

With the huge spike in classical education in recent years, Jerome provides a model of integrating a robust intellectual life with an ardent pursuit of holiness," the theologian explained.

Jerome used his extensive classical learning, purified by years of fasting and penance, at the service of the Church. Should the Church require a year of marriage prep? Catholic formators weigh in Read article Attention to the words of Scripture requires effort and is meant to lead us into an encounter of prayerful contemplation," Staudt explained. Jerome reminds us in Catholic education of the importance of understanding words and meaning so that we can enter into the revelation of the Word of God. Christ is the Word and our own minds must become attuned to his truth. "The intellectual life remains a crucial element of the Christian apostolate. Staudt affirmed the pope's recognition of the intellectual life. Young people, he said, should be given the opportunity to learn "how the quest of religious truth can be a passionate adventure that unites heart and mind how the thirst for God has inflamed great minds throughout the centuries up to the present time how growth in the spiritual life has influenced theologians and philosophers, artists and poets, historians and scientists." The pope's letter said that many people in contemporary society lack religious literacy that "the hermeneutic skills that make us credible interpreters and translators of our own cultural tradition are in short supply," he argued. A feisty personality, who could enter into a strong disagreement, he remained above all a faithful man of the Church," Staudt said. Jerome truly stands as a man for all times, and has much to teach us about learning, culture, and holiness. There are certain personalities that rise above the ebb and flow of history. "I'm very happy to see Pope Francis highlighting the 1600th anniversary of Jerome's death. Jared Staudt, an associate professor of theology at the Augustine Institute in Denver, Colorado, told CNA that the pope's letter recognizes an important saint for contemporary Christians. "How can we not heed, in our day, the advice that Jerome unceasingly gave to his contemporaries: 'Read the divine Scriptures constantly never let the sacred volume fall from your hand'?" the pope asked. In the letter, Pope Francis said that the anniversary of the saint's death "can be seen as a summons to love what Jerome loved, to rediscover his writings and to let ourselves be touched by his robust spirituality, which can be described in essence as a restless and impassioned desire for a greater knowledge of the God who chose to reveal himself." "The Pope wants Catholic schools, universities, and catechetical programs to inculcate in young searchers the tools necessary to plumb the depths of the great theological tradition, at the heart of which is study of the Bible," Barron added.īy his letter, "Francis is reiterating the call of Dei Verbum, the great Vatican II document on Revelation, that there should be a revival of Biblical study in the life of the Church," Bishop Barron said. But what I found most uplifting was his insistence that young people, following the example of the great saint, should see the intellectual exploration of the faith as a true spiritual path." Jerome, and considered how Catholics can learn from him today.īishop Robert Barron, auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, told CNA that "there is much to savor in Pope Francis's marvelous letter on St. The pope's letter, Scripturae sacrae affectus, detailed the life, work, and personality of St.

for whose sake he expended all his spiritual energy." "By the intensity of his expressions and images, he shows the courage of a servant desirous not of pleasing others, but his Lord alone. Jerome "emerges as a model of uncompromising witness to the truth that employs the harshness of reproof in order to foster conversion," the pope wrote Sept. Jerome in an apostolic letter for the 1,600th anniversary of the Doctor of the Church's death. Pope Francis Wednesday highlighted the life and figure of St.
