For much of my life, I found the Bible intimidating. It is such a large and old book with many genres, and can be challenging to comprehend. My outlook began to change when I took a college class on the Bible. The professor, who was a priest, explained that reading Sacred Scripture is meant to be an encounter. It ought to breed intimacy with the God of love.
The class I took referenced many great saints who devoted their lives to the study of the Bible. St. Jerome (347-420) was one of the key figures of the class. He is most famous for translating the Bible from Greek into Latin (known as the Vulgate) and for the words, “ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ.”
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Born in Northeastern Italy, Jerome was an academic who lived a worldly life until his conversion. It was not until he began to feel very ill and contemplate his death that he lived more definitively for Christ. He was so convinced of Christ’s call to abandon all things out of love for God, that he spent several years in the desert in prayer and study. For Jerome, these two actions were inseparable. Study was not a plastic exercise of memorization but a way to grow in one’s relationship with God. Knowing more about God’s Word fueled his prayer life and emboldened him towards a life of holiness. As I read more about the conviction, commitment, and holiness of Jerome, I realized just how much reading the Bible needed to be part of my life.
So, I took the advice of the professor and began to slowly meditate on the Gospel of the day every morning. I signed up for the daily email from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) so that I could reflect on the Bible passage in my journal each day. The experience far exceeded my expectations. The practice made three powerful impacts on me.
First, I began to see the moments in Jesus’ life come alive unlike ever before. I saw a glimpse, I believe, of what captivated St. Jerome: When we quietly reflect on the actions and words of God, we can actually meet him. The more intentional time I spent with Scripture each day, the closer I felt my relationship with God becoming. I was calmly repeating phrases that stuck out to me and patiently writing about what these words meant for my life.
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Second, I felt more uplifted in my faith and more confident in what I believed. For this reason, Jerome once said that “a man who is well-grounded in the testimonies of the Scripture is the bulwark of the Church.” A “bulwark” is a defensive wall. Jerome’s choice of this word highlights the strength Scripture provided him. Against all of the challenges of life and all of the flaws of one’s own life, God’s Word can ground us in who we are and in Whose we are. The more I learned about the life of Jesus, and the more exposed to the Old Testament I became, the more I trusted the teachings of the Church because I knew that Jesus was the source of everything.
Finally, drawing closer to the Bible allowed me to be more aware of my sinfulness and more accepting of the mercy of God. Jerome once wrote: “I am like the sick sheep that strays from the rest of the flock. Unless the Good Shepherd takes me on His shoulders and carries me back to His fold, my steps will falter, and in the very effort of rising, my feet will give way.”
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The more I read the Bible, the more I related to the characters who were sinful or lacking in faith. Whether it was Jesus’ rebuke of the Pharisees judging others, or the Israelites complaining to God after he had saved their lives, I found that reading the Bible convicted me in the ways that I treated others and treated God. I saw myself as a clear sinner in need of forgiveness. I also became more inspired by the words of Jesus to live a life devoted to him and his word. Reading the Bible each day actually drew me closer to the practice of the Sacrament of Reconciliation because I saw how seriously Jesus spoke about repentance, and how willing he was to forgive and renew those he met.
Ultimately, learning more about the Bible, reading it more frequently, and hearing about the life of St. Jerome both challenged and inspired me to fall more in love with Christ. Within our busy schedules, carving out time to read the Scriptures each day will be more rewarding than anything else. It will bring us into contact with the God of the universe who is seeking to cling to us more than we could ever imagine.
