ST JEROME P.D, (Memorial) White

Jerome was born to a rich pagan family and he misspent his youth. After his conversion, he was baptized in 365 and began his study of theology. Ordained a priest, he was a student of Saint Gregory of Nazianzen, and secretary to Pope Damasus who commissioned him to revise the Latin text of the Bible, translating most of the Old Testament from the Hebrew. The result of his 30 years of work was the Vulgate translation, which was in common use until the Vatican II Council. Saint Augustine said of him, “What Jerome is ignorant of, no mortal has ever known.” He is also known to have said that “The ignorance of scripture is the ignorance of Christ.”

First Reading: Zech 2:1-5. 10-11a; Psalm: Jer 31. R. v. 10d; Gospel: Lk 9:43b-45

THE INEXHAUSTIBLE MYSTERY OF GOD

BY FR VALENTINE NNAMDI EGBUONU, MSP

Jesus said to his disciples, “Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of man is to be delivered into the hands of men.” Although his disciples listened but they did not understand this saying. It is one thing to listen and another thing to understand. What Jesus revealed in that statement was beyond the understanding of his disciples at that moment. For who would ever conceive that God would subject himself to the hands of men. It is unprecedented and a mystery. And this was why they could not perceive what Jesus said.

The disciples would later understand this saying after the passion and resurrection of Christ. So, the reality of Christ’s passion was the revelation to this mystery. In the passion of Christ, the unimaginable happened and a new understanding of God dawned on the disciples. Their knowledge of Christ as God dissociated from human suffering changed. Because they saw with their own eyes that Christ suffered and died. They discovered that Christ the Son of God identified with them in all things but sin. This was a new reality that was unbelievably true.

God continues to unravel the mystery of his Being to us through the Holy Spirit. One mystery about God is that we cannot know him enough to exhaust the knowledge of him. Our knowledge of God is so limited that our brain is so tiny to contain even a piece of who God truly is. Although Christ is the fullness of the revelation of God; but we are limited to comprehend in entirety all that is revealed in Christ. Christ promised that when the Spirit of truth comes, he will lead us into all truth (Jn 16:13). The Holy Spirit continues to reveal to us the mysteries of God. But we can only understand what is sufficient for us to understand at a given point in time.

PRAYER FOR THE DAY

Lord Jesus, may we grow daily in the knowledge of you. Amen.