Saint Jerome
First Point
Saint Jerome was gifted with an excellent mind and extraordinary learning. At first he devoted himself to humane learning, but having perceived that this turned him away from God instead of giving him appreciation for him, he gave this up and spared no pain, labor, money, or effort to be instructed in Holy Scripture and to reach a perfect understanding of all the mysteries it contains. In these sacred books, the outpouring of all the treasures of God’s knowledge and wisdom are found.1 As the Prophet expresses it, they are the divine books that the true servants of God must devour and be filled with2 in order to communicate their secrets and to expound them in God’s name to those whom they are bound to instruct and to form in the Christian spirit. This is what Saint Jerome did, for he was consulted by people from all over the world concerning difficulties in Holy Scripture, which he studied so well and resolved so well that he left no doubt in those who had appealed to him regarding their questions. In this way Saint Jerome enlightened the Church with the understanding he had received from God. To possess this gift even more fully, he withdrew from the world, so that secular concerns would not prevent him from deepening his grasp of the sacred truths that God wished to make known to his people. If you wish to be filled with the mind of God and entirely fit for your work, make the sacred books of Holy Scripture your special study, particularly the New Testament, so that it serves as a rule of conduct for both you and those whom you instruct.
Second Point
Saint Jerome traveled over almost all the world in order to be able to consult with the greatest men of his time, especially those most versed in the science of Holy Scripture. In Athens he met Saint Gregory of Nazianzen, who told him that to understand well the meaning of Holy Scripture, it is necessary to begin by putting it into practice. This is why he followed the advice of this great saint, whom he began from that time to look upon as his teacher, and went at once into the Syrian desert to live there a holy and penitential life. As soon as he arrived there, he devoted himself to prayer, meditation on Holy Scripture, and the practice of all it teaches, spending nights inprayer and constantly fasting, separated from all contact with the world.There he came to understand thoroughly what Saint Paul says, that knowledge sometimes puffs up, but charity edifies, and that if anyone thinks he knows something, he has not yet learned what he must know, but if anyone loves God, he is known and loved by God.3 Of what use, says the author of the Imitation, is knowledge without the fear of God? Of what use is it, he adds, to speak profoundly about the mystery of the most Holy Trinity if the person is displeasing to God for lack of humility? In the solitude where Saint Jerome lived as though in a paradise, he learned to despise himself and to place no value on anything whatsoever on the earth.You must have knowledge in order to teach, but be convinced that you will know the Gospel better by meditating on it than by committing it to memory.
Third Point
Saint Jerome vigorously devoted himself to work against heretics in order to make himself the defender of the Church. It is true that he was such a humble a priest that he did not dare perform any of the priestly functions, considering himself altogether unworthy. Nevertheless, in his quality as God’s minister, he made himself very useful to the Church, protecting it in the assaults that its enemies delivered against it, who plotted all the more actively for its destruction because it had not yet attained the growth and the external glory that it has had since then. This saint showed such vigor, zeal, and even grace in combating heretics that they considered him their scourge. They did not dare to contend with him, because the reasons he brought out to refute their teachings were so accurate and so strong that he easily convinced them of their error. Penance and prayer, joined to the penetrating quality of his good mind, put him in this position. In this way Saint Jerome exercised his ministry as a priest of Jesus Christ. Although there is only one and the same Spirit, who imparts his graces to all, says Saint Paul, there is, however, a diversity of graces. Although there is only one and the same God, who works all things in all, there is a diversity of supernatural operations. One receives from the Holy Spirit the gift to speak with high wisdom; another, the gift to speak with knowledge; another, the gift of prophecy; another, the discernment of spirits; another, the gift to speak in different tongues; another, the interpretation of tongues; another, the gift to govern; another, the gift to assist his brothers.4 In this way those who have labored for the good of the Church have done so in various ways.Today, ask through the intercession of Saint Jerome for some share in the grace given to him by God for the good of the Church,and prepare to labor for the Church according to the gift that is yours. Like this saint, love seclusion and prayer. They are the means that will make you useful to the Church.
Historical Context
Jerome (ca. 342–420) was born at Stridon, in northern Italy, and received a good education, both in his native city and in Rome, especially in the Latin language and polemical rhetoric. After some efforts to live in a Christian community, he settled as a hermit in the desert of Chalcis, on the island of Euboea, Greece. To fight temptations against unchaste thoughts, he took up the study of Hebrew, which later was very helpful in his study and translation of the Scriptures. He studied further in Constantinople under Saint Gregory Nazianzen, worked as secretary for Pope Damasus in Rome, and finally settled in Bethlehem, where he did his great work of translating almost the whole Bible into Latin. The translation, known as the Vulgate, became the official text of the Church. He was as severe and caustic a critic in his writings as he was austere in his personal asceticism, but he died peacefully in Bethlehem. His remains are now buried in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.
Scripture Citation
- Col 2:3
- Ez 2:8
- 1 Cor 8:1–3
- 1 Cor 12:4–11; 28