Churches of the Day
Pictorial Thought for Today
Sep 30 - Saint Jerome (1) 342-420 AD, Doctor of the Church
Summary: St Jerome, priest and Doctor of the Church, born at strido in Dalmatia around 340, died on this day in 420. Began work on a new Latin translation of the Bible, known as the Vulgate. Settled and worked in Bethlehem where he founded monasteries, he devoted himself to studying the scriptures, writing commentaries, and teaching, famous for his incomparable service to the Word of God.
S
aint Jerome was probably the most controversial of the Latin Doctors of the Church. He became secretary to Pope Damasus who asked him to provide a standard translation of the Bible. His work, the Latin Vulgate, has been that till our own day. Jerome's friendship with three devout women aroused suspicions and he had to leave Rome. The women accompanied him to Bethlehem where he opened a monastery and they lived in a convent nearby.
Terence Fay SJ tells his story here.
St Jerome is a great favourite of artists and saintly people. He is one of the four Latin Doctors of the Church, along with Ambrose, Augustine and Gregory the Great. Translator of a definitive edition of the Bible, Jerome deserves our attention because of the importance of this great work in the western church.
Let us consider Jerome as seeker in the Syrian Desert, debater at the Council of Constantinople, a secretary to the Pope and a mature monk at Bethlehem.
Early life
Jerome was baptised as an adult (aged 18) after his studies in Rome, but it was only when living in Gaul that he recognised his call to a more dedicated Christian life. From the middle east the monasticism of St Pachomius was carried by exiles to the west. Jerome and a friend decided to make a break with the world by renouncing secular ambition and entering a life of detachment and contemplation. The zealous young man convinced his wayward sister to do the same, but her commitment to Christian asceticism seems to have alienated him from his family.
Syrian desert
It was mid-Lent 374 AD, when he was twenty-eight years of age, that Jerome decided to go to the Syrian desert to learn the committed life. He lived with a colony of hermits who were austere in their lives and eccentric in their devotions. Squalid and clad in hair garments, the hermits would meet together on Saturdays and Sundays for worship. They lived on raw herbs and water, and loaded their bodies with heavy chains. During the same period Simon Stylites, the saint who demonstrated his holiness by living atop a pillar for many years, was a most famous contemporary.
Through contemplation they made every effort to live continually in the presence of God. Jerome tilled a small plot of land, wove mats and baskets, and slept on the bare earth.
Jerome continued to study, write and hold conversations. He studied Greek as it was the educated language, and Syriac as it was the language of the monks. He was one of the first Latin Christians to begin the study of Hebrew.
Jerome could also be decidedly self-willed, sharp-tongued and irascible with the rustic hermits, but it was their resentment towards him that disillusioned him. He notes that these monks in their ignorance attempted to 'pass sentence on bishops and set aside the decisions of councils'.
Constantinople and Rome
Jerome went to Constantinople in 380 AD and remained there for the Council of 381 AD. Emperor Theodosius demanded that the citizens and clergy of the city be orthodox and hold the Trinitarian doctrine of Nicaea. Theodosius then went on to expel the Arian bishop of Constantinople and handed over the city to Gregory of Nazianzus.
The Council of Constantinople affirmed the Trinitarian unity and added that the Holy Three were distinct persons. At this council, Constantinople was declared the Second Rome!
Jerome had the opportunity to accompany a Greek-speaking bishop to Rome as his translator. It was a return to the city of his education, baptism and early manhood. From the moment of his arrival in Rome, Jerome's ability, scholarship and strong personality made an immediate impression. He was invited to play a role in Roman church affairs.
Papal secretary
The elderly Pope Damasus asked Jerome to be his secretary. Damasus was a dynamic and assertive Pope who accepted his public role as the head of the Christian Church. He fostered the cult of the early Roman martyrs, restoration of the catacombs and construction of new churches. A cultured Pope he organised the papal archives and 'found the younger man useful, with his knowledge of languages, his familiarity with eastern church affairs, and his flair for writing.'
It was at Rome that Jerome first began the translation of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. Pope Damasus, horrified by various versions of the Bible, appealed to him in 383 A.D. to provide a standard translation. It was a monumental undertaking, which resulted in an edition which lasted over eleven hundred years. The Vulgate, as it was called, would meet the needs of Christian society and became one of the most influential books in western society.
Happy and respected in his role as translator and mouthpiece of the Pope, Jerome was considered as a candidate for the papacy. But now complexity entered into his life. Marcella, Paula, and Eustochium were wealthy Roman Christians who sought out persons who could offer spiritual direction and religious knowledge.
Marcella was a beautiful and wealthy widow who was strong-minded and realistic. Spurning offers of a second marriage, she consecrated herself to a life of chastity, simplicity and Bible reading. To Marcella's home came a thirty-five-year old widow named Paula. She became a close friend of Marcella and then turned her home into a similar spiritual centre. Paula's daughter, Eustochium, was directed by Marcella in a life of prayer and asceticism.
