From: rich <
richarra@gmail.com>
September 30th - St. Jerome
St. Jerome, Confessor and Doctor of the Church (c. 341-420) is
considered the Church's greatest Doctor of Scriptures.
He conferred this praise upon St. Augustine: =E2=80=9CAs I have done, you applied all your energy to make the enemies of the Church your
personal enemies.=E2=80=9D This eulogy is consistent with the counsel of St=
..
Augustine: =E2=80=9CYou must hate the evil, but love the one who errs.=E2= =80=9D
Regarding St. Jerome the Roman Breviary says: =E2=80=9CHe pummeled the
heretics with his most harsh writings.=E2=80=9D
Comments of Prof. Plinio:
In the Catholic Church, St. Jerome is the representative par
excellence of the polemical spirit, and in this sense he is a symbol
against progressivist ecumenical dialogue. His writings are so
straightforward, energetic, and intransigent that some people imagine
that a saint could not write as he did. Almost everyone of his time
trembled before him.
Once St. Augustine, with whom he had an ongoing correspondence,
amiably told him that with half the energy St. Jerome used in one of
his letters, he would already be convinced of his argument. I also
remember that once I read that a pious lady sent St. Jerome a gift:
some young doves and a basket of cherries. He wrote back asking her
what she was thinking when she sent those delicate things to him. He
was suspicious that she might want to corrupt the austerity of his
penitent life. He immediately gave the presents to the poor.
One of my first encounters with Progressivism was with the reformist
liturgical mentality that was being accepted by many monks in the
Benedictine Monastery in Sao Paulo. I was talking with the Abbot and
he told me that some works of St. Jerome were being read in the
refectory of the monastery during the midday meal. He commented that
the monks had become furious over the readings. In my naivet=C3=A9, I
thought that their hatred was directed toward the heretics St. Jerome
combated, but I soon realized that I was wrong. Their hatred was
against St. Jerome himself, because they had sympathy for the
heretics.
The combativity of St. Jerome was an expression of his consuming zeal
for the House of God. This kind of militancy is one of the most
legitimate and saintly expressions of that zeal. Since his energy was
inspired by love for God and not by personal resentments, it was a
very holy thing. If force is exerted because of personal resentments,
it is a completely different thing.
That saintly militancy made him a living sword of God. I know of no
higher praise than to say that a man is the living sword of God,
cutting, piercing, wounding, and destroying His enemies. St. Jerome
represents the pinnacle of the polemic spirit, and as such he is the
Patron Saint of the counter-revolutionary fight
His eulogy of St. Augustine about how he made the Church's enemies =
his
personal enemies is remarkable. It is one saint praising another one,
and for this reason it can be said that the eulogy reflects the
sanctity of the Church. The selection points out well that this aspect harmonizes perfectly with another apparently contrary one that can be
seen in other words of St. Augustine: =E2=80=9CWe must hate evil, but love those who err.=E2=80=9D
Today it is important that we have a clear understanding of what it
means to love those who err. It is a liberal and ecumenical
simplification to say that if one vigorously attacks those who err, he
is harming these persons or showing a lack of charity. There are three
reasons why this is not the case:
First, when a person is in grave danger of falling into an abyss, the
right thing to do is to shout at him and say, =E2=80=9CBe careful, you are =
at
the edge of the cliff and if you fall, you will crack your head and die.=E2=80=9D It would not be sensible to speak mildly, saying: =E2=80=9CHe= llo there,
I am standing in a much better place than you. Why don't you come j=
oin
me?=E2=80=9D
This would be a foolish way to keep the man from falling into the
abyss. The right way to rescue a man from danger is not to show the
positive side of your position, but to expose the danger of his
position and the imprudence of remaining in it.
Which one of you, seeing a man imprudently playing with a loaded gun
and having his finger on the trigger, would gently suggest he play
chess with you instead? It is a foolish attitude. The right thing is
to address him sternly: =E2=80=9CLook, stop playing with that gun or you mi= ght
hurt yourself or me.=E2=80=9D A man who is tempted to do something wrong ne= eds
to be addressed with words that inspire fear.
This is true above all when we deal with Catholic doctrine. Men are
more easily moved by fear of bad consequences they can experience than
a possible good they may enjoy. They are more easily moved by fear of
Hell than by love of Heaven. Therefore, in order to convert a man, it
is more charitable and expedient for us to first point out his error
and its bad consequences, and then speak about the beauty and goodness
of the truth. St. Jerome was a model of this way of acting.
I know that some rare souls may be touched by sweetness rather than combativity, but this is not the rule. It is the exception to the
rule. God gives His Church saints who have special charismas to
attract with amiability, such as St. Francis of Sales, who drew souls
by his sweetness. However, the rule is to attack the evil to convert
the person, as St. Jerome did....=C2 Our Lord, the divine model of
sanctity, did not act with conciliation when he debated with the
Pharisees. Instead, he called them as a generation of vipers, sons of
Satan, whited sepulchers, etc. Also, when He came upon the
money-changers in the Temple, He became indignant and used a whip to
physically drive them out. That is, He used not only energy in the
polemic against evil people, but He also used physical violence to
punish the profaners....We should certainly ask St. Jerome=C2 help us
destroy this liberal mentality that opens the door for the evil that
is assaulting and taking over the entire Church.
Saint Quote:
Fly from the world, and commence by trampling under your feet all
human respect. Do not blush to be a servant of Christ. Regard this
world with the same horror that the sight of a criminal suspended from
a gibbet would awaken in you. Know that the atmosphere of the world is
polluted with the foul odor of thousands of sins that are constantly
committed, and which can be washed away only by tears of blood.
--St. Paul of the Cross
Bible Quote:
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.=C2 (Rom. 12:21)
<><><><>
Eternal Father
Eternal Father, I desire to rest in Thy Heart this night. I make the
intention of offering to Thee every beat of my heart, joining to them as ma=
ny
acts of love and desire. I pray that even while I sleep, I will bring back
to Thee souls that offend Thee. I ask forgiveness for the whole world, especially for those who know Thee and yet sin. I offer to Thee my every
breath and heartbeat as a prayer of reparation.
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