9/30/2014 - St Jerome - Priest and Doctor of the Church -

      Back in 2005, I was a seminarian at Sacred Heart School of Theology in Hales Corners, Wisconsin, a wonderful learning community that trained me so well for the priesthood.  It was the beginning of my second year of studies.  I had done so well to keep up an exercise routine in the midst of my studies, activities, and a campus job, when I badly sprained my ankle while out jogging the morning of our first day of classes.  This happened in mid-August, and until September 30, I had to hobble around campus on crutches.  Not fun at all.  I remember the feast day of St Jerome because it was on this date, September 30, that I will finally able to discard the crutches and walk without their assistance. 

       Jerome lived in the late 4^th and early 5^th century.  He was known as one of the greatest Scripture scholars in the early Church. In fact, St Augustine, one of our Church’s greatest theologians, once said: “What Jerome is ignorant of, no mortal has ever known.” Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, which was the common language of his day.  That version of the Bible, the Vulgate, is still held in high esteem up until today.  As a seminarian, I felt Jerome’s presence and inspiration with me as I completed my studies in Scripture and Theology.  Jerome also had a very fiery, combative personality, and often found it very hard to be patient with others, especially in light of his intelligence and knowledge.  Jerome perhaps is a good patron for all of us who have problems with patience and tolerance in our modern, technologically advanced world.  Jerome is the patron saints of librarians, students, archeologists, and translators.
        May we offer up our worries and preoccupations to St Jerome today, giving thanks for his contributions to the Early Church and to the development of the faith that we practice today. 

9/30/2011 – Friday of the 26th week of ordinary time - Homily for the Memorial of St Jerome – Baruch 1:15-22

      Today, we celebrate the memorial of St Jerome, who lived in the late 4^th and early 5^th century.  Jerome was known as one of the greatest Scripture scholars in the early Church.  In fact, St Augustine, one of our Church’s greatest theologians, once said: “What Jerome is ignorant of, no mortal has ever known.”  Jerome translated the Bible into Latin, which was the common language of his day. That version of the Bible, the Vulgate, is still held in high esteem today.  As we are getting ready to start using the new English translation of the Roman Missal in a couple of months, perhaps we have new respect for Jerome and his translation expertise.  Jerome is the patron saints of librarians, students, archeologists, and translators.
         In our first reading today, the prophet Baruch tells us how the people in Israel who were in exile in Babylon were contrite for their sins, how they recognize the ways they are their leaders strayed from the road of faith to which God was calling them.  The people recognize the ways that they rejected the word of God in their lives, the ways that they turned away from him even though he brought them to the dessert to the land of milk and honey.
         As God gives us his word to nurture us and guide us in life, as Jerome helped translate God’s word into the language of the people, how he helped us understand what the word of God really means, may we take the word of God into our hearts and our lives.  May we be thankful for the word of God.