37—Jerome, the Curmudgeonly Commentator
By Mike Aquilina ( bio - articles - email ) | Apr 14, 2021 | In Way of the Fathers (Podcast)
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Jerome is renowned for his biblical studies and translations, The Church invokes him as Doctor, Father, and Saint. Yet he is just as famous for his curmudgeonly character. He clashed with Augustine and Rufinus, disdained Ambrose and Chrysostom. His insults stand with the best of Mark Twain and Groucho Marx. He is often depicted angry in works of art, and the poet Phyllis McGinley said: “He wasn’t a plaster sort of saint.”
Links
Justin McClain’s splendid collection, The Quotable Saint Jerome, https://www.amazon.com/Quotable-Saint-Jerome/dp/0813233216/
J.N.D. Kelly’s biography, Jerome: His Life, Writings, and Controversies, https://www.amazon.com/Jerome-His-Life-Writings-Controversies/dp/156563084X/
Jerome, Letter 57: to Pammachius on the Best Method of Translating https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2362
Jerome, Against Vigilantius (who rejected the veneration of relics and other traditional practices) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2317
Jerome, The Perpetual Virginity of Blessed Mary, against Helvidius https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=2314
Jerome, Lives of Illustrious Men (an early work of patristics) https://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/fathers/view.cfm?recnum=3078/
Catholic Culture Audiobooks reading Against Helvidius: On the Perpetual Virginity of Mary https://www.catholicculture.org/commentary/st-jerome-against-helvidius-on-perpetual-virginity-mary/
Mike Aquilina’s website https://fathersofthechurch.com
Mike Aquilina’s books https://catholicbooksdirect.com/writer/mike-aquilina/
Theme music: Gaudeamus (Introit for the Feast of All Saints), sung by Jeff Ostrowski. Courtesy of Corpus Christi Watershed http://www.ccwatershed.org
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Mike Aquilina is a popular author working in the area of Church history, especially patristics. He is executive vice-president and trustee of the St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology, a contributing editor of Angelus (magazine) and general editor of the Reclaiming Catholic History Series from Ave Maria Press. See full bio.
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