September 30, 2026 Memorial of Saint Jerome Gospel: Lk 9:57-62
Today is Wednesday of the 26th Week in Ordinary Time. The Church celebrates the Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church. According to recently published Missals, Saint Jerome (c. 342–420) was born in Strido (now in Croatia, then part of the Roman province of Dalmatia) and studied in Rome, where he was baptized. He retired for a while to Syria to live as a hermit and learnt Hebrew at the hands of a rabbi. Between 382 and 385 he was in Rome as secretary to Pope Damasus, who commissioned him to revise the Latin version of the Bible. He went to Bethlehem to concentrate on this work, together with the writing of Scriptural commentaries and theological works.
Today’s passage from the Holy Gospel according to Luke tells us about the responses of people to Jesus’ call during His time. I would like to take this opportunity to offer some reflections.
First, Luke tells us: As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to Jesus, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” (cf. Lk 9:57-58)
At times, we too are like this man. We may have great enthusiasm for Jesus and have said the same words: “I will follow you wherever you go,” without fully knowing what our faith truly means, or even being prepared for it. When Jesus says to us, “Foxes have dens and the birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head,” we may feel lost. For choosing to believe in Jesus means we must take risks for this faith, even staking our very lives and everything we have. Jesus asks us to leave our comfort zones, to cross over to the other side, to enter unfamiliar environments, and to rely on Him, following His guidance to fulfill the mission He has entrusted to us. When we carry out this mission, we may, like Him, live a homeless life, or even, like the early martyrs of the Holy Roman Church we celebrate today, have no place in this world. Therefore, we must ask ourselves: Are we truly prepared?
We can also see our own reflection in another response to Jesus’ call. St. Luke tells us that another man said to Jesus, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But Jesus answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead, but you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” (cf. Lk 9:59-60) This represents the response of those who live according to the logic of this world—they always want to arrange everything first before accepting the Kingdom of God that Jesus speaks of.
Today Jesus says: “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” (cf. Lk 9:62) This means that half-hearted people cannot enter the Kingdom of God that Jesus speaks of. To truly enter the Kingdom of God means we must completely abandon the logic of this world, and with simplicity and humility, through prayer, service, and total dedication, live out the spirit of the people of God’s Kingdom, so that the Kingdom of God proclaimed by Jesus may be made present in this world.
O God, who gave the Priest Saint Jerome a living and tender love for Sacred Scripture, grant that your people may be ever more fruitfully nourished by your Word and find in it the fount of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
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