Christianity, by the book

As early Christianity distanced itself from Judaism, Christians began to lose touch with their faith’s deep Jewish roots. Saint Jerome (born around 340) helped to reestablish the link. He learned Hebrew from a Christian monk who had converted from Judaism. More unusual for the time, he studied with Jewish rabbis to gain a better understanding of Hebrew scripture. He then spent 15 years producing the foundational Latin translation of the Hebrew Bible, which we know as the Old Testament. He later said, “For if, as Paul says, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God, and if the man who does not know Scripture does not know the power and wisdom of God, then ignorance of Scriptures is ignorance of Christ." Crack open the Good Book today, in honor of a key figure who helped shape it. MEMORIAL OF JEROME, PRIEST, DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH