St. Jerome - History Repeating?

St. Jerome was born in Dalmatia around the year 340. Twenty years later he traveled to Rome where he was baptized. In Rome and in Trier, Germany he studied under some of the Church’s most eminent scholars. But Jerome was as much mystic as he was scholar. He went to the Holy Land, spent over five years in the desert engaged in prayer, penance, and study, finally settling in Bethlehem. There he lived and worked in a cave believed to be the birthplace of Jesus. He died in Bethlehem in the year 420, and his body is buried in Rome’s Basilica of St. Mary Major.

Jerome, along with St. Augustine, became one of the great scholars of his time. Augustine even declared , “What Jerome is ignorant of, no mortal has ever known.” Jerome was fluent in Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and also Chaldaic, the common language spoken throughout much of the ancient Middle East. These skills provided him with the linguistic foundation that enabled him to achieve what most believe to be his greatest accomplishment, the translation of the entire Bible into Latin. This “Vulgate” translation was for centuries the only version of Sacred Scripture used by the Church.  

St. Jerome's Cave in Bethlehem

St. Jerome also lived during some very trying times as he witnessed the beginnings of the fall of the Roman Empire. Indeed, the Visigoths under Alaric actually sacked the city of Rome in the early days of the fifth century. Greatly disturbed by what the barbarians were doing to his world, Jerome made the following observations in the year 406, describing the devastation experienced throughout the Empire:

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"Nations innumerable and most savage have invaded all Gaul. The Whole region between the Alps and the Pyrenees, the ocean and the Rhine, has been devastated by the Quadi, the Vandals, the Sarmati, the Alani, the Gepidae, the hostile Heruli, the Saxons, the Burgundians, the Alemanni, and the Pahnonians.

Oh wretched Empire! Mayence [Mainz, Germany], formerly so noble a city, has been taken and ruined, and in the church many thousands of men have been massacred. Worms [Germany] has been destroyed after a long siege. Rheims, that powerful city, Amiens, Arras, Speyer [Germany], Strasburg, - all have seen their citizens led away captive into Germany. Aquitaine and the provinces of Lyons and Narbonne, all save a few towns, have been depopulated; and these the sword threatens without, while hunger ravages within.

I cannot speak without tears of Toulouse, which the merits of the holy Bishop Exuperius have prevailed so far to save from destruction. Spain, even, is in daily terror lest it perish, remembering the invasion of the Cimbri; and whatsoever the other provinces have suffered once, they continue to suffer in their fear.

I will keep silence concerning the rest, lest I seem to despair of the mercy of God. For a long time, from the Black Sea to the Julian Alps, those things which are ours have not been ours; and for thirty years, since the Danube boundary was broken, war has been waged in the very midst of the Roman Empire. Our tears are dried by old age. Except a few old men, all were born in captivity and siege, and do not desire the liberty they never knew.

Who could believe this? How could the whole tale be worthily told? How Rome has fought within her own bosom not for glory, but for preservation - nay, how she has not even fought, but with gold and all her precious things has ransomed her life...

Who could believe that Rome, built upon the conquest of the whole world, would fall to the ground? That the mother herself would become the tomb of her peoples? That all the regions of the East, of Africa and Egypt, once ruled by the queenly city, would be filled with troops of slaves and handmaidens? That to-day holy Bethlehem should shelter men and women of noble birth, who once abounded in wealth and are now beggars?

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St. Jerome’s words remind me of what a modern classical scholar, Dr. Victor Davis Hanson, recently said about our own nation and the many threats, both exterior and interior. it faces -- challenges that mirror those faced by fifth-century Rome.

