Today the Church celebrates the Feast of St. Jerome, The Perils of a Bible Translator. Jerome was a Roman Christian who lived in the fourth and fifth centuries. His father instructed him in the Christian faith, but sent him to a famous pagan school. There, Jerome grew to love pagan writings and lost some of his love for God. Yet, in the company of a group of holy Christians, with whom he became great friends, his heart was turned completely to God. He was baptized as a young adult.

 

Later, this brilliant young man decided to live alone in a wild desert. For four years he lived a life of prayer and penance, struggling against temptations. He learned Hebrew and wrote a biography of St. Paul of Thebes. He became such a great scholar of Hebrew that he could later translate the Bible into Latin, which, at that time, was understood by anyone who could read. Many more people were then able to read and understand the Holy Bible. After his time in the desert, Jerome went to Antioch and was ordained a priest. He went to Constantinople to study Scripture and then to Rome, where he revised the Latin version of the Gospels.

 

St. Jerome spent long years of his life in a little cave at Bethlehem. There he prayed, studied, and translated the Bible. He taught many people how to serve God. He wrote a great many letters and books to explain the faith.

 

St. Jerome died in Bethlehem in 420. He is a Doctor of the Church. (iMissal, Saint a Day)

 

To overcome his strong temptations, St. Jerome worked and studied hard. He also read the Bible. We can imitate Jerome’s wonderful habits of hard work, serious study, and frequent reading of the Bible. God’s holy Word has the power to change us for the better.

 

Here are a few quotes from Saint Jerome to help us appreciate the life of the man who gave us the Vulgate:

1) “Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”

2) “Begin now to be what you will be hereafter.”

3) “The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.”

4) “A friend is long sought, hardly found, and with difficulty kept.”

5) “It is idle to play the lyre for an ass.”

6) “Everything must have in it a sharp seasoning of truth.”

7) “Do not let your deeds belie your words, lest when you speak in church someone may say to himself, ‘Why do you not practice what you preach?’”

8) “Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best.”

9) “It is worse still to be ignorant of your ignorance.”

10) “When the stomach is full, it is easy to talk of fasting.”

 

Which quote touches you most?

 

Hail Mary full of grace…

St. Clare, pray for us.

St. Vincent de Paul, pray for us.

 

Be one and be holy,

Father Vincent-Vuong Nguyen

St. Clare of Assisi Catholic Church

Houston, TX