Jerome taught scripture at the homes of Marcella and Paula, and he delighted in the friendship of Paula. The attractive widow was so modest, however, that she never ate a meal with a man, not even a bishop.
Inquiry into rumours
The fact that Paula, the source of Jerome's financial solvency, intended to join him in Bethlehem provided grist for the rumour mills. Jerome was investigated by a commission which found him entirely innocent of any wrongdoing, but asked him to depart from Rome immediately. Jerome felt most injured by the aspersions cast on the good character of Paula who had heroically committed herself to the service of God. Despite the upset, an impressive crowd of well-wishers came to the port of Rome in 384 AD to see the departure of Jerome, his brother and their companions for the east.
Jerome opened a monastery in Bethlehem and, at the same time, Paula and Eustochium opened a convent nearby. By 390 AD Jerome began his labour on the Jewish Bible - 'with my eyes open I thrust my hand into the flame'. He made corrections to the text and provided an unpolished edition with strong Hebrew colouring in ‘Christian Latin.'
When Jerome's sight began to fail, Paula and Eustochium read the psalms to him in Hebrew. Paula died in 404 A.D. in her fifty-seventh year and was buried in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity. Jerome was dazed for some months by her loss and fell sick with a raging fever. To Eustochium he eulogised Paula's humility, charity and acceptance of suffering. She came into a world of wealth and for her apostolic endeavour left behind crippling debts.
For fifteen years after Paula's death Eustochium continued to help Jerome and read Hebrew to him until she too died and was buried next to her mother.
After a long illness, Jerome succumbed to death in 420 A.D., at seventy-four years of age and was buried next to his dear friends Paula and Eustochium.
Conclusion
By compiling the Vulgate Bible, Jerome rendered an incalculable service to western Christendom. He also contributed greatly to the establishment of monasticism in Europe. He revealed his passionate nature in his pursuit of scholarship, in his dedication to his monastic commitment, and in his great love for the women who supported the major project of his life.
We might also say that Jerome's brilliance and strong character disciplined his powerful passions. He schooled himself so that his good works might shine as a beacon within the Christian community. His writings provided Christians with inspiration for over a thousand years.
This article first appeared in The Messenger (September 1999), a publication of the Irish Jesuits. c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
S
aint Jerome was probably the most controversial of the Latin Doctors of the Church. He became secretary to Pope Damasus who asked him to provide a standard translation of the Bible. His work, the Latin Vulgate, has been that till our own day. Jerome's friendship with three devout women aroused suspicions and he had to leave Rome. The women accompanied him to Bethlehem where he opened a monastery and they lived in a convent nearby.Terence Fay SJ tells his story here.
St Jerome is a great favourite of artists and saintly people. He is one of the four Latin Doctors of the Church, along with Ambrose, Augustine and Gregory the Great. Translator of a definitive edition of the Bible, Jerome deserves our attention because of the importance of this great work in the western church.
Let us consider Jerome as seeker in the Syrian Desert, debater at the Council of Constantinople, a secretary to the Pope and a mature monk at Bethlehem.
Early life
Jerome was baptised as an adult (aged 18) after his studies in Rome, but it was only when living in Gaul that he recognised his call to a more dedicated Christian life. From the middle east the monasticism of St Pachomius was carried by exiles to the west. Jerome and a friend decided to make a break with the world by renouncing secular ambition and entering a life of detachment and contemplation. The zealous young man convinced his wayward sister to do the same, but her commitment to Christian asceticism seems to have alienated him from his family.
Syrian desertIt was mid-Lent 374 AD, when he was twenty-eight years of age, that Jerome decided to go to the Syrian desert to learn the committed life. He lived with a colony of hermits who were austere in their lives and eccentric in their devotions. Squalid and clad in hair garments, the hermits would meet together on Saturdays and Sundays for worship. They lived on raw herbs and water, and loaded their bodies with heavy chains. During the same period Simon Stylites, the saint who demonstrated his holiness by living atop a pillar for many years, was a most famous contemporary.
Through contemplation they made every effort to live continually in the presence of God. Jerome tilled a small plot of land, wove mats and baskets, and slept on the bare earth.
Jerome continued to study, write and hold conversations. He studied Greek as it was the educated language, and Syriac as it was the language of the monks. He was one of the first Latin Christians to begin the study of Hebrew.
Jerome could also be decidedly self-willed, sharp-tongued and irascible with the rustic hermits, but it was their resentment towards him that disillusioned him. He notes that these monks in their ignorance attempted to 'pass sentence on bishops and set aside the decisions of councils'.
Constantinople and Rome
Jerome went to Constantinople in 380 AD and remained there for the Council of 381 AD. Emperor Theodosius demanded that the citizens and clergy of the city be orthodox and hold the Trinitarian doctrine of Nicaea. Theodosius then went on to expel the Arian bishop of Constantinople and handed over the city to Gregory of Nazianzus.
