Saint Jerome - To ignore Scripture is to ignore Christ
LEFT: The Four Doctors of the Western Church (Saint Jerome detail) by Gerard Seghers (1591-1651); 1600-50; National Trust, Kingston Lacey, Wimburne (Dorsetshire), England;
commons.wikimedia.org
RIGHT: Saint Jerome by Simone Cantarini (1612-1648);
commons.wikimedia.org
commons.wikimedia.org
RIGHT: Saint Jerome by Simone Cantarini (1612-1648);
commons.wikimedia.org
To ignore Scripture is to ignore Christ
From the prologue to the commentary on the Book of Prophet Isaiah by Saint Jerome, Presbyter
(Nn. 1.2: CCL 73, 1-3)
I fulfill my duty, obeying the precepts of Christ, which say: "Occupy yourselves in examining the Scriptures", and also: "Seek and you shall find". This is so that He does not have to tell me, like with the Jews: "you are in error; you understand neither the Scriptures nor the power of God." Well, yes, like the Apostle Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God; and the one who does not know the Scripts does not know the power of God, nor His wisdom. From this it follows that to ignore and not know the Scriptures is to ignore and not know Christ.
For this reason I want to imitate the head of a household who brings forth from his provisions both the old and the new, and the wife who says in the Canticles of Canticles: I have kept for you, my beloved, the new and the old; and in this manner, I will expound on the book of Isaiah, so that in him we see not only the prophet, but also the evangelist and apostle. Isaiah, in effect, referring to himself and the other evangelists, says: "How beautiful are the feet of those who announce what is good, who announce peace!" And God speaks to him like an apostle does, when He says: "And who will I send? Who will go to that village?" And Isaiah responds: "Here I am. Send me."
May no one think that I want to reduce in a few words the contents of this book, since it covers all the mysteries of the Lord. It predicts, in effect, that Emmanuel will be born from the Virgin, that He will realize admirable works and signs; that He will die, be buried and resurrect from the land of the dead, and will be the Savior of all men.
Why should I speak about physics, ethics or logic? This book is like a compendium of all the Scriptures and contains within itself all that the human tongue can pronounce and all that the mortal man can feel. The book itself contains some words that proves its mysterious and profound character: Whatever vision it gives you will be like a sealed book.
When they hand the book to one who knows how to read and ask him, "please read this", he will reply: "I cannot, for it is sealed."
And when they hand the book to one who does not know how to read it, and ask him, "please read this", he will reply: "I do not know how to read."
Should this argument appear weak to anyone, may he then listen to the Apostle: "with those gifted with the charism of prophecy, may two or three of them speak, and the others offer their opinion; and if someone else sitting with them receives a revelation, may the one who is speaking be quiet.
What reason do the prophets have to quiet their mouths, to be quiet or to speak, if it is not the Spirit which speaks through their mouths? Consequently, if they received from the Spirit what they said, the things that they communicated were full of wisdom and sense. That which reached the ears of the prophets was not the sound of a material voice, but God who spoke from their interior; like one of them describes it as: "The angel that spoke in me" and also, that which clamors in our hearts: "Father!" And in like manner: "I am going to listen to what the Lord is telling me".
Translated from the Spanish Liturgies of the Hours by Jan Paul von Wendt -
liturgiasdelashoras.com.ar
To ignore Scripture is to ignore Christ
From the prologue to the commentary on the Book of Prophet Isaiah by Saint Jerome, Presbyter
(Nn. 1.2: CCL 73, 1-3)
I fulfill my duty, obeying the precepts of Christ, which say: "Occupy yourselves in examining the Scriptures", and also: "Seek and you shall find". This is so that He does not have to tell me, like with the Jews: "you are in error; you understand neither the Scriptures nor the power of God." Well, yes, like the Apostle Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God; and the one who does not know the Scripts does not know the power of God, nor His wisdom. From this it follows that to ignore and not know the Scriptures is to ignore and not know Christ.
For this reason I want to imitate the head of a household who brings forth from his provisions both the old and the new, and the wife who says in the Canticles of Canticles: I have kept for you, my beloved, the new and the old; and in this manner, I will expound on the book of Isaiah, so that in him we see not only the prophet, but also the evangelist and apostle. Isaiah, in effect, referring to himself and the other evangelists, says: "How beautiful are the feet of those who announce what is good, who announce peace!" And God speaks to him like an apostle does, when He says: "And who will I send? Who will go to that village?" And Isaiah responds: "Here I am. Send me."
May no one think that I want to reduce in a few words the contents of this book, since it covers all the mysteries of the Lord. It predicts, in effect, that Emmanuel will be born from the Virgin, that He will realize admirable works and signs; that He will die, be buried and resurrect from the land of the dead, and will be the Savior of all men.
Why should I speak about physics, ethics or logic? This book is like a compendium of all the Scriptures and contains within itself all that the human tongue can pronounce and all that the mortal man can feel. The book itself contains some words that proves its mysterious and profound character: Whatever vision it gives you will be like a sealed book.
When they hand the book to one who knows how to read and ask him, "please read this", he will reply: "I cannot, for it is sealed."
And when they hand the book to one who does not know how to read it, and ask him, "please read this", he will reply: "I do not know how to read."
Should this argument appear weak to anyone, may he then listen to the Apostle: "with those gifted with the charism of prophecy, may two or three of them speak, and the others offer their opinion; and if someone else sitting with them receives a revelation, may the one who is speaking be quiet.
What reason do the prophets have to quiet their mouths, to be quiet or to speak, if it is not the Spirit which speaks through their mouths? Consequently, if they received from the Spirit what they said, the things that they communicated were full of wisdom and sense. That which reached the ears of the prophets was not the sound of a material voice, but God who spoke from their interior; like one of them describes it as: "The angel that spoke in me" and also, that which clamors in our hearts: "Father!" And in like manner: "I am going to listen to what the Lord is telling me".
Translated from the Spanish Liturgies of the Hours by Jan Paul von Wendt -
liturgiasdelashoras.com.ar
September 30 - Saint Jerome (347-420) - To ignore Scripture is to ignore Christ - Doctor of the Church, Presbyter, Confessor, Theologian and Historian
This site is dedicated to Our Lord Jesus Christ
in the Most Holy Virgin Mary,
for the Glory of God
The Apostolic Blessing by the Holy See in Rome is bestowed (October 28, 2013)
Cooperatores Veritatis
Cooperatores Veritatis
Omnia ad majoren Dei Gloriam!
(All for the greater glory of God)
Contact/email us by writing to [email protected]
Design and some materials ©2013-2022 by CatholicTruth.Net - All Rights Reserved
Some works are open license - others are copyrighted by their respective intellectual property owners, as noted.