TRANSLATE THE BIBLE

Memorial of St. Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church

2 Tim 3:14-17

While the Old Testament was first written in Hebrew, the New Testament was in Greek. Today these two Testaments of the Bible are available in different, and almost all, languages. Thanks to St. Jerome who gave us the Vulgate, the official Latin translation of the Bible.

Jerome was born in Dalmacia, Yugoslavia in the year 340 A.D. He was baptized in Rome where he also had his education. Embracing the monastic life, he went to Syria and was ordained priest. Going back to Rome, he became the secretary of Pope Damasus. Commissioned by Pope Damasus to revise the then existing Latin text of the Bible, Jerome lived as a hermit in Bethlehem. He completed his work in 405 A.D. His Latin translation of the Bible remains up until today as the Church’s official translation from the original Hebrew and Greek. Jerome wrote still other more works, mostly are commentaries on the books of the Bible that continue to be sources of enlightenment in the study of Sacred Scripture today.

Jerome passed away in 420 A.D.

It is therefore fitting that we celebrate the blessed memory of Jerome today. As we remember him, the official translator of the Bible, let us do three things more faithfully beginning today.

First, let us thank God for speaking to us through the Sacred Scripture. The sure sign of our gratitude to God for His eternal, living and life-giving, creative, saving and holy Word is our daily reading of the Bible. As lovers cherish the correspondences they exchange with each other, so should we treasure the Bible. As we keep on reading and re-reading letters sent to us by people we value, so should we keep on reading and reflecting on the Bible which is God’s love letter to us.

Second, let us also translate the Bible. No, I do not mean that we translate the Bible in any particular language. Let us translate the Word of God in our lives by using it. Let us use it in our lives before and more than in others’ lives. Living daily by the Word of God is the most important translation that the Bible needs today and always.

Third, let us share the Word of God. Sharing the Word of God is not preaching. Let us leave preaching to the ordained ministers as they have been ordained for that specific ministry. We share the Word of God by talking about it at every opportunity we have. We talk about the Word of God both through words and deeds. Let the deeds come before the words though. As always, “actions speak louder than words”.

Jesus is the Word of God. He is the Word of God made flesh. Let us treasure Jesus, let us live the life of Jesus, let us share Jesus with others.

St. Jerome’s translation is the Church’s official Latin text of the Bible. But what good is the Church’s official Latin translation of the Bible if it is not translated in our lives? St. Jerome’s work redounds to nothing unless we make it work.