The Memorial of St Jerome

Job 9:1-12.14-16, Lk. 9:57-62. In today's first reading, the experience of Job invites us to examine how we deal with crisis in life. His reply to Bildad, the second friend who came to sympathy with him shows his deep faith in God. Like Job we must learn to bow in humble adoration before God who made Heaven and earth. In humble adoration three men in today's Gospel said they wanted to follow Jesus and travel about sharing in His work, without first considering what that would involve. When He invited them to join Him immediately, two of them wanted it deferred, since they had urgent duties to attend to first.

We might agree that burying our father and saying goodbye to our family were priority issues. Yet, Jesus wants us to come immediately, leaving everything else behind. It is hard to fathom how the call of Jesus could be so urgent. Following Him closely is never an easy option. He asks for a loyalty and allegiance even greater than what we owe to our relatives. Trying to follow the Gospel values can put us at odds with those closest to us. Today, we are challenged to look upon the inspiration and example showed by St Jerome, one of the great Church fathers and one of the original Doctors of the Church. Jerome was particularly remembered for his compilation of the Latin translation of the Greek Septuagint Bible, which at that time had been the canon of the Scriptures of the Church. This Latin translation is known as the Latin Vulgate Bible, written in the contemporary or Vulgar Latin and became the basis for many future versions of the Sacred Scriptures.

May the Lord give us the grace to be ever sensitive to the needs of those around us and be more conscious of the dangers of selfishness! Amen!! Be safe and have a pleasant day!!!