels contain some 30 parables.[ix]

And John Paul wrote poetry. See The Place Within: The Poetry of Pope John Paul II (1st ed. 1994); Roman Triptych. Meditations (2003); and The Poetry of John Paul II (2003).

Prayer, too, is a rhetorical form other than the usual exposition or argument. Pope John Paul II concluded most, perhaps all, encyclicals and apostolic exhortations with a prayer he had composed.

Still yet another form of communication is music. I am not aware that Pope St. John Paul the Great composed hymns — either lyrics or music, as have other saints.[x] But he allowed his spoken words to be surrounded by music in the CD entitled Abba Pater (1999). Undoubtedly, some of his prayers and poetry will be set to music in various languages in years to come.

In Part 2, I will begin with how Pope St. John Paul II communicated in a manner appropriate to his audiences and continue with how he communicated in the native tongues of the people.

[i] Dei Verbum (“Dogmatic Constitution on Divine Revelation”), para. 2, Vatican Council II, 1965 Dei verbum.

[ii] Pastores Dabo Vobis (March 15, 1992), para. 52 (quoting Paul VI, Address to the Participants in the 21st Italian Biblical Week (Sept. 25, 1970): AAS 62, (1970), 618 (online is in Italian only)).

[iii] –When He healed a little girl, He said, “Talitha cumi.” (“Little girl, get up!”) (Mark 5:41).

–When He healed a deaf man, He said, “Ephphatha.” (“Be opened.”) (Mark 7:34).

–He used the epithet “Raca” (fool) (Matt. 5:22).

–In the Garden of Gethsemane, He prayed: “Abba [Father], all things are possible to You. Take this cup away from Me, but not what I will but what You will” (Mark 15:34).

–On the Cross, He cried out, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) (Mark 15:34; Matt. 27:46).

[iv] For evidence of His knowledge of Hebrew, see Craig A. Evans, “Jewish Scripture and the Literacy of Jesus,” in William H. Brackney and Craig A. Evans (eds.), From Biblical Criticism to Biblical Faith (2007),  pp. 41-54.

[v] The Jewish Passover liturgy included hymns drawn from the book of Psalms, known as the Hallel Psalms (meaning “Praise” psalms), and consisted of Psalms 113-118. May I suggest that reading these Psalms, knowing that Jesus sang one or more of them about 18 hours before His death, without His companions knowing what was to come, would be worthy of your meditation.

[vi] Anthony Esolen, “Strangers in a Strange Land, Part Two,” The Catholic Thing, Dec. 22, 2011.

[vii] Love and Responsibility (in Polish 1960, in English 1981); The Acting Person (in Polish 1969, in English 1979).

[viii] They are collected here: Encyclicals

[ix] Episcopal priest Robert Farrar Capon has written three volumes on the parables with each volume addressing one of three categories of parables. They have been republished in a single volume: Kingdom, Grace, Judgment: Paradox, Outrage, and Vindication in the Parables of Jesus (2002).

I invite you to contrast the effect of the declaration in Jeremiah 7:23-28 (“I kept on sending all my servants the prophets”) with Jesus’ Parable of the Tenants in Matt. 21:33-43 (vineyard owner sends agents to tenants who kill them).

[x] St. Cyprian of Carthage (c. 200-258) wrote De Unitate Ecclesiae. St Ephrem (c 306-373). St. Ambrose (c. 340-397) wrote Ave Verum Corpus (Hail True Body). See St. Ambrose › Texts | Hymnary.org. “St. Patrick’s Breastplate” is attributed to St. Patrick (5^th century) and is used for the English hymns “Christ Be Beside Me,” “This Day God Gives Me,” and “Morning Has Broken.” Pope St. Gregory the Great (540-604): Audi benigne conditor. The most famous hymn composed by St. Theodulf of Orleans (750/60-821) is Gloria laus et honor. For a long time, the hymn Salve Caput Cruentatum (O Sacred Head Surrounded) was attributed to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) but is now thought to have been by poet Arnulf of Louvain. A hymn that continues to be attributed to St. Bernard, however, is Jesus Dulcis Memoria. St. Francis of Assisi (1181/1182-1226) started the singing of hymns by the people rather than limiting hymns to those sung by priests during formal church liturgies. The first “Christmas carol” was by him: Psalmus in Nativitate. His Canticle of the Sun was written in Italian. The Prayer of St. Francis has been set to music. St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) composed Pange Lingua (concluding with Tantum Ergo); the sequence Laude Sion; the Matins hymn Sacis Solemnis (concluding with Panis Angelicus); the Lauds’ Verbum Supernum Prodiens (concluding with O Salutaris Hostia); and Adoro Te Devote (“Humbly We Adore You”). St. Teresa of Avila (1515-1582) wrote Nada Te Turbe.  St. Jean de Brébuef (1593-1649) wrote Jesosus Ahatonhia (Jesus, He is born) in the language of the Huron/Wendat people. It is known to English speakers as “’Twas in the Moon of Wintertime.”