Feast of St. Jerome | Doctor of the Church & Translator of the Bible (30 September)

About this sermon

St. Jerome is remembered as one of the great Doctors of the Catholic Church and the scholar most closely associated with the Latin Vulgate—but his road to sainthood was anything but simple. Born in Dalmatia around A.D. 340 and raised in a pagan household, Jerome received an extraordinary education in Greek, Latin, rhetoric, and philosophy. During his youth in Rome, however, he also fell into serious sin. The example of faithful Christians began to trouble his conscience, and Jerome eventually received Baptism and radically changed the direction of his life. After illness, conversion, study, and years of ascetic life, Jerome devoted himself to Sacred Scripture. He learned Hebrew with remarkable proficiency, studied the biblical texts in their original languages, became a priest, studied under St. Gregory Nazianzen, and eventually served Pope St. Damasus in Rome. This sermon also examines the Council of Rome in A.D. 382 and the Church's discernment of the canon of Scripture, including the question of why some ancient Christian and Jewish writings were not received as canonical Scripture. Jerome eventually returned to the Holy Land and settled near Bethlehem. Supported in his scholarly work by St. Paula, he dedicated decades to translating, correcting, and commenting upon the biblical text. His extraordinary knowledge of Latin, Greek, and Hebrew placed him in a remarkable position to undertake the work for which he would become famous. Yet Jerome was still Jerome. He could be fiery, sharp-tongued, impatient, and difficult. His correspondence with St. Augustine was not always peaceful, and tradition even remembers Jerome throwing rocks when visitors disturbed his solitude and studies. His life reminds us that sanctity does not mean never having weaknesses—it means continually allowing God's grace to transform us. And that leads to one of the greatest lessons of his life: God never wastes anything. Jerome's education, travels, failures, sins, penance, exile, friendships, scholarship, and even the consequences of his earlier life were ultimately brought together by Providence. What appeared wasted could be redeemed and placed at the service of God. If you look back upon your own life and see wasted years, sins, failures, or regrets, St. Jerome offers tremendous hope. Give it to God. The past cannot be changed—but it can be redeemed. St. Jerome, pray for us! 00:00 Feast of St. Jerome 00:45 Who was St. Jerome? 01:00 Born in Dalmatia around A.D. 340 01:34 Jerome's education in Greek and Latin 02:05 Sin, guilt and the example of Catholics 03:00 Jerome visits the Roman catacombs 03:15 Baptism and conversion 03:44 Travels through Gaul, Italy and Syria 04:16 The illness that changed his life 04:41 Jerome enters the desert 04:50 Learning Hebrew 05:50 Ordained a priest in Antioch 06:07 Studying under St. Gregory Nazianzen 06:14 Secretary to Pope St. Damasus 06:31 The Council of Rome and the Bible 08:00 The 73 books of Scripture 08:24 Why were some ancient books excluded? 10:04 Jerome's contribution to the Church 10:12 St. Jerome and the Roman Canon 11:24 Jerome forced out of Rome 12:02 Return to the Holy Land 12:17 St. Jerome's cave in Bethlehem 12:42 The Old Latin Bible 12:59 Translating the Bible into Latin 13:41 Jerome's biblical commentaries 14:22 Why his scholarship was so important 15:06 Jerome the famous hermit 15:36 Did St. Jerome throw rocks at visitors? 16:00 Jerome vs. St. Augustine 16:30 Even saints have imperfections 16:47 Death of St. Jerome in A.D. 420 17:01 God never wastes anything 18:29 Your past can be redeemed 19:05 Nothing in your life has to be wasted 19:36 Give everything to God 19:44 Prayer through St. Jerome Please say 3 Hail Marys for the priest. #StJerome #SaintJerome #Catholic #CatholicSaints #Bible #LatinVulgate #Vulgate #CatholicBible #SacredScripture #ChurchFathers #DoctorOfTheChurch #CatholicChurch #CatholicFaith #CatholicHistory #CatholicSermon #CatholicHomily #Conversion #Sainthood #StAugustine #SensusFidelium 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴 ✝️ SUPPORT THE MISSION 🙏 Donate https://sensusfidelium.com/donate-support/ 📬 Free Catholic Newsletter https://sensusfidelium.com/newsletter/ 📰 Read on Substack https://sensusfidelium.substack.com/ ──────────────────── 📺 WATCH & READ 📺 Sensus Fidelium App https://sensusfidelium.tv/ 📚 Sensus Fidelium Press https://sensusfideliumpress.com/ 👕 Official Merchandise https://sensusfidelium.com/merchandise/ ──────────────────── 🤝 PARTNER WITH US 📣 Advertise on Sensus Fidelium https://sensusfidelium.com/advertise-with-sensus-fidelium/ 🎤 Invite Steve Cunningham to Speak https://sensusfidelium.com/speaking/ ⛪ Parish Formation & Consultation https://sensusfidelium.com/for-parishes/ ──────────────────── 🌎 CATHOLIC COMMUNITY ✝️ Trusted Catholic Businesses https://sensusfidelium.com/catholic-businesses/ 🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴🔴

Topics

• Bible Study
• Church & Fellowship
• The Church