St. Damasus

     All people who love Scripture have reason to celebrate this day.  Damasus I was the pope who commissioned Saint Jerome to translate the Scriptures into what was then the common Latin of the person in the street, into the Vulgate version of the Bible.  Jerome, with his encyclopedic knowledge of the Scriptures, was, at that time, the personal secretary of Pope Damasus I.  Jerome wrote that Damasus was “an incomparable person, learned in the Scriptures, a