The Bible is for sinners, Myanmar Catholics told

U Matthew Sarbi grew up thinking only priests and nuns can read the Bible, as sinners like her could not even touch the holy book.

That’s what her parents told her, emphasizing a popular notion in Myanmar that that “no sinner can touch” the Bible.

But this notion is now changing thanks to seminars for laypeople on the importance of using the Bible to reflect on life.

Sarbi recounted how after her parents died, she got married, took part in parish work and had a chance to attend a basic course on the Bible in 2009 and discovered what her parents had told her was all wrong.

“Since then it was clear to me that everyone can read the Bible and my parents’ idea was wrong,” said the 45-year-old ethnic Kayaw woman. “I came to know that the Bible is not something to be afraid of. If we read and live according to it, we will get saved.”

Daw Helen Mi Mi Naing, 49, also talks of experiencing her own “miracles” after months of reading the Bible.

“I do believe it was God who has cured me, out of my belief and through the power of the Bible,” Naing said. She said she read, prayed, and reflected on the Bible out of trust and hope of overcoming her liver illness. Her latest x-ray did not show any previous signs of liver failure, she said.

Father Louis Maurice, in charge of conducting and facilitating Bible seminars and trainings, said people are not to blame for the misconception about Bible reading.

He admitted that “in the early days” only priests were allowed to read the Bible. This was to prevent incorrect self-interpretation among lay Catholics as the Church thought this might lead people astray.

However, today the Church in Myanmar is focused on conducting Bible courses, seminars and trainings, so people become aware of the importance of using the Bible to reflect on life, he said.

“Bible is the spiritual food and I’ve decided to live my whole life according to the Bible’s teaching,” said 31-year-old Augustine The Rei who at 16 converted to Catholicism. He said he believes that as food feeds the body, the Bible satisfies spiritual needs.

The Episcopal Commission for Biblical Apostolate in Myanmar has been organizing several programs emphasizing the importance of the Bible since its launch in 2007, according to the Biblical Apostolate office in Yangon.

In 1994, the Catholic Bishops Conference of Myanmar became a member of the Bible Society, and has since undertaken translating the Bible into local languages.

Source:http://www.ucanews.com/