Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church
Intention: That all persons who serve as educators, formators, caretakers, and mentors of the young might inspire in them the virtues of integrity, compassion, good faith, and justice.
Today’s Gospel | Luke 10:1-12
Jesus appointed seventy-two other disciples whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves. Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way. Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’ If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you. Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment. Do not move about from one house to another. Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The Kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ Whatever town you enter and they do not receive you, go out into the streets and say, ‘The dust of your town that clings to our feet, even that we shake off against you.’ Yet know this: the Kingdom of God is at hand. I tell you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom on that day than for that town.”
From the Meditation on Saint Jerome | Saint John Baptist de La Salle
Saint Jerome traveled over almost all the world in order to be able to consult with the greatest men of his time, especially those most versed in the science of Holy Scripture. In Athens he met Saint Gregory of Nazianzen, who told him that to understand well the meaning of Holy Scripture, it is necessary to begin by putting it into practice. This is why he followed the advice of this great saint, whom he began from that time to look upon as his teacher, and went at once into the Syrian desert to live there a holy and penitential life. As soon as he arrived there, he devoted himself to prayer, meditation on Holy Scripture, and the practice of all it teaches, spending nights in prayer and constantly fasting, separated from all contact with the world.
There he came to understand thoroughly what Saint Paul says, that knowledge sometimes puffs up, but charity edifies, and that if anyone thinks he knows something, he has not yet learned what he must know, but if anyone loves God, he is known and loved by God. Of what use, says the author of the Imitation, is knowledge without the fear of God? Of what use is it, he adds, to speak profoundly about the mystery of the most Holy Trinity if the person is displeasing to God for lack of humility?
You must have knowledge in order to teach, but be convinced that you will know the Gospel better by meditating on it than by committing it to memory.
Prayer
Eternal Father, we are a people of faith, but sometimes our faith falters. We forget that our power in life comes not from our possessions or control but from your compassion and love. Fill us with the zeal to seek your presence, the grace to recognize your presence, and the openness to share your presence. Above all, make of us true disciples who strive to be ambassadors of your presence, especially to those who are most in need of you. We ask this of you who lives and reigns with your Son and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.