Loving What St. Jerome Loved

Caravaggio, St. Jerome Writing

Today, on the Memorial of St. Jerome, Pope Francis released the Apostolic Letter Scripturae Sacrae Affectus to mark the sixteen hundredth anniversary of his death.

The letter chronicles the saint’s journey around the ancient Mediterranean and Near East to visit and study with the great spiritual teachers and scholars of the age and his unceasing writing, reading, and translating.

Pope Francis closes his letter with an evocation of St. Jerome’s love of Scripture and learning and a call for a return to serious study by contemporary Christians:

One of the problems we face today, not only in religion, is illiteracy: the hermeneutic skills that make us credible interpreters and translators of our own cultural tradition are in short supply. I would like to pose a challenge to young people in particular: begin exploring your heritage. Christianity makes you heirs of an unsurpassed cultural patrimony of which you must take ownership. Be passionate about this history which is yours.

Pope Francis, Scripturae Sacrae Affectus

Tomorrow is the feast of St. Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face. To help Catholics heed the call of Pope Francis to read and learn the cultural patrimony of the Church, these works by St. Thérèse and St. Jerome are on sale for the next week:

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Verbum

Verbum, part of the Logos family, empowers Catholics to study Scripture and explore Church tradition.

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Written by Verbum