Saint Talk: St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church

"Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ." -- St Jerome

St. Jerome, Doctor of the Church, is most known for translating the Holy Bible from the original languages to Latin.  This came to be known as the Vulgate as it was the vernacular language of the time.   This translation continues to be used today.  One prime example is the Navarre Bible which contains exceptional commentaries.

• EWTN
• SQPN
• A Daily Word service is available which utilizes his writings and those of other saints and doctors of the church.

The Navarre Bible is an excellent bible translation to use for study and reflection:

FAQ of the Faith: IMPRIMATUR and NIHIL OBSTAT

The imprimatur and nihil obstat  collectively make up the evidence that the document or book has been reviewed by the bishop (where the work is published) and determined to be free of moral and theological error (i.e., nothing contrary to church teaching). Normally, these statements indicate you can read the work without worry that you are going to be reading something fishy. Unfortunately, a few "liberal" bishops have been known to approve questionable works. Additonally, absence of the statements does not mean a work is not loyal to the Church Magisterium. For example some of Scott Hahn's early book editions did not have them because he publishes with a mainsteam publisher.

So you're probably saying, "great so how do I know when something is a legitimate Catholic work or not?"  First, let me say absolutely DO NOT rely on an internet search or by just going to the Catholic section in a book store.  There is a lot of junk out there being sold and published under the guise of "Catholic."  Jesus did warn his apostles to "beware of false prophets (teachers)" [Matt 7:15]. Here are my suggestions for obtaining authentic Catholic materials:

• Find a reputable Catholic book store.  Locally, we have three: Sacred Heart in Richardson, Little Angels near St. Anne's in Coppell and Divine Mercy in Denton.  The obvious omission is deliberate.
• Ask someone you know who is well versed in Catholic reading material.
• Get to know the reliable publishers.  This site includes the links to many of these.
• Get to know the reliable authors like Scott Hahn, Tim Staples, Father Larry Richards, Patrick Madrid, etc.
• Go to reliable websites like EWTN which has a religious catalogue.
• Use this web site.  I often include links to books you can buy through our Amazon partnership.  Joe Catholic actually gets a small percentage of those proceeds.

I have included definitions from Catholic Dictionary:

IMPRIMATUR

NIHIL OBSTAT
For good measure I have included a link to Scott Hahn's new book which covers some of our Catholic customs.  I found it to be a great read.

Let me know what you think about me adding a monthly book review.