September 30th - Saint Jerome, Confessor and Doctor of the Church

September 30th - Saint Jerome, Confessor and Doctor of the Church

SAINT JEROME is very much a part of our everyday life.  Most of us are
affected
by his chief work.  This work, the Vulgate Bible, a translation of Scripture
into Latin, which became and still remains the approved Catholic version, is
undoubtedly one of the greatest accomplishments of history.  It has had a
tremendous influence on the evolution of Christian culture, and it is for
this
reason that all of us owe much to Saint Jerome.

Jerome was born about 342, at Stridonium, a little village in Dalmatia,
near
the borders of present-day Hungary.  Its exact site is unknown, as it was
wiped
out in a Gothic invasion.  His parents were Christians; Christians in the
fashion of a time when pagan and Christian were socially fused.  Because
they
were wealthy and because Jerome was a precocious boy, and had succeeded well
in
his studies at home, they sent him to Rome to complete his education.  He
remained there for several years.  He was an eager scholar and soon was deep
in
the study of the Greek and Latin classics of literature, history, and
philosophy.  In addition to his studies, the young man began a life-long
project-building a library of his own.  This did not mean the purchase of
books,
but copying the works himself.  Besides enjoying the intellectual pleasures
of
literature, Jerome joined in the other pleasures of Rome and delighted in
games
and spectacles.

At the age of twenty, Jerome was baptized by Pope Liberius.  The sacrament
had
been deferred until this time so that the sins of youth would be taken away,
a
common abuse of the time.  The young man had become aware of Christianity in
the
Eternal City.  Two things impressed him: the fervor of congregations in the
churches and the tombs of the apostles and martyrs which he visited.

Eager for knowledge, Jerome made a journey to Gaul with a friend, searching
for
the centers of learning and opportunities to learn what they had to offer.
He
sojourned for some time at Trier (in present-day Germany, one of the oldest
cities in Europe and in Jerome's time a seat of the imperial court) where he
transcribed some of the works of Saint Hilary of Poitiers.  It was probably
while he was in Gaul that Jerome began to think of renouncing the world for
a
life entirely devoted to Christ.  He returned to his own province, to the
city
of Aquilea, and remained there for some time, in the company of a group of
devout men who had been brought together by a local priest.  Soon some
troubles
arose and with three friends and all his precious manuscripts, Jerome set
out
eastward.  Perhaps he intended to go to Palestine, but he arranged his route
to
take in many cities of Asia Minor on the way.  When he reached Antioch, an
important cultural center, his health required him to remain for several
months.

At Antioch, an event occurred that turned Jerome's love for literature from
the
pagan classics to Christian writings.  He had a dream.  In the dream, he was
brought before the great judge.  Asked who he was, he answered that he was a
Christian.  "You lie," said the judge, "you are a Ciceronian.  Where your
treasure is, there is your heart." Jerome resolved never again to read the
literary works he had loved so well, but to devote himself to Scripture.

Jerome now desired a more solitary life, and went to the desert of Chalcis,
about fifty miles southeast of Antioch.  Here he lived the penitential life
of a
hermit, but instead of occupying a narrow hut as the others did, Jerome
lived in
a room spacious enough to hold his library.  He spent his days in prayer,
study
of the Scripture, and copying books.

The delights of Rome were not easy to forget; Jerome was plagued by
unchaste
thoughts and was homesick also for the world of thought, study, and
discussion.
To dispel his unhappy state of mind, he decided to study Hebrew with the
help of
a monk who was a Jew by birth.  The knowledge of this language enabled him
to
translate the Scriptures from more direct sources.  He also organized a
workshop
of copyists, and began to write letters to his friends in the West.

Unfortunately, this pleasant solitude was disrupted by the theological
disputes
of quarreling monks, and Jerome in exasperation went back to Antioch.  Here
after some resistance he allowed himself to be ordained a priest by the
bishop
Paulinus, but reserved the right to remain unattached to any particular
diocese.
He went to Constantinople in 380 to meet Saint Gregory Nazianzen and then to
Rome in 382.

