Saint Jérôme

Le visage est émacié, la bouche crispée, le corps décharné les yeux sont brûlants de passion, brûlants d'amour. De son regard, Jérôme scrute les Écritures, il les creuse, il les griffe, il les laboure pour trouver le vrai visage de Dieu. Rien n'est épargné dans cette recherche, ni l'étude des Lieux saints, ni l'apprentissage de l'hébreu, ni les longues nuits de réflexion. Tout l'agite, sa passion pour Dieu, mais aussi son amour des belles lettres et les ardeurs de la chair. Tout l'inquiète. Le moindre soupçon sur son attachement à la doctrine de la foi le pousse à trahir même ses amis s'il le faut. Rien ne l'apaise. Depuis le cadre austère de ses communautés à Bethléem, il perçoit les erreurs doctrinales et les mensonges proférés sur la vie consacrée. Il ne peut réagir qu'avec violence. Misanthrope, il adore la communauté religieuse. Attaquer celle-ci, c'est l'atteindre personnellement. Non seulement il traduit la Bible, mais il la commente aussi. Il commence par de petits textes prophétiques, comme celui d'Abdias, pour terminer par celui d'Isaïe, un chef-d'oeuvre. Toute cette science ne fut pas seulement acquise dans les livres, elle mûrit dans l'ascèse personnelle. Elle fut le fruit d'une véritable vie de prières. Ce fut un grand maître spirituel. Jérôme, c'est plus qu'un saint, c'est un empire, bouleversé, torturé, mais triomphant. Le découvrir ne laisse pas indifférent. -- His face was emaciated, his mouth tense, his body nothing but skin and bone; but his eyes burned with passion, consumed with love. Turning his gaze on the Scriptures, Jerome scrutinized them, excavated them, clawed at them and ploughed them to find the true face of God. He spared himself nothing in this search: neither the study of the Holy Places, nor learning Hebrew, nor long nights spent in contemplation. Everything excited him: his passion for God, but also his love of literature and the ardours of the flesh. Everything worried him. The slightest suspicion about his attachment to the doctrine of his Faith drove him, if necessary, to betray even his friends. Nothing could appease him. From the austere surroundings of his communities in Bethlehem, he perceived the doctrinal errors and the lies uttered about monastic life. He could only react with violence. A misanthropist, he loved the religious community. To attack that community was to wound him personally. Not only did St. Jerome translate the Bible, he also commented it. He began with short prophetic texts, such as that by Abdias, and culminated with Isaiah's - a masterpiece. All this knowledge was not acquired solely from books; it was also nurtured by his personal asceticism. It was the fruit of a veritable life of prayer. He was a great spiritual master. Jerome was more than a saint, he was an empire, overthrown, tortured, but ultimately triumphant. It is impossible to remain unaffected by his story.