The Council of Constantinople affirmed the Trinitarian unity and added that the Holy Three were distinct persons. At this council, Constantinople was declared the Second Rome!
Jerome had the opportunity to accompany a Greek-speaking bishop to Rome as his translator. It was a return to the city of his education, baptism and early manhood. From the moment of his arrival in Rome, Jerome's ability, scholarship and strong personality made an immediate impression. He was invited to play a role in Roman church affairs.
Papal secretary
The elderly Pope Damasus asked Jerome to be his secretary. Damasus was a dynamic and assertive Pope who accepted his public role as the head of the Christian Church. He fostered the cult of the early Roman martyrs, restoration of the catacombs and construction of new churches. A cultured Pope he organised the papal archives and 'found the younger man useful, with his knowledge of languages, his familiarity with eastern church affairs, and his flair for writing.'
It was at Rome that Jerome first began the translation of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. Pope Damasus, horrified by various versions of the Bible, appealed to him in 383 A.D. to provide a standard translation. It was a monumental undertaking, which resulted in an edition which lasted over eleven hundred years. The Vulgate, as it was called, would meet the needs of Christian society and became one of the most influential books in western society.Happy and respected in his role as translator and mouthpiece of the Pope, Jerome was considered as a candidate for the papacy. But now complexity entered into his life. Marcella, Paula, and Eustochium were wealthy Roman Christians who sought out persons who could offer spiritual direction and religious knowledge.
Marcella was a beautiful and wealthy widow who was strong-minded and realistic. Spurning offers of a second marriage, she consecrated herself to a life of chastity, simplicity and Bible reading. To Marcella's home came a thirty-five-year old widow named Paula. She became a close friend of Marcella and then turned her home into a similar spiritual centre. Paula's daughter, Eustochium, was directed by Marcella in a life of prayer and asceticism.
Jerome taught scripture at the homes of Marcella and Paula, and he delighted in the friendship of Paula. The attractive widow was so modest, however, that she never ate a meal with a man, not even a bishop.
Inquiry into rumours
The fact that Paula, the source of Jerome's financial solvency, intended to join him in Bethlehem provided grist for the rumour mills. Jerome was investigated by a commission which found him entirely innocent of any wrongdoing, but asked him to depart from Rome immediately. Jerome felt most injured by the aspersions cast on the good character of Paula who had heroically committed herself to the service of God. Despite the upset, an impressive crowd of well-wishers came to the port of Rome in 384 AD to see the departure of Jerome, his brother and their companions for the east.
Jerome opened a monastery in Bethlehem and, at the same time, Paula and Eustochium opened a convent nearby. By 390 AD Jerome began his labour on the Jewish Bible - 'with my eyes open I thrust my hand into the flame'. He made corrections to the text and provided an unpolished edition with strong Hebrew colouring in ‘Christian Latin.'When Jerome's sight began to fail, Paula and Eustochium read the psalms to him in Hebrew. Paula died in 404 A.D. in her fifty-seventh year and was buried in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity. Jerome was dazed for some months by her loss and fell sick with a raging fever. To Eustochium he eulogised Paula's humility, charity and acceptance of suffering. She came into a world of wealth and for her apostolic endeavour left behind crippling debts.
For fifteen years after Paula's death Eustochium continued to help Jerome and read Hebrew to him until she too died and was buried next to her mother.
After a long illness, Jerome succumbed to death in 420 A.D., at seventy-four years of age and was buried next to his dear friends Paula and Eustochium.
Conclusion
By compiling the Vulgate Bible, Jerome rendered an incalculable service to western Christendom. He also contributed greatly to the establishment of monasticism in Europe. He revealed his passionate nature in his pursuit of scholarship, in his dedication to his monastic commitment, and in his great love for the women who supported the major project of his life.
We might also say that Jerome's brilliance and strong character disciplined his powerful passions. He schooled himself so that his good works might shine as a beacon within the Christian community. His writings provided Christians with inspiration for over a thousand years.
This article first appeared in The Messenger (September 1999), a publication of the Irish Jesuits. c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
******************************
Memorable Saying for Today
I am the Lord your God
who takes hold of your right hand and says to you
Do not fear, I will help you
~ Isaiah 41: 13 ~
******************************
Liturgical Readings for: Wednesday, 30th September, 2026
Wednesday of the 26th week of Ordinary Time, Year 2
Saint of the Day: Sept 30; –St Jerome, priest and doctor of the Church
C/f A short look at this saint’s life can be found below today's Readings and Reflection.
FIRST READING
A reading from the Book of Job 9:1-12. 14-16
How can man be in the right against God?
Job spoke to his friends.
Indeed, I know it is as you say: how can man be in the right against God?
If any were so rash as to challenge him for reasons, one in a thousand would be more than they could answer.
His heart is wise, and his strength is great: who then can successfully defy him?
He moves the mountains,
though they do not know it;he throws them down when he is angry. He shakes the earth, and moves it from its place, making all its pillars tremble.
The sun, at his command, forbears to rise, and on the stars he sets a seal. He and no other stretched out the skies, and trampled the Sea's tall waves.
The Bear, Orion too, are of his making, the Pleiades and the Mansions of the South.
His works are great, beyond all reckoning, his marvels, past all counting.
Were he to pass me, I should not see him, nor detect his stealthy movement.
Were he to snatch a prize, who could prevent him, or dare to say, 'What are you doing?'
How dare I plead my cause, then, or choose arguments against him?
Suppose I am in the right, what use is my defence? For he whom I must sue is judge as well.
If he deigned to answer my citation, could I be sure that he would listen to my voice?
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 87: 10-15. R/v 3
Response Let my prayer come into your presence! O Lord.
1. I call to you, Lord, all the day long; to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work your wonders for the dead? Will the shades stand and praise you? Response
2. Will your love be told in the grave' or your faithfulness among the dead?
Will your wonders be known in the dark or your justice in the land of oblivion? Response
3. As for me, Lord, I call to you for help: in the morning my prayer comes before you.
Lord, why do you reject me? Why do you hide your face? Response
Gospel Acclamation Ps 118: 105
Alleluia, alleluia!
Your word is a lamp for my steps and a light for my path.
Alleluia!
or Phil 3: 8. 9
Alleluia, alleluia!
I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish
if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him.
Alleluia !
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke 9:57-62 Glory to you , Lord
I will follow you wherever you go.
As Jesus and his disciples travelled along they met a man on the road who said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go'.Jesus answered, 'Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head'.
Another to whom he said, 'Follow me', replied,
'Let me go and bury my father first'.
But he answered, 'Leave the dead to bury their dead; your duty is to go and spread the news of the kingdom of God'.
Another said, 'I will follow you, sir, but first let me go and say good-bye to my people at home'.
Jesus said to him, 'Once the hand is laid on the plough, no one who looks back is fit for the kingdom of God'.
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
********************
Gospel Reflection Wednesday Twenty Sixth Week in Ordinary Time Luke 9:57-62
In today’s gospel reading, Jesus meets with three people, one of whom he calls to follow him and two who offer to follow him. The two who offer to follow him seem to make very reasonable requests of Jesus before they set out with him. One wanted to bury his father, and the other wanted to say goodbye to his family. However, Jesus denies both requests and insists that they leave with him right away. There is an urgency to the work that Jesus is doing which overrides all other considerations, even the closest family duties and ties. We get a glimpse here of the urgent pace at which Jesus must have worked during his relatively short public ministry. Perhaps he sensed that his time was short and that there was much to be done if God’s work in which he was engaged was to endure into the future.
We can be grateful for Jesus’ sense of urgency because God’s good work through Jesus has touched the lives of us all, two thousand years after Jesus’ death and resurrection. We all need something of Jesus’ sense of urgency today when it comes to our relationship with him. The Lord needs us to answer his call today. We can be easily tempted to put off until tomorrow or at some time in the future what the Lord may be asking of us now. We sense a call to do something, which we know is in keeping with the Lord’s good work, and we hesitate. We allow less important considerations to hold us back and deflect us. As one of the psalms expresses it, ‘O that today you would listen to his voice.’ Growing into the Lord’s sense of urgency, with the help of the Holy Spirit, is an important dimension of our daily baptismal calling.
________________________________
The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, 1966 published by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and used with the permission of the publishers. http://dltbooks.com/
The Gospel Reflection is available with our thanks from Reflections on the Weekday Readings : My Words Will Not Pass Away by Martin Hogan and published by Messenger Publications c/f www.messenger.ie/bookstore
________________
Saint of the Day: Sept 30; –St Jerome, biblical student, priest and doctor of the Church
St Jerome, priest, Doctor of the Church. died on this day in 420. He began work on a new Latin translation of the Bible, known as the Vulgate. Settled in Bethlehem where he founded monasteries, he devoted himself to studying the Scriptures, writing, and teaching, and was famous for his incomparable service to the word of God.
S
t Jerome probably the most controversial of the Latin Doctors of the Church became secretary to Pope Damasus who asked him to provide a standard translation of the Bible. His work, the Latin Vulgate, has been that till our own day. His friendship with three devout women aroused suspicions and he had to leave Rome. The women accompanied him to Bethlehem where he opened a monastery and they lived in a convent nearby.Terence Fay SJ tells his story here.
St Jerome is a great favourite of artists and saintly people. He is one of the four Latin Doctors of the Church, along with Ambrose, Augustine and Gregory the Great. Translator of a definitive edition of the Bible, Jerome deserves our attention because of the importance of this great work in the western church.
Let us consider Jerome as seeker in the Syrian Desert,
debater at the Council of Constantinople,
a secretary to the Pope
and a mature monk at Bethlehem.
Early life
Jerome was baptised as an adult (aged 18) after his studies in Rome, but it was only when living in Gaul that he recognised his call to a more dedicated Christian life. From the middle east the monasticism of St Pachomius was carried by exiles to the west. Jerome and a friend decided to make a break with the world by renouncing secular ambition and entering a life of detachment and contemplation. The zealous young man convinced his wayward sister to do the same, but her comment to Christian asceticism seems to have alienated him from his family.
