Yet Jerome was also quite candid about his own faults. He could be impatient, argumentative, and ill-tempered, and his writings sometimes contain words that are remarkably sharp by any standard. His sanctity, therefore, did not consist in possessing a naturally gentle temperament, but in allowing his gifts, passions, and weaknesses to be placed increasingly at the service of God.
Jerome's temperament was particularly evident in his controversies. He could be scathing in his assessment of those whom he believed were teaching error, yet his severity was rooted in a conviction that truth mattered profoundly. To Jerome, the truths revealed by God were not matters for casual speculation. If someone deliberately taught what he believed to be contrary to the Christian faith, Jerome regarded that person as opposing God's truth. Consequently, he could pursue an opponent with the force of his formidable and sometimes sarcastic pen. His writings remind us that zeal for truth is a powerful virtue, but also that even a genuine zeal for God must continually be purified of anger and pride.
Above all, Jerome was a scholar of Sacred Scripture. He devoted much of his intellectual ability to understanding, translating, and explaining the Bible. He learned Hebrew and undertook the demanding task of translating much of the Old Testament directly from the Hebrew text. He also consulted Greek sources and drew upon the scholarship of earlier Christian writers. His numerous biblical commentaries remain an important part of the Church's tradition of scriptural interpretation. For Jerome, the Bible was not simply an academic subject. It was the living word of God, through which Christ speaks to His Church.
Jerome's love of Scripture eventually led him to the Holy Land. He did not want merely to read about the places mentioned in the Bible; he wanted to see them, pray there, and understand them in their geographical and historical setting. He traveled to the East and eventually made his home at Bethlehem. His decision reflected something characteristic of his spirituality; namely, that Scripture was not an abstract collection of ancient writings, but that the events recorded in the Bible had taken place in real places and among real people, and those places could help the Christian meditate more deeply upon the mysteries of salvation.
It was in the Holy Land that Jerome undertook the great work of the Latin translation of the Scriptures that became known as the Vulgate. Existing Latin biblical texts varied considerably in quality, and Jerome sought to produce translations that were more accurate and faithful to the original languages. His work required enormous learning, perseverance, and attention to detail. The Vulgate eventually became the principal Latin Bible of the Western Church and exercised an enormous influence upon Catholic theology, liturgy, preaching, scholarship, and Christian culture for centuries.
Jerome lived in Bethlehem for many years. Tradition associates his dwelling with the caves near the place where Christ was born. There, surrounded by the memory of the Nativity, he continued his study, writing, prayer, and penance. His life in Bethlehem united his love for Scripture with his love for Christ. He had come to the Holy Land because he wanted to encounter more deeply the world in which the biblical events had taken place, and he remained there for the remainder of his life.
Jerome died at Bethlehem around the year 420. His remains were eventually transferred to Rome and are now venerated in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. He is honoured by the Church as one of the great Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and his feast is celebrated on September 30.
Perhaps one of the most encouraging things about Saint Jerome is that his holiness did not erase his human personality. He could be brilliant and difficult, courageous and argumentative, deeply loving and occasionally severe. Yet he gave his enormous gifts to Christ. His life teaches us that holiness does not necessarily mean having a naturally perfect temperament. Rather, it means allowing God to transform our gifts, weaknesses, passions, and even our struggles into instruments of His service. His famous exhortation remains a fitting summary of his life: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” For Jerome, to know the Scriptures was ultimately to seek to know Christ Himself.
Jerome's temperament was particularly evident in his controversies. He could be scathing in his assessment of those whom he believed were teaching error, yet his severity was rooted in a conviction that truth mattered profoundly. To Jerome, the truths revealed by God were not matters for casual speculation. If someone deliberately taught what he believed to be contrary to the Christian faith, Jerome regarded that person as opposing God's truth. Consequently, he could pursue an opponent with the force of his formidable and sometimes sarcastic pen. His writings remind us that zeal for truth is a powerful virtue, but also that even a genuine zeal for God must continually be purified of anger and pride.
Above all, Jerome was a scholar of Sacred Scripture. He devoted much of his intellectual ability to understanding, translating, and explaining the Bible. He learned Hebrew and undertook the demanding task of translating much of the Old Testament directly from the Hebrew text. He also consulted Greek sources and drew upon the scholarship of earlier Christian writers. His numerous biblical commentaries remain an important part of the Church's tradition of scriptural interpretation. For Jerome, the Bible was not simply an academic subject. It was the living word of God, through which Christ speaks to His Church.
Jerome's love of Scripture eventually led him to the Holy Land. He did not want merely to read about the places mentioned in the Bible; he wanted to see them, pray there, and understand them in their geographical and historical setting. He traveled to the East and eventually made his home at Bethlehem. His decision reflected something characteristic of his spirituality; namely, that Scripture was not an abstract collection of ancient writings, but that the events recorded in the Bible had taken place in real places and among real people, and those places could help the Christian meditate more deeply upon the mysteries of salvation.
It was in the Holy Land that Jerome undertook the great work of the Latin translation of the Scriptures that became known as the Vulgate. Existing Latin biblical texts varied considerably in quality, and Jerome sought to produce translations that were more accurate and faithful to the original languages. His work required enormous learning, perseverance, and attention to detail. The Vulgate eventually became the principal Latin Bible of the Western Church and exercised an enormous influence upon Catholic theology, liturgy, preaching, scholarship, and Christian culture for centuries.
Jerome lived in Bethlehem for many years. Tradition associates his dwelling with the caves near the place where Christ was born. There, surrounded by the memory of the Nativity, he continued his study, writing, prayer, and penance. His life in Bethlehem united his love for Scripture with his love for Christ. He had come to the Holy Land because he wanted to encounter more deeply the world in which the biblical events had taken place, and he remained there for the remainder of his life.
Jerome died at Bethlehem around the year 420. His remains were eventually transferred to Rome and are now venerated in the Basilica of Saint Mary Major. He is honoured by the Church as one of the great Fathers and Doctors of the Church, and his feast is celebrated on September 30.
Perhaps one of the most encouraging things about Saint Jerome is that his holiness did not erase his human personality. He could be brilliant and difficult, courageous and argumentative, deeply loving and occasionally severe. Yet he gave his enormous gifts to Christ. His life teaches us that holiness does not necessarily mean having a naturally perfect temperament. Rather, it means allowing God to transform our gifts, weaknesses, passions, and even our struggles into instruments of His service. His famous exhortation remains a fitting summary of his life: “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” For Jerome, to know the Scriptures was ultimately to seek to know Christ Himself.
O God, who hast given us the holy Scriptures for a light to shine upon our path: grant us, after the example of thy servant Saint Jerome and assisted by his prayers, so to learn of thee according to thy holy Word; that we may find in it the light that shineth more and more unto the perfect day; through Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, ever one God, world without end. Amen.