Homily for Saturday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time Memorial of St. Jerome (Priest and Doctor of the Church) 30TH SEPTEMBER 2023

Homily for Saturday of the 25th Week in Ordinary Time

Memorial of St. Jerome (Priest and Doctor of the Church)

Zechariah 2:1-5,10-11a. Jeremiah 31:10,11-12ab,13. Luke 9:43b-45.

"The Lord will keep us, as a shepherd keeps his flock," is our Responsorial Psalm. A word of encouragement that God will never abandon us. A good shepherd will risk his/her life to protect his/her flock. God is ever faithful. Let us do good and avoid evil always, and God's word will be made manifest in our lives.

Procrastination, they say, is the thief of time. In addition, procrastination is not just man's apology but a graveyard in which opportunities are buried. Even while the people were marvelling at everything Jesus did, He made them realise that his passion and death were inevitable. 

He set his face to go to Jerusalem despite what awaits him there. He was being realistic. He knows that roses have thorns, and while it is true that flowers are always admired by all, Jesus is also aware of the thorns that can be found, especially where one would have to handle the rose flower. Jesus was dedicated and committed to his mission of salvation. This He tried to make his disciples know, but they were confused and did not understand.

We celebrate the memorial of St. Jerome. He was born about the year 342 in Dalmatia (the present extreme North East part of Italy. He studied Latin and Greek in Rome, where he was baptised. Then, he began to lead a life of asceticism. He lived as an hermit in the Syrian desert for some years.

He was ordained a priest at Antioch in 377. He lived in Constantinople for some time and then returned to Rome and became the secretary to Pope Damasus, and at his request, he began translating the  Bible into Latin. It is this translation that immortalised him.

Pope Damasus died in 384, and Jerome went and settled in Bethlehem. He spent the last years of his his life studying, dictating, and writing. His scholarship was unparalleled in the early Church. He knew three languages very well, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. He had a thorough acquaintance with biblical history, geography, Church history, and lives of the Fathers of the Church.

His fame spread far and wide, and people came to consult him from all sides. Finally, after a long life of prayer, penance, and labour, he died at Bethlehem in 420.

Through the intercession of St. Jerome, may God lead us to the truth that will truly make us free through Christ our Lord. Amen.