St. Jerome: Patron Saint of Biblical Scholars / Catherine McAuley: Sister of Mercy

Just received an email from Joe Atkinson at the Catholic Biblical Association pointing out that Sept 30 is the feast day of St. Jerome, the patron saint of scholars. I thought I'd share some of Joe's email:

Saint Jerome is a Doctor of the Church and the Patron Saint of Scholars and in particular of the Catholic Biblical Association. He was born in 331 AD in what is now known as Croatia and eventually lived the last 30 years of his life in a cave in Bethlehem, dying in 420.

Arguably, his most famous line is "Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ" which occurred in his commentary on Isaiah.

His learning was a way of purification for him. He is most famous for his translation of the Scriptures in Latin (the Vulgate).

May the Lord richly bless all our endeavors and keep us faithful. May our work help in the building up of His kingdom.

Always encouraging to think of the work of those who have gone before. And a good reminder to look up from my grading and administrative work for a moment to keep in mind the larger tradition of scholarly work on scripture that I am fortunate to be part of as a biblical scholar in the 21st century. Also, a good excuse to make an (increasingly rare) post to my blog...

By a similar token I just received an email from Sister Sheila Carney reminding those of us at Carlow University that today is Catherine McAuley's birthday, the foundress of the Sisters of Mercy. She was born on this date in 1778, and her legacy continues in the work we do here at Carlow University, founded by the Sisters of Mercy in 1929.

The final days of September are rich with opportunities to remember these remarkable people from centuries ago whose impact is still felt today. Thankfully, my inbox contained these timely reminders!