Syrian desertIt was mid-Lent 374 AD, when he was twenty-eight years of age, that Jerome decided to go to the Syrian desert to learn the committed life. He lived with a colony of hermits who were austere in their lives and eccentric in their devotions. Squalid and clad in hair garments, the hermits would meet together on Saturdays and Sundays for worship. They lived on raw herbs and water, and loaded their bodies with heavy chains. During the same period Simon Stylites, the saint who demonstrated his holiness by living atop a pillar for many years, was a most famous contemporary
Through contemplation they made every effort to live continually in the presence of God. Jerome tilled a small plot of land, wove mats and baskets, and slept on the bare earth.
[caption id="attachment_50952" align="alignleft" width="207"]
Jerome growing in wisdom and influence[/caption]Constantinople and Rome
Jerome went to Constantinople in 380 AD and remained there for the Council of 381 AD. Emperor Theodosius demanded that the citizens and clergy of the city be orthodox and hold the Trinitarian doctrine of Nicaea. Theodosius then went on to expel the Arian bishop of Constantinople and handed over the city to Gregory of Nazianzus.
The Council of Constantinople affirmed the Trinitarian unity and added that the Holy Three were distinct persons. At this council, Constantinople was declared the Second Rome!
Jerome had the opportunity to accompany a Greek-speaking bishop to Rome as his translator. It was a return to the city of his education, baptism and early manhood. From the moment of his arrival in Rome, Jerome's ability, scholarship and strong personality made an immediate impression. He was invited to play a role in Roman church affairs.
Papal Secretary
The elderly Pope Damasus asked Jerome to be his secretary. Damasus was a dynamic and assertive Pope who accepted his public role as the head of the Christian Church. He fostered the cult of the early Roman martyrs, restoration of the catacombs and construction of new churches. A cultured Pope he organised the papal archives and 'found the younger man useful, with his knowledge of languages, his familiarity with eastern church affairs, and his flair for writing.'
It was at Rome that Jerome first began the translation of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. Pope Damasus, horrified by various versions of the Bible, appealed to him in 383 A.D. to provide a standard translation. It was a monumental undertaking, which resulted in an edition which lasted over eleven hundred years. The Vulgate, as it was called, would meet the needs of Christian society and became one of the most influential books in western society.
Happy and respected in his role as translator and mouthpiece of the Pope, Jerome was considered as a candidate for the papacy. But now complexity entered into his life. Marcella, Paula, and Eustochium were wealthy Roman Christians who sought out persons who could offer spiritual direction and religious knowledge.
Marcella was a beautiful and wealthy widow who was strong-minded and realistic. Spurning offers of a second marriage, she consecrated herself to a life of chastity, simplicity and Bible reading. To Marcella's home came a thirty-five-year old widow named Paula. She became a close friend of Marcella and then turned her home into a similar spiritual centre. Paula's daughter, Eustochium, was directed by Marcella in a life of prayer and asceticism. Jerome taught scripture at the homes of Marcella and Paula, and he delighted in the friendship of Paula. The attractive widow was so modest, however, that she never ate a meal with a man, not even a bishop.
Inquiry into rumours
The fact that Paula, the source of Jerome's financial solvency, intended to join him in Bethlehem provided grist for the rumour mills. Jerome was investigated by a commission which found him entirely innocent of any wrongdoing, but asked him to depart from Rome immediately. Jerome felt most injured by the aspersions cast on the good character of Paula who had heroically committed herself to the service of God. Despite the upset, an impressive crowd of well-wishers came to the port of Rome in 384 AD to see the departure of Jerome, his brother and their companions for the east.
Jerome opened a monastery in Bethlehem and, at the same time, Paula and Eustochium opened a convent nearby. By 390 AD Jerome began his labour on the Jewish Bible - 'with my eyes open I thrust my hand into the flame'. He made corrections to the text and provided an unpolished edition with strong Hebrew colouring in ‘Christian Latin.'When Jerome's sight began to fail, Paula and Eustochium read the psalms to him in Hebrew. Paula died in 404 A.D. in her fifty-seventh year and was buried in Bethlehem at the Church of the Nativity. Jerome was dazed for some months by her loss and fell sick with a raging fever. To Eustochium he eulogised Paula's humility, charity and acceptance of suffering. She came into a world of wealth and for her apostolic endeavour left behind crippling debts.
For fifteen years after Paula's death Eustochium continued to help Jerome and read Hebrew to him until she too died and was buried next to her mother.
After a long illness, Jerome succumbed to death in 420 A.D., at seventy-four years of age and was buried next to his dear friends Paula and Eustochium.
Conclusion
By compiling the Vulgate Bible, Jerome rendered an incalculable service to western Christendom. He also contributed greatly to the establishment of monasticism in Europe. He revealed his passionate nature in his pursuit of scholarship, in his dedication to his monastic commitment, and in his great love for the women who supported the major project of his life.
