“... With the exception of Joseph, Elizabeth, Mary herself, and a few others who heard from them how things stood, everyone thought that Jesus was the son of Joseph, so that even the evangelists, wishing to express the opinion of the people (which is the purpose of true history), called Joseph the Savior's father, as... Continue Reading →

“If anyone is confused by the fact that the Virgin conceived when she was an engaged woman, and not as a maiden who had no fiancé and was not married, as the Scripture says, let him know that there are three reasons for this. First, through the genealogy of Joseph, to whom Mary was related... Continue Reading →

“What is the meaning of the words "she meditated"? It has to mean: she kept it in her heart, she made herself consider it. Someone explains it this way: she meditated in her own heart because she was holy and had read the Sacred Scriptures."Jerome, Homilia de nativitate Domini, PLS II,191 One of the Virtues... Continue Reading →

“Whoever is poor should be consoled by this: Joseph and Mary, the Mother of the Lord, had neither servant nor handmaid. They came to Bethlehem by themselves from Nazareth. They did not have a pack horse. They are masters and servants at the same time. This is new!They go into an inn, not into the... Continue Reading →

“ "A shoot shall sprout from the stump of Jesse, and from his roots a bud shall blossom" (Is 11:1). The shoot is the Mother of the Lord, simple, pure, and sincere, who was not joined to any seed coming from without." Jerome, Epist. 22, 19; PL 22, 406. Virgin Mary's simplicity, purity and sincerity... Continue Reading →

“Indeed how inferior they are, in terms of holiness, to blessed Mary, Mother of the Lord! She, aware of God dwelling in her, freely proclaims: "For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed!"(Lk I: 48)"Jerome, Contra Pelagianos 1, 16; PL 23, 533. Here St. Jerome talks Virgin Mary's holiness, he describes her as full... Continue Reading →

“"Observe the cleverness of the ancient foe. He ferociously preyed upon the substance of the just man [Job]. . .. He left him nothing but his tongue and his wife, so that one tempted him while the other blasphemed. The devil remembered the old trick by which he had once ensnared Adam through the woman... Continue Reading →

St. Jerome sees Virgin Mary in these verses a cloud, as a prefiguration of Christ and His mother. "In the daytime also He led them with the cloud,And all the night with a light of fire." Psalms 78:14 " An oracle concerning Egypt.Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and comes to Egypt;and the idols... Continue Reading →

St. Jerome sees Virgin Mary in these two poetic verses in the Bible. He sees her as the fruit, or increase, and the rose, or flower. "Then the Earth shall yield her increase:God, our iwn God, shall bless us." Psalms 67:6 "I am the rose of Sharon,And the lily of the valleys." Song of Songs 2:1 “Do you... Continue Reading →

"1 Then he brought me back to the outer gate of the sanctuary, which faces east; and it was shut. 2 And he said to me, “This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; for the Lord, the God of Israel, has entered by it; therefore it shall remain... Continue Reading →