When Saint Jerome spoke at a council there, Pope Damasus was impressed by
his
learning and the sureness of his doctrine, and took him as secretary.  This
gave
Jerome many opportunities to exercise his talents.  Almost immediately the
pope
commissioned him to revise the New Testament.  He revised, in accordance
with
the Greek text, the Latin New Testament, which had been disfigured by clumsy
correction.

In fostering Christian asceticism, he sought the assistance of a group of
holy
women influenced by Saint Athanasius, members of Rome's first convent.
Among
the women were Saint Marcella and Saint Paula, with Paula's daughters,
Saints
Blesilla and Eustochium.

During this time, Rome was at Jerome's feet.  He was spoken of as the next
pope.  But one cannot be so well-liked and have such definite ideas (and
express
them with such vigor) and not gain enemies.  In 384 Pope Damasus died and
Jerome
lost his protector.  Those who hated Jerome influenced the people and
shouted
against him, attacking his reputation with slander.

Jerome, with Paula and Eustochium and a group of other women who wanted to
lead
a dedicated life, went to the Holy Land where they traveled about for some
time,
and finally settled in Bethlehem, where two monasteries were built, one for
Jerome and his monks, the other for Paula and her companions.  Education and
care of the needy were not neglected, but the most important work of the
Bethlehem group was continued work on the Scriptures.  Jerome now translated
most of the books of the Old Testament from Hebrew, and some from the Greek
Septuagint.  He had sought the help of a Jewish rabbi to improve his
knowledge
of Hebrew.  Not content with this, be wrote many scriptural commentaries,
two
biographies, and a history of ecclesiastical writers, and kept up a vast
correspondence.  Besides all this there were sermons or conferences for
monks,
and lessons for young people.

For thirty-six years the scholar lived at Bethlehem.  Most of these years
were
not peaceful for there was much confusion in the Church.  Jerome seems to
have
been involved in most of the quarrels over doctrine.  He disputed with Saint
Augustine, with the heretic Jovinian, with the bishop of Jerusalem, and with
his
friend Rufinus over the writings of Origen.  Jerome died peacefully in 420,
worn
out by a lifetime of study and austerity and of labor and combat.  He had
worked
for the Church in an heroic manner, for doctrine, for scriptural science,
for
monastic ideals.  With Saint Augustine, Saint Ambrose, and Saint Gregory the
Great, he is one of the four great Doctors of the Western Church.

This version taken from:
http://www.geocities.com/barats2000/September.html


Quote:
For you should have kept before your eyes the warnings which Our
predecessors
have constantly given, namely, that, if the sacred books are permitted
everywhere without discrimination in the vulgar tongue, more damage will
arise
from this than advantage....  Since in vernacular speech we notice very
frequent
interchanges, varieties, and changes, surely by an unrestrained license of
Biblical versions that changelessness which is proper to the divine
testimony
would be utterly destroyed, and faith itself would waver, when, especially,
from
the meaning of one syllable sometimes an understanding about the truth of a
dogma is formed.
-Pope Pius VII (1800-1823)

Bible Quote
7 But to every one of us is given grace, according to the measure of the
giving
of Christ. 8 Wherefore he saith: Ascending on high, he led captivity
captive; he
gave gifts to men.  (Ephesians 4:7-8)


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Daily Thought From The Following of Christ

Oh, how quickly passeth away the glory of the world! Oh, that their life had
been in keeping with their learning! Then would they have studied and
lectured
to good purpose.


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Eternal Father

Eternal Father, I desire to rest in Your Heart this night. I make the
intention of offering to You every beat of my heart, joining to them as many
acts of love and desire. I pray that even while I sleep, I will bring back
to You souls that offend You. I ask forgiveness for the whole world,
especially for those who know You and yet sin. I offer to You my every
breath and heartbeat as a prayer of reparation. -
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