Quotes by Jerome – Arranged by Topic

 

On Body Language

“The face is the mirror of the mind, and eyes without speaking confess the secrets of the heart.”

 

On Conversation

“if need arises for holding converse with men, do not shun having witnesses, and let your conversation be marked with such confidence that the entry of a third person shall neither startle you nor make you blush.”

 

On Faithfulness

“he who claims to believe in Christ must rejoice in all Christ's judgments.”

 

“For as we admire the Creator not only as the framer of heaven and earth, of sun and ocean, of elephants, camels, horses, oxen, pards, bears, and lions; but also as the maker of the most tiny creatures, ants, gnats, flies, worms, and the like, whose shapes we know better than their names, and as in all alike we revere the same creative skill; so the mind that is given to Christ shows the same earnestness in things of small as of great importance, knowing that it must render an account of every idle word.”

 

“What Saint has ever won his crown without first contending for it

 

On Friendship

“A friend is long sought, hardly found, and with difficulty kept. Let those who will, allow gold to dazzle them and be borne along in splendor, their very baggage glittering with gold and silver. Love is not to be purchased, and affection has no price. The friendship which can cease has never been real.”

 

On Giving and Wealth

“To go about without a linen scarf on is nothing: what is praiseworthy is to be without money to buy one. It is disgraceful and absurd to boast of having neither napkin nor handkerchief and yet to carry a well-filled purse.”

 

On Gratitude

“Never look a gift horse in the mouth.”

 

 

On Grief

“Overcome as much as you can—nay even more than you can—the sensitiveness of your mind and check the copious flow of your tears. Else your deep affection for your nephew may be construed by unbelievers as indicating despair of God. You must regret him not as dead but as absent. You must seem to be looking for him rather than have lost him.”

 

On the Mind

“Early impressions are hard to eradicate from the mind. When once wool has been dyed purple, who can restore it to its previous whiteness

 

On Natural Beauty

“Beauty when unadorned is adorned the most.”

 

On Parenting

“It is no small merit in God's eyes to bring up children well.”

 

On Prayer

“All that the saints say is a prayer to God; their whole prayer and supplication a strong wrestling for the pity of God, so that we, who by our own strength and zeal cannot be saved, may be preserved by His mercy.”

 

On Receiving Christ

“Christ is our redemption, for He is at once our Redeemer and our Ransom. Christ is all, that he who has left all for Christ may find One in place of all, and may be able to proclaim freely, " The Lord is my portion.”

 

On Repentance

“nothing is so displeasing to God as an impenitent heart. Impenitence is the one sin for which there is no forgiveness.”

 

On Resisting Temptation

“it is extremely trying when one has once tasted pleasure to abstain from its enticements, so the reward of doing this is proportionately great.”

 

On Praising God

“How can the sun and the moon praise God as the prophet exhorts them to do? By perfectly carrying out the role God has given them. Thus they render Him great praise. Behold, therefore, a wonderful means by which you can praise God all day: do your duty and whatever else you are given to do well.”

 

On Scripture

“The Scriptures are shallow enough for a babe to come and drink without fear of drowning and deep enough for a theologians to swim in without ever touching the bottom"

 

"Whatever we read in the Old Testament we find also in the Gospel; and what we read in the Gospel is deduced from the Old Testament. There is no discord between them, no disagreement.”

 

“When we pray we speak to God; but when we read, God speaks to us.”

 

“What, pray, can be more sacred than this sacred mystery? What can be more delightful than the pleasure found therein? What food, what honey can be sweeter than to learn of God’s wise plan, to enter into His sanctuary and gaze on the mind of the Creator, and to rehearse the words of your Lord, which, though derided by the wise of this world, are really full of spiritual wisdom! Let the others, if they will, have their wealth, and drink from jewelled cups, be clad in silk, and bask in popular applause, as if they could not exhaust their riches in all kinds of pleasures. Our delight shall be to meditate on the Law of the Lord day and night, to knock at His door when it is not open, to receive the bread of the Trinity, and, with our Lord going before us, to walk on the billows of the world.”

 

“Read often, learn all that you can. Let sleep overcome you, the roll still in your hands; when your head falls, let it be on the sacred page.”

 

“As long as you are at home make your cell your paradise, gather there the varied fruits of scripture, let this be your favourite companion, and take its precepts to your heart.”

 

“The whole truth is not taught in a single passage: we must always bear in mind the exact point of an illustration.”

 

“see the hidden meaning of Scripture in all its fullness (for the word of God is a pearl and may be pierced on every side)”

 

“Exchange your love of necklaces and of gems and of silk dresses for earnestness in studying the scriptures.”

 

 

On Spiritual Growth

“Begin now to be what you will be hereafter.”

 

“Good, better, best. Never let it rest. 'Til your good is better and your better is best.”

 

 

On Tradition

“The best advice I can give you is this. Church tradition - especially when they do not run counter to the Faith - are to be observed in the form in which previous generations have handed them down.”

 

On Unbelieving Family Members

“The one unbeliever is sanctified by his holy and believing family. For, when a man is surrounded by a believing crowd of children and grandchildren, he is as good as a candidate for the faith.”

 

On Wisdom

“It is worse still to be ignorant of your ignorance. ”

 

“holy men only know what God reveals to them.”