Saint Jerome, the great biblical scholar, is probably most well known for his quote “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” St. Jerome translated the Bible into the Latin Vulgate in the late 4th century. He spent 23 years of his life in the Word, translating from Hebrew to Latin. Then he spent the rest of his life writing Biblical commentary on what he had spent so many years contemplating. He was thoroughly steeped in the Word, so much so that a quote attributed to Saint Augustine said, “What Jerome is ignorant of, no mortal has ever known.”
Recently, I was reading the Apostolic Exhortation Verbum Domini by Pope Benedict XVI, and this quote from Saint Jerome pierced my heart:
We are reading the sacred Scriptures. For me, the Gospel is the Body of Christ; for me, the holy Scriptures are his teaching. And when he says: whoever does not eat my flesh and drink my blood (Jn 6:53), even though these words can also be understood of the [Eucharistic] Mystery, Christ’s body and blood are really the word of Scripture, God’s teaching. When we approach the [Eucharistic] Mystery, if a crumb falls to the ground we are troubled. Yet when we are listening to the word of God, and God’s Word and Christ’s flesh and blood are being poured into our ears yet we pay no heed, what great peril should we not feel?
I am most definitely troubled if the Eucharist falls to the ground. Yet do I have that same reverence for the Word of God I receive in Mass?
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This has become an examination of conscious-ness for me the last couple of months:
At Mass, do I listen to the Word of God?
Do I prepare to hear the Word of God as much as I prepare to receive the Word in the Eucharist?
When the readings are long or contain seemingly tedious details that don’t relate to my life today, what am I doing to turn my attention back to the Word?
When I am distracted in or by the homily, what am I doing to be attentive to the Word?
Am I (im)patiently waiting to “get through” the Liturgy of the Word to receive Jesus in the Liturgy of the Eucharist?
The Liturgy is the privileged setting to learn Scripture. Pope Benedict calls the Liturgy the “home of the Word.” He goes on to say:
The Word and Eucharist are so deeply bound together that we cannot understand one without the other: the word of God sacramentally takes flesh in the event of the Eucharist. The Eucharist opens us to an understanding of Scripture, just as Scripture for its part illumines and explains the mystery of the Eucharist. Unless we acknowledge the Lord’s real presence in the Eucharist, our understanding of Scripture remains imperfect.
I think Saint Jerome would agree if we expanded on his quote: ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ, and ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of the Eucharist. Those seemingly random or long or tedious readings that come along in the liturgical year? They can and do shine a light on His presence in the Eucharist. The Scripture verses we’ve heard time and again, that have seemingly lost its flavor to us? There is something new for us there too.
Saint Jerome spent twenty-three years translating Scripture. Being in the Word wasn’t a job, an assignment or a checklist to him. He was in the Word, day in, day out, contemplating meanings of individual words, phrases, and chapters. He prepared for his work by becoming a language scholar and studying with the best teachers of the time. He spent time in the “fifth gospel,” the Holy Land.
So he witnesses to us. We, too, are called to be in the Word. While most of us will not be scholars, we are called to be like Saint Jerome—studying Scripture, immersing ourselves in the Word, and praying through Scripture. It’s important that we also study with the best teachers of our times, like Saint Jerome did, not following whims or our own interpretations. Thankfully, there are so many beautiful resources for us to use to dive into the Word, starting right here.
HIS WORD CHANGES LIVES
God is speaking to you through His Word. In this personal study, you will learn to hear God's voice by reading slowly and praying deeply.
Sr. Mary Claire of the Holy Family is a member of the Society of Our Lady of the Most Holy Trinity (SOLT) and currently serves in Corpus Christi, TX. She loves Jesus and Mary, and her students would say every Saint is her favorite. She graduated with a degree in elementary education and is currently working on a Masters in Theology from her Alma Mater, Franciscan University. A Tennessee girl who could live off Dr. Pepper and popcorn, she loves road trips, especially this one we are on to Heaven.
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