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ST. JOHN the EVANGELIST CCD
Grades:  Kindergarten through Junior High
Phone: 916 -483-4628
Email: ccd@sjecarmichael.org

September 25
On Sunday, September 18, Catechetical Sunday, our CCD teachers and their students happily gathered together for classes. We welcomed our returning and new families joyfully especially because it has been a very long break over the summer. This coming Friday, September 30, is the feast day of one our most celebrated translators of the Bible, St. Jerome, who should be a model for young and old Christians because he not only spoke the words of the Bible, but he also translated the words of Scripture into deeds. St. Jerome is the patron saint of Biblical scholars, translators, archaeologists, and librarians. Before he was known as St. Jerome, he was Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus. Around the year 342, he was born in an area now called Croatia. Probably his parents were well-to-do and Christian. It is documented that Jerome’s parents gave him an excellent classical education. When Jerome was about twelve years old, he was sent to Rome to be tutored by the famous grammarian Aelius Donatus to study grammar, philosophy, and rhetoric. At this time, Jerome considered a career in law. For a while, Jerome gave himself up to the world despite his parents’ efforts to raise him properly. He began to travel to Gaul, with a companion, Bonosus, whose Christian influence persuaded Jerome to become a Christian and to change his ways for the better. In 366, Jerome returned to Rome, where he was baptized by Pope Liberius. Jerome now was interested in theological matters, and he put secular issues aside. Later Bonosus and he traveled to Trier, where Jerome gained ecclesiastical training. Then, in 370, Jerome traveled to an area close to his home, and he later joined a monastery at Aquileia, where St. Valerian, who was one of the greatest minds in Christendom, acted as his overseer. It was here that Jerome met Rufinus. This man was a monk, who was an excellent translator of Greek works into Latin. Following this period in Aquilea, Jerome traveled to Treves, Gaul, and began to translate books for his own personal library. Thereafter in 373, Jerome and Bonosus had a falling out, so Jerome bound for Antioch in 374, and he then wrote his first work “Concerning the Seven Beatings”. It was in Antioch where Jerome became critically ill. During this illness, Jerome experienced visions, which made him even more religious. Afterwards, Jerome decided to live in the desert of Chalcis in Syria, where he spent four years in prayer, study, and penance. During this period, Jerome drew a thorn from a lion’s paw, so out of gratitude, this lion always remained with him. To distract his mind from temptation, Jerome began to study Hebrew. Eventually, Jerome returned to Constantinople, studying under St. Gregory of Nazianzus and St. Gregory of Nyssa. In 377, Jerome was ordained in Antioch by St. Paulinus under the stipulation that he not be obliged to serve in any ministry. This would enable Fr. Jerome to continue his monastic life. Later, Fr. Jerome journeyed to Rome, and he filled the office of secretary to Pope Damasus, who requested that Fr. Jerome revise the Latin versions of Sacred Scripture. While serving as the Pope’s secretary, Jerome also promoted the ideal of asceticism to everyone around him including women in the city of Rome. Upon the death of Pope Damasus, to escape the negativism, which was in Rome, Fr. Jerome, in the company of his brothers and several monks, left in 386 for the East. Shortly thereafter, St. Paula, her daughter, and other followers met Fr. Jerome in Antioch. Actually, St. Paula was a wealthy matron who earlier had lost her husband in Rome, and Fr. Jerome had provided her with much needed counseling there. Eventually, they became lifelong friends, and Paula assisted him in his work. Altogether, they all visited Jerusalem and Alexandria. Finally, they settled in Bethlehem, where Fr. Jerome had a monastery built, which included dormitories for women. In Bethlehem, Fr. Jerome initiated a new translation of Scriptures using the original Hebrew and Greek, thus producing the Latin” Vulgate”. Of all the things which made Fr. Jerome famous, nothing was as great as his translations of the Bible. Violence eventually reached Bethlehem, which also disrupted Fr. Jerome’s work in his final years. When Aleric savagely attacked Rome in 410, a great number of Christians fled to Palestine for safety, and Fr. Jerome arranged shelter for them. He then wrote, “I have put aside my study to help them. Now, we must translate the words of Scripture into deeds, and instead of speaking holy words, we must do them.” On September 30, 420, Fr. Jerome died a peaceful death after a long illness.
OUR PRAYER: “TO KNOW THE SCRIPTURES IS TO KNOW CHRIST,” WROTE ST. JEROME. LORD, YOU GAVE ST. JEROME A GREAT LOVE FOR HOLY SCRIPTURES. HELP US, YOUR HOLY PEOPLE, TO FEED MORE ABUNDANTLY ON YOUR WORD. LET THE SCRIPTURES BE OUR LIGHT AND LIFE. AMEN

Yours in Christ,
Mrs. Joanne Giffard, CCD/Religious Education Coordinator          ccd@sjecarmichael.org