Feast Day: June 15th
The Life of Saint Jerome: Late in the summer of 388 he was back in Palestine, and spent the remainder of his life working in a cave near Bethlehem, the very cave Jesus was born, surrounded by a few friends, both men and women (including Paula and Eustochium), to whom he acted as priestly guide and teacher…
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Prayers
Troparion: By a flood of tears you made the desert fertile, and your longing for God brought forth fruits in abundance. By the radiance of miracles you illumined the whole universe! O our Holy Father Jerome, Pray to Christ our God to save our Souls!
One day toward evening, when he was seated with the brethren to hear the sacred lessons read, a lion suddenly limped into the Monastery. The other Monks fled at the sight of the beast, but Jerome greeted him as a guest. The lion showed him his wounded foot, and Jerome called the brothers and ordered them to wash the animal’s feet and to dress the wound carefully. When they set about doing this, they found that the paw had been scratched and torn by thorns. They did what was necessary, and the lion recovered, lost all his wildness, and lived among the Monks like a house pet.
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“After many years spent in Jerusalem translating the Word of God, Jerome finished his grand project just days before Christmas. To celebrate his accomplishment, Jerome decided to spend Christmas Eve in nearby Bethlehem, in one of the many grottoes that dot the countryside. According to the ancient account, sometime around midnight Jesus appeared to him, saying “Jerome, what will you give Me for My birthday?” Immediately and enthusiastically, Jerome declared, “Lord, I give you my translation of Your Word.” But instead of congratulating him, Jesus simply replied, “No, Jerome, that is not what I want.” Jerome was speechless. Then he began to complain and remonstrate with Jesus, asking why He had let him go on for forty years, far from home, labouring at something other than what God most wanted from him. But Jesus remained silent. Jerome started suggesting other ways of honouring Jesus’ birthday – fasting, becoming a hermit, giving his possessions to the poor. To each of these Jesus replied, “No. Jerome. That is not what I want most.” Finally, Jerome protested, “Then You tell me, Lord. Tell me what would give You the most joy on Your birthday, and You shall have it. “Do you promise, Jerome?” “Yes, Lord, anything at all.” Jesus replied, “Give Me your sins…”
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Holy Quotes by Saint Jerome
“Be ever engaged, so that whenever the devil calls he may find you occupied.”
“On the Way of the Cross, you see, my children, only the first step is painful. Our greatest cross is the fear of crosses… We have not the courage to carry our cross, and we are very much mistaken; for, whatever we do, the cross holds us tight – we cannot escape from it. What, then, have we to lose? Why not love our crosses, and make use of them to take us to Heaven?”
“Seek to learn on Earth those truths which will remain ever valid in Heaven.”
“Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ…A false interpretation of Scripture twists the gospel of the Lord into the gospel of man.”
“If the serpent, the devil, bites someone secretly, he infects that person with the venom of sin. And if the one who has been bitten keeps silence and does not do penance, and does not want to confess his wound… then his brother and his master, who have the word [of absolution] that will cure him, cannot very well assist him.”
“God is our shield, He is our crown. He protects us as if He were a shield; as God He crowns us. He is our shield; He is our crown…”
“We do not worship the Relics of the Martyrs, but honour them in our worship of Him Whose Martyrs they are. We honour the servants in order that the respect paid to them may be reflected back, to the Lord…”
“Death came through Eve, Life has come through Mary.”
“Christ went to Bethany to say farewell to Lazarus and his sister, and to bring them with Him to the mount, in order that they might witness His Ascension, and share in His Triumph. And He lifted up his hands towards Heaven, as if seeking a special Blessing for his disciples. And Blessed them, signing them with the Sign of the Cross. Indeed the Lord says in Isaiah, “I will set a sign upon them,” which means Our Ascending Lord left us this sign, or rather placed it on our foreheads, so that we may freely say, “The Light of Your countenance is lifted up upon us, O Lord.” For the Cross is the sign of Christ, which is the fountain of all benediction and Grace. Hence the tradition which has come down from the time of Christ and the Apostles that in giving a Blessing the hands should always form the sign of the Cross. Therefore, we should learn when about to leave our family or friends, to give them our blessing, and, signing them with the sign of the Cross, commit them to keeping Christ.”