“Every nation that has survived has had borders that were defensible and clear, and the idea that they have their own space to inculcate their language or traditions or customs, then enhance their constitution. Without that, it’s just short of a migratory, 5th century A.D. Rome where people come across the Danube River and destroy the nation-state…Identity politics is another natural human pathology where we identify by our superficial appearance, and when we start to do that we regress to something like the former Yugoslavia or Rwanda. And that trajectory will be our future unless we stop it and realize that we’re a very rare multiracial democracy that’s given up — each of us — our primary identities as race or [ethnicity] and have absorbed, instead, the idea of Americanism…Tribalism — we could use that word — is now endemic, and everybody is trying to find a tribal affiliation. It’s a search to find a cache, because if you are oppressed or a victim — victimized — then you feel that you have certain rights to compensation, or reparatory action from the government.”

Victor Davis Hanson

By the way, Dr. Hanson’s many books are all worth reading, and offer us remarkable insights into the similarities and differences between ancient and modern times. I’ve been reading him for years and have learned much from his words. Here’s a link to a brief article he wrote in 2013 in which he addresses the likely decline of America, a decline driven largely by governmental policies that attempt to redistribute wealth:  The Decline of America

One comment from the article is especially telling, and seems prophetically to point ahead eight years to our current situation:

“Given our unsustainable national debt — nearly $17 trillion and climbing — America is said to be in decline, although we face no devastating plague, nuclear holocaust, or shortage of oil or food.”

Okay, we haven’t suffered a nuclear attack — at least, not yet — but huge debt, plagues, and shortages certainly abound.

Pray for our nation and our world: “Come, Lord Jesus!” [Rev 22:20]

ISIL Barbarism

We have in recent years (decades?) so misused the language that it has become a challenge to comprehend exactly what some folks are trying to say. The commonplace is too often described using out-of-this-world superlatives and the truly outrageous, well, it's awesome, man. And so we're left with few words to describe adequately the activities of a collection of terrorists like ISIL. ISIL seems to recognize this and has made effective use of new media. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a video is worth many times more.

The recent beheading, on video, of an American journalist, James Foley, was turned into a viral YouTube spectacle. This says it all. (By the way, as an aside, why would anyone want to watch this gruesome video? I certainly won't, but I suspect I'm in the minority. ) Just keep in mind that this atrocity simply mirrors what these barbarians have done to so many others in both Syra and Iraq. In some strange way, then, the murder of Mr. Foley, horrendous as it was, pales when compared to the widespread enslavement and slaughter of Christian, Yazidi, and even Muslim women and children. How many of these precious innocents were beheaded, shot, and even crucified simply because of their religious beliefs? At least Mr. Foley had a choice. As a journalist he chose to travel to Syria to report on the civil war raging in that country. His kidnapping by ISIL, while not a certainty, was still a possibility. This doesn't at all mitigate the horror of his death, and it certainly doesn't excuse those who murdered him. I mention this only because the media coverage of James Foley's death has been non-stop, but how much have we heard of the hundreds, probably thousands, of faceless and nameless ISIL victims?

James Foley

I can understand the media focus on the death of one of their own. To some he was a colleague, and because he was an American his death is also a story with domestic, political overtones. But the real tragedy in Syria and Iraq -- and I believe James Foley would have agreed -- is the continual slaughter of those who resist ISIL as it terrorizes in the name of a false god. For example, read this report of the murder of an entire village of Yazidis -- over 600 people -- because one village elder refused to convert to the ISIL brand of Islam. And then read this story describing 11 elderly Iraqi Christians who also refused to convert and courageously told the ISIL thugs they would rather die. They were spared. Such stories are seldom reported by the mainstream media. Another story you won't find in the New York Times or on CNN is one describing Islam's centuries-old penchant for beheading those who resist. Here's a story on Catholic Online that does just that. (Warning: at the end of the article there are some very gruesome photos.)

We shouldn't underestimate ISIL. They have access to hundreds of millions of dollars that they will use to finance their vicious jihad. Thanks to the Iraqi army they are well-equipped with modern American weapons. The civil war in Syria has provided the training and experience they need to wage their war on the world. And perhaps most worrisome their ranks are filled with hundreds of jihadists who hold valid passports from the UK, USA, and Western European countries. They will return all too soon to bring their horrific form of terror to the West. I rarely find myself in agreement with Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, but his comments on ISIL yesterday were instructive:

"This is beyond anything that we've seen...ISIL is as sophisticated and well-funded as any group that we have seen. They marry ideology, a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess. They are tremendously well-funded....So we must prepare for everything. And the only way you do that is that you take a cold, steely, hard look at it ... and get ready."