We might also say that Jerome's brilliance and strong character disciplined his powerful passions. He schooled himself so that his good works might shine as a beacon within the Christian community. His writings provided Christians with inspiration for over a thousand years.
This article first appeared in The Messenger (September 1999), a publication of the Irish Jesuits. c/f www.messenger.ie/bookshop/
******************************
Memorable Saying for Today
I am the Lord your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you
Do not fear, I will help you
~ Isaiah 41: 13 ~
**********************************
Liturgical Readings for: Wednesday, 30th September, 2026
CÉAD LÉACHTSliocht as an Leabhar Iób 9:1-12. 14-16
Conas is féidir do dhuine bheith fíréanta os comhair Dé?
Labhair Iób lena chairde á rá
Is eol dom go deimhin gurb amhlaidh atá;
Agus conas is féidir do dhuine bheith fíréanta os comhair Dé?
Dá mb’áil leis conspóid a dhéanamh leis. Ní fhéadfadh sé freagra as an míle a thabhairt air.
Is críonna é ó chroí agus is cumhachtach é ó neart.
Cé a thug a dhúshlán riamh gan bheith thíos leis?
Eisean a d’aistrigh na sléibhte gan fhios dóibh; Agus déanann sé iad a threascairt ina fhraoch.
Eisean a chroitheann an chruinne as a hionad, Ionas go gcritheann a colúin go léir.
Eisean a thugann ordú don ghrian ionas nach n-éiríonn sí,
Agus a chuireann na réaltaí i bhfolach.
Eisean amháin a leath na spéartha amach,
Agus a shatail ar thonnta na mara.
Eisean a rinne an Camchéachta agus Slat an Rí,
An Treighdín agus Réaltaí Lána an Deiscirt.
Eisean a dhéanann éachtaí thar cuimse Agus iontais thar áireamh.
Féach! Gabhann sé tharam, agus ní fheicim é;
Gluaiseann sé thar bráid, agus ní thugaim faoi deara é.
Féach! beireann sé creach leis, agus cé dhéanfaidh é a thoirmeasc?
Cé a déarfaidh leis: “Cad tá á dhéanamh agat”?
Ní fhéadfadh fiú dia a fhraoch a chloí Agus luigh lucht cúnta Ráhab faoina sháil.
Nach lú ná sin fós a d’fhéadfainnse freagra a thabhairt air, Agus mo bhriathra a roghnú ina aghaidh?
Fág go bhfuilim sa cheart, ní fhéadfainn freagra a thabhairt. Óir an té a chúisím, is é freisin is breitheamh.
Dá gcuirfinn toghairm air agus go bhfreagródh seisean mé, Ní chreidim go n-éistfeadh sé le mo bhriathar.
Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Salm le Freagra Sm 87: 10-15. R/v 3
Freagra Go dtaga mo ghuí ag triall ort, a Thiarna.
1. Bím ag éamh ort gach aon lá, a Thiarna; is chugat a shínim mo lámha.
An ndéanfaidh tú éachtaí do na mairbh? an éireoidh na neamhbheo do do mholadh? Freagra
2. An bhfógrófar do ghrá san uaigh, nó do dhílseacht i measc na marbh?
An bhfoilseofar d’éachtaí sa dorchacht; agus d’fhíréantacht i dtír na díchuimhne? Freagra
3. Is ort a bhím ag éamh, a Thiarna, is chugat a thagann m’urnaí ar maidin.
Cad chuige duit m’anam a ruaigeadh? cad fáth a bhfolaíonn tú d’aghaidh orm? Freagra
SOISCÉAL
Go raibh an Tiarna libh. Agus le do spiorad féin
Sliocht as an Soiscéal naofa de réir Naomh Lúcas 9:57-62 Glóir duit, a Thiarna.
Leanfaidh mé thú cibé áit a rachaidh tú.
San am sin nuair a bhí Íosa agus a deisceabail ag gluaiseacht rompu, dúirt duine éigin sa tslí leis:
“Leanfaidh mé thú cibé áit a rachaidh tú.”
Dúirt Íosa leis:
“Tá prochóga ag na sionnaigh agus neadacha ag éanlaith an aeir, ach níl ag Mac an Duine áit ar a leagfadh sé a cheann.”
Dúirt sé le duine eile: “Lean mise.”
Ach dúirt seisean:
“A Thiarna, bíodh cead agam dul ar dtús agus m’athair a adhlacadh.”
Dúirt sé leis:
“Lig do na mairbh a mairbh a adhlacadh, ach imigh tusa agus craobhscaoil ríocht Dé.”
Dúirt duine eile fós: “Leanfaidh mé thú, a Thiarna, ach bíodh cead agam ar dtús slán a fhágáil ag muintir mo thí.”
