Year of Saint Joseph
Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"
Saint: Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church (340-420)
Readings of the Day
RB: Ch 7:31-33
Mass: Neh 8:1-4a, 5-6, 7b-12; Resp Ps 19; Lk 10:1-12
The precepts of the Lord give joy to the heart.
LORD GOD, YOUR WORDS WERE FOUND AND I CONSUMED THEM; YOUR WORD BECAME THE JOY AND THE HAPPINESS OF MY HEART.
(Communion Antiphon, Mass)
Today we commemorate the great Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor, lover of the Word, whose most important work was the translation of the Bible into Latin. Known as the Vulgate, it is "a translation which, with some revisions, is still in use today." This is not the only thing Saint Jerome labored over though. The well-known quotation, "ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ," comes from Saint Jerome's Commentary on Isaiah, included in today's Office of Readings. It is no wonder that Pope Francis referred to Saint Jerome in the 2019 Apostolic Letter Aperit illis Instituting the Sunday of the Word of God. In that Letter, Pope Francis designated the Third Sunday in Ordinary Time as "Sunday of the Word of God" to be "devoted to the celebration, study and dissemination of the word of God" (3). Pope Francis wrote this about our identity as Christians (1):
The relationship between the Risen Lord, the community of believers and Sacred Scripture is essential to our identity as Christians. Without the Lord who opens our mind to them, it is impossible to understand Scriptures in depth. Yet the contrary is equally true: without the Scripture, the events of the mission of Jesus and of His Church in this world remain incomprehensible. Hence, Saint Jerome could rightly claim: "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ."
As Christians then, we should devote as much time as possible to celebrating, praying with, and studying the Word of God. This is our faith seeking to understand. May we be among the "men, women, and children old enough to understand" gathered in today's First Reading (Nehemiah 8:2-3) and immerse ourselves in the Word of God. We are better equipped then to join the 72 disciples who Jesus sent in pairs to proclaim "The Kingdom of God is at hand for you" (Lk 10:9). May we not be ignorant of Scriptures so as to not be ignorant of Christ. Saint Jerome, intercede for us, so that we bring the Christ we know to "every town and place" (Lk 9:1).
SAINT JEROME,
SAINT JOSEPH,
PRAY FOR US.
Today's photo: 7:00 a.m., Saint Mary's Parish, with the glorious Oregon sky welcoming a new day to the people of Mt. Angel.
© Gertrude Feick 2021