Get ready, indeed. Secretary Hagel was joined by chairmen of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, who added, "This is an organization that has an apocalyptic, end-of-days strategic vision and which will eventually have to be defeated."

About our absent strategy for dealing with and defeating ISIL, the secretary and the general also said some remarkably inane things, but at least they seem to appreciate the nature of the threat. Perhaps in time they will be able to convince the president to address it.

All of this brought to mind what Christopher Dawson wrote, describing the barbarian invasions suffered by the late Roman Empire:

"To pagan and Christian alike it seemed the end of all things -- in St. Jerome's words, 'the light of the world was put out and the head of the Roman Empire was cut off'...It is a tendency of modern historians to minimize the importance of the invasions, but it is difficult to exaggerate the horror and suffering which they involved. It was not war as we understand it, but brigandage on a vast scale exercised upon an unwarlike and almost defenseless population. It meant the sack of cities, the massacre and enslavement of the population and the devastation of the open country. In Macedonia the Roman envoys to Attila in 448 found the once populous city of Naissus empty save for the dead. In Afrida, if a city refused to surrender, the Vandals would drive their captives up to the walls and slaughter them in masses so that the stench of their corpses should render the defenses untenable." [Christopher Dawson, Medieval Essays, p. 50]

Dawson goes on to quote St. Jerome who wrote the following early in the 5th century when the barbarian attacks were just beginning:

"The mind shudders when dwelling on the ruin of our day. For twenty years and more, Roman blood has been flowing ceaselessly over the broad countries between Constantinople and the Julian Alps, where the Goths, the Huns and the Vandals spread ruin and death...How many Roman nobles have been their prey! How many matrons and maidens have fallen victim to their lust! Bishops live in prison, priests and clerics fall by the sword, churches are plundered, Christ's altars are turned into feeding-troughs, the remains of the martyrs are thrown out of their coffins. On every side sorrow, on every side lamentation, everywhere the image of death."

Although it's highly unlikely we in the United States will face the kind of devastating attacks suffered by the 5th-century Romans, others throughout the world are already experiencing exactly that. I expect it will continue to spread.

The early medieval world survived the attacks of the barbarians and ended up converting them to Christianity. Of course those early Christians were a people of faith. May our faith be as strong.

St. Augustine, a Man for Our Time

I've been thinking a lot about St. Augustine lately. This happens whenever I fall into the "doom and gloom" trap and need to be rescued. A quick glance at my life and one would not expect me to fall prey to such thoughts. After all, I'm reasonably healthy for someone my age. I live in a beautiful section of a magnificent country, in a lovely home surrounded by other lovely homes. I have a loving wife, four grown children each making his or her own unique way in the world, and nine very precious grandchildren. I could go on, but suffice it to say my life is really quite undeservedly good, especially when compared with the lives of so many others in today's world. And I suppose that's the point. It's not my life that distresses me; it's the state of the world.

One measure of the world's well being is reflected by the length of my prayer list, and lately this list has been growing. For decades I prayed for the persecuted Christians of the world, especially those who lived under the rule of totalitarian communist regimes. And although brave Christians living in China, Cuba, Vietnam and North Korea still need out prayers, the persecution of Christians is now a worldwide phenomena, one that has spread far beyond these remnants of Marx's "workers' paradise."

Radical Islamists and jihadists have seemingly captured the approval of many Muslims and have come to power in much of the Middle East and North Africa. Consequently, the persecution of Christians has increased greatly. Despite the recent coup in Egypt, and the arrest of President Mohammed Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood and its supporters continue to attack Christians openly and violently, all in an effort to implement the Koranic charge that all Christians must become Muslims. Indeed, in the midst of all the violence and chaos in Egypt, we hear that dozens of Christian churches have been attacked and burned.