Ach dúirt Íosa leis:
“Aon duine a bhuaileann a lámh ar an gcéachta agus a fhéachann siar ina dhiaidh, níl sé oiriúnach do ríocht Dé.”
Soiscéal an Tiarna. Moladh duit, a Chriost
AN BÍOBLA NAOFA
© An Sagart
Liturgical Readings for: Sunday, 4th October, 2026
The Twenty-Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A
We are the New Vineyard of the Lord
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of Isaiah 5:1-7
The vineyard of the Lord God of hosts is the House of Israel.
Let me sing to my friend the song of his love for his vineyard.
My friend had a vineyard on a fertile hillside.
He dug the soil, cleared it of stones, and planted choice vines in it. In the middle he built a tower, he dug a press there too. He expected it to yield grapes, but sour grapes were all that it gave.
And now, inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah,
I ask you to judge between my vineyard and me.
What could I have done for my vineyard that I have not done? I expected it to yield grapes. Why did it yield sour grapes instead?
Very well, I will tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard:
I will take away its hedge for it to be grazed on, and knock down its wall for it to be trampled on.
I will lay it waste, unpruned, undug; overgrown by the briar and the thorn. I will command the clouds to rain no rain on it.
Yes, the vineyard of the Lord God of hosts is the House of Israel, and the men of Judah that chosen plant. He expected justice, but found bloodshed, integrity, but only a cry of distress.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 79: 9. 12-16. 19-20. Is 5:7
Response The vineyard of the Lord is the House of Israel
1. You brought a vine out of Egypt; to plant it, you drove out the nations.
It stretched out its branches to the sea, to the Great River it stretched out its shoots. Response
2. Then why have you broken down its walls?
It is plucked by all who pass by.
It is ravaged by the boar of the forest,
devoured by the beasts of the field. Response
3. God of hosts, turn again, we implore,
look down from heaven and see.
Visit this vine and protect it,
the vine your right hand has planted. Response
4. And we shall never forsake you again: give us life that we may call upon your name.
God of hosts, bring us back; let your face shine on us and we shall be saved. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the letter of St Paul to the Philippians 4:6-9
The God of peace will be with you.
There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand,
will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus.Finally, brothers, fill your minds with everything that is true, everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise. Keep doing all the things that you learnt from me and have been taught by me and have heard or seen that I do. Then the God of peace will be with you.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Gospel Acclamation Jn 15: 15
Alleluia, alleluia!
I call you friends, says the Lord, because I have made known to you
everything I have learnt from my Father.
Alleluia!
Or Jn 15: 16
Alleluia, alleluia!
I chose you from the world to go out and to bear fruit,
fruit that will last says the Lord
Alleluia!
GOSPEL
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew 21:33-43
He will lease the vineyard to other tenants.
Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people : 'Listen to another parable.
There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad. When vintage time drew near he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a third.
Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them in the same way.
Finally he sent his son to them. "They will respect my son" he said. But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, "This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him and take over his inheritance." So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?'
They answered, 'He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the produce to him when the season arrives'.
Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the scriptures: It was the stone rejected by the builders that became the keystone. This was the Lord's doing and it is wonderful to see?
I tell you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit.'
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
********************
For homily resources for this Sunday's Gospel click here: https://www.catholicireland.net/sunday-homily/
Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House Inc, and used by permission of the publishers.
Liturgical Readings for: Sunday, 4th October, 2026
CÉAD LÉACHT Sliocht as leabhar Íseáia 5:1-7
Óir, fíonghort Thiarna na slua, is é teaghlach Iosrael é.
Canaim thar ceann mo chara duan a ghrá dá fhíonghort.
Bhí fíonghort ag mo chara ar chnocán torthúil.
Rinne sé a romhar agus a ghlanadh ó chlocha, agus chuir sé togha na bhfíniúnacha ann,
thóg sé túr faire ina lár, agus thochail cantaoir ann leis.
Agus bhí sé ag dréim le caora fíona uaidh, ach thug sé fiachaora dó.
Agus anois, a phobal Iarúsailéim agus a mhuintir Iúdá,
tugaigí breithiúnas idir mé féin agus an fíonghort seo liom.
Cad a d’fhéadfainn a dhéanamh ar son m’fhíonghoirt nach bhfuil déanta agam?
Bhí mé ag dréim le caora fíona. Cén fáth na fiachaora amháin?
Tá, cuirfidh mé in iúl daoibh anois cad tá mé chun a dhéanamh le m’fhíonghort:
an claí a bhaint as chun go mbeidh sé ina fhéarach, an balla a leagan chun go satlófar air.
Déanfar slad air, agus beidh sé gan bearradh gan saothrú, agus sceacha agus driseacha ag fás air. Crosfaidh mé ar na néalta an fhearthainn a fhearadh air.
Óir, fíonghort Thiarna na slua, is é teaghlach Iosrael é,
agus is iad muintir Iúdá an planda is rogha leis ann.
Bhí sé ag dréim le riar ceart agus seo fuilbheart, le fíréantacht agus seo caoi léanmhar.
Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Salm le Freagra Sm 79: 9. 12-16. 19-20. Is 5:7
Freagra Fíonghort an Tiarna, is é teaglach Isráél é.
1. Thug tú fíniúin amach as an Éigipt; dhíbir tú na ciníocha agus chuir tú í.
Shín sí a craobhacha go dtí an mhuir agus a bachlóga go dtí an Abhainn. Freagra
2. Cad chuige ar mhill tú a ballaí chun go stoitheadh gach duine a ghabhann thar bráid í ?
Creachann torc fiáin na coille í alpann beithígh an machaire í. Freagra
3. Cas ar ais, a Dhia na Slua. Breathnaigh anuas ó neamh agus féach.
Tabhair cuairt ár an bhfíniúin a chuir tú féin.
Caomhnaigh an stoc a phlandaigh do dheaslámh féin. Freagra
4. Ní thréigfimid thú go brách ansin: tabhair dúinn an bheatha agus mórfaimid d'ainm.
A Thiarna, a Dhia na Slua, cuir ar ais sinn. Taispeáin do ghnúis ghrianmhar dúinn dár saoradh. Freagra
AN DARA LÉACHT
Sliocht litir Naomh Pól chuig na Filipigh 4:6-9
Beidh Dia na síochána faraibh.
A bhráithre, ná bígí imníoch faoi rud ar bith ach cibé ní atá in easnamh oraibh cuirigí in iúl do Dhia é le hurnaí agus guí agus buíochas buan. Agus sa tslí sin beidh síocháin Dé atá os cionn ár dtuisceana ag gardáil bhur gcroí agus bhur smaointe in Íosa Críost. Mar fhocal scoir, a bhráithre, bíodh bhur n-aire ar an rud fíor, ar an rud uasal, ar an rud cóir, ar an rud naofa, ar an rud measúil, ar an rud creidiúnach, ar an rud atá suáilceach inmholta. Má chuireann sibh i bhfeidhm an teagasc a mhúin mé daoibh agus a ghlac sibh uaim agus na nithe a chuala sibh nó a chonaic sibh mé a dhéanamh, beidh Dia na síochána faraibh.Briathar an Tiarna Buíochas le Dia
Alleluia Véarsa Eo 15: 15
Alleluia, alleluia!
Sibhse mo chairde, a deir an Tiarna, ach thug mé cairde oraibh, óir gach a gcuala ó m’Athair.
Alleluia!
SOISCÉAL
Go raibh an Tiarna libh. Agus le do spiorad féin
Sliocht as Soiscéal naofa de réir Naomh Mhatha 21:33-43 Glóir duit, a Thiarna.
mBainfear ríocht Dé díbhse agus go dtabharfar do phobal í a thabharfaidh uathu a toradh.
San am sin dúirt Íosa le huachtaráin ne sagart agus le seanóir an phobail:
“Éistigí le parabal eile: Bhí an fear tí seo ann a rinne fíonghort a phlandáil, fál a chur ina thimpeall, cantaoir a thochailt ann, agus túr a thógáil; chuir ar cíos ansin chun curadóirí é agus chuaigh ar an gcoigríoch. Nuair a bhí séasúr na dtorthaí ann, chuir sé a chuid seirbhíseach uaidh go dtí na curadóirí chun toradh an fhíonghoirt a fháil. Ach rug na curadóirí ar na seirbhísigh, thug siad bualadh do dhuine acu, mharaigh duine eile, chloch duine eile.
Ansin chuir sé seirbhísigh eile uaidh ba líonmhaire ná iad siúd, ach ba é an cor céanna a thug siad dóibh sin.
Sa deireadh, chuir sé chucu a mhac, mar dúirt sé leis féin:
‘Tabharfaidh siad ómós do mo mhac.’Ach nuair a chonaic na curadóirí an mac, dúirt siad le chéile:
‘Is é seo an t-oidhre; seo, maraímis é, agus bíodh a oidhreacht againn féin,’ agus rug siad air, thiomáin siad amach as an bhfíonghort é agus mharaigh é. Dá bhrí sin, nuair a thiocfaidh máistir an fhíonghoirt, cad a dhéanfaidh sé leis na curadóirí úd?”
Dúirt siad leis:
“Tabharfaidh sé drochíde do na daoine mallaithe sin agus cuirfidh an fíonghort ar cíos chun curadóirí eile a thabharfaidh na torthaí dó ina séasúr féin.”
Dúirt Íosa leo: “Nár léigh sibh riamh sna scrioptúir:
‘An chloch dár dhiúltaigh na saoir, rinneadh di ceann an chúinne; obair an Tiarna é seo agus is iontach inár súile é’?
“Sin an fáth a ndeirim libh go mbainfear ríocht Dé díbhse agus go dtabharfar do phobal í a thabharfaidh uathu a toradh."
Soiscéal an Tiarna. Moladh duit, a Chriost
AN BÍOBLA NAOFA
© An Sagart
