📜St. Jerome, one of the four great Doctors of the Latin Church, was born in Dalmatia and, after his Baptism, dedicated himself with ascetic and intellectual fervor to the study and translation of the Holy Scriptures. At the request of Pope St. Damasus, he undertook the monumental task of translating the Bible into Latin, resulting in the edition known as the "Vulgata," which became the official text of the Church. His life was marked by deep penance and an ardent love for the Word of God, although he struggled with his appreciation for classical literature, to the point of being warned by Christ in a dream: "You are a Ciceronian, not a Christian." His maxim, "Ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ," summarizes the legacy of his work and the centrality of the Bible in the spiritual life.
⛪Introit (Ecclus 15:5 | Ps 91:2)In medio Ecclesiae aperuit os ejus... In the midst of the Church the Lord opened his mouth: and filled him with the spirit of wisdom and understanding: He clothed him with a robe of glory. Ps. It is good to give praise to the Lord: and to sing to Thy name, O Most High.
✉️Epistle (II Tim 4:1-8)
Dearly beloved: I charge thee, before God and Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the dead, by His coming and His kingdom: Preach the word: be instant in season, out of season: reprove, entreat, rebuke in all patience and doctrine. For there shall be a time when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires they will heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears: and will indeed turn away their hearing from the truth, but will be turned unto fables. But be thou vigilant, labor in all things, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill thy ministry. Be sober. For I am even now ready to be sacrificed, and the time of my dissolution is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. As to the rest, there is laid up for me a crown of justice which the Lord, the just Judge, will render to me in that day: and not only to me, but to them also that love His coming.
📖Gospel (Mt 5:13-19)
At that time, Jesus said to His disciples: You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt lose its savor, wherewith shall it be salted? It is good for nothing any more but to be cast out, and to be trodden on by men. You are the light of the world. A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bushel, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all that are in the house. So let your light shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets. I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. For amen I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass, one jot, or one tittle shall not pass of the law, till all be fulfilled. He therefore that shall break one of these least commandments, and shall so teach men, shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven. But he that shall do and teach, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
🤔Reflections
💡The Doctors of the Church, like St. Jerome, are the "salt of the earth" that preserves sound doctrine from the corruption of error and the "light of the world" that illuminates the truths of the faith. The salt signifies the abandonment of earthly desires and the wisdom that preserves from corruption (St. Augustine, Sermon on the Mount). The light that cannot be hidden is the exemplary life and sound doctrine that must shine forth, for teachers are placed on the candlestick of the Church to enlighten all with the truth (St. John Chrysostom, Homilies on Matthew). The command to "preach the word" with patience and doctrine, described in the Epistle, requires the teacher to fight the good fight not only with erudition but primarily with holiness, for his life must confirm what his lips teach (St. Gregory the Great, Pastoral Rule).
⚖️The Gospel of St. Mark complements the metaphor of salt by adding a call to the community: "Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another" (Mk 9:50), connecting inner wisdom with fraternal harmony. St. Luke, in turn, intensifies the warning about the loss of salt's purpose, stating that it is useful "neither for the land nor for the dunghill," being completely discarded (Lk 14:34-35), which reinforces the gravity of apostolic uselessness. The images of the city on a hill and the light on a candlestick are unique to Matthew in this context.
🖋️St. Paul deepens the Gospel's metaphors, applying them to the Christian life. In Colossians 4:6, he instructs that "your speech be always in grace, seasoned with salt," specifying that salt is prudence and wisdom in communicating the faith. In Ephesians 5:8, he expands on the concept of light, stating: "you are light in the Lord. Walk then as children of the light," linking Christian identity to a moral conduct that illuminates and reproves the works of darkness. Regarding the Law, Paul echoes Christ's statement in Romans 3:31: "Do we, then, destroy the law by faith? God forbid: but we establish the law," explaining that justification by faith does not abolish the Law but fulfills its spiritual purpose.
🏛️The documents of the Magisterium reaffirm the perennial importance of sound doctrine and Sacred Scripture, personified in the mission of St. Jerome. The Encyclical Providentissimus Deus of Pope Leo XIII, in addressing biblical studies, extols Scripture as the surest light for theology and the source that preserves the faith (salt) from modern errors. The Encyclical Pascendi Dominici Gregis of Pope St. Pius X condemns Modernism precisely because it corrupts doctrine, making the salt tasteless and obscuring the light of revealed truth, reaffirming that the integrity of the Law and the Prophets, fulfilled in Christ, must be kept and taught without alteration, just as the day's Gospel proclaims.
🔎See English version of the critical articles here.