Similar persecution is taking place in other nations where older, despotic regimes have been overthrown by Islamist hardliners. Ironically, virtually every one of these revolutions was begun by secular groups who hoped to replace existing authoritarian rule with more democratic structures. This was the case in Syria;  but now the rebel groups (the ones we support with arms and other goodies) consist largely of Islamists who side with al-Qaeda. I suspect the Assad regime will ultimately prevail in Syria but expect many other nations in the region to move instead from authoritarian to some form of Islamist totalitarian rule. A sad business, one which leaves our best and strongest ally in the region, Israel, more than a little concerned.

Rarely reported is the fact that in many nations the Islamists seem to have the electoral support of a majority of their people. That's right, large numbers of Muslims in the Middle East and Africa now support terrorist organizations like the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, and their brutal friends. And as this all proceeds on a very fast track, our president dithers and waffles, and presides over a bizarre foreign policy that seems to reward our enemies and punish our friends. How exceedingly foolish.

My prayer list now also includes Christians being persecuted in India, often called the "world's largest democracy." Even among the Hindus it seems there are radical hardliners who dislike the fact that Christianity attracts converts; and so they kill Christians and burn their homes and churches. Most disturbingly though, my prayer list now includes Christians being persecuted in Western democracies, and even here in the good ol' USA. While these persecutions tend to be more subtle, they are nevertheless real and designed to remove Christianity from the public square. Just ask the Little Sisters of the Poor as they struggle to prevail over the administration as it tries to force them to accept anti-Christian elements of Obamacare.

Adding to all this, we face the prospect of economic collapse in both Europe and North America, as we watch Russia and China being transformed into gangster superpowers. And speaking of gangsters, who can ignore that strange, threatening little man who for some reason is allowed to dictate all aspects of life in the so-called Democratic Peoples Republic of North Korea? Yes, it's all very distressing, but what does it have to do with St. Augustine?

Quite simply, through his example Augustine helps me maintain my sanity and my priorities during trying times; for Augustine also lived in the midst of global turmoil. He spent much of his time as Bishop of Hippo (located in present day Libya) fighting a steady stream of heresies. Augustine defended the Church and its apostolic teachings against the attacks of Manichaeans, Priscillianists, Donatists, and Pelagians; and these were just a few of the errors that plagued the Church at the time. During these difficult years Augustine was without a doubt the man most responsible for the Church preserving its apostolic teaching.

But heresy wasn't the only challenge facing Augustine and the Church. The Roman Empire was disolving and Barbarians were on the march. Along the way they burned churches, murdered bishops, priests and deacons, sacked the cities, and devastated the countryside. Rome's rich North African provinces weren't spared and were invaded by the Vandals under their king Genseric in the spring of 428. The Vandals devastated the cities killing those who resisted. They burned the churches and killed most of the clergy. Those who survived we're either taken captive as slaves or forced to live out their lives as beggars. 

For a time the stronger cities, such as Carthage and Hippo, were able to resist and hold off the barbarians. As the Vandals moved across the region, Augustine was asked if the clergy could rightly flee from them. His response is telling. A bishop or priest could leave only if he alone were the object of the attack or if his entire flock had already fled. In other words, the clergy should remain with their people, supporting and sustaining them. This was a particularly difficult time for Augustine since many of the Vandals had fallen under the sway of the Arian heresy.

"Death of Augustine" -- fresco by Benotto Gozzoli

In May 430 The Vandals eventually laid siege to the well-fortified city of Hippo, a siege that lasted 14 months. It was during this siege that Augustine died of a fever at the age of 76 on August 28, 430. Although Augustine no doubt realized that the barbarians would eventually overcome the city's defenses, his faith never wavered. As his world, the city of man, collapsed around him Augustine reminded his flock that the City of God would prevail. 

As we witness the disintegration of our own civilization and the devastation caused by today's barbarians, we should turn to St. Augustine, asking for his intercession. St. Augustine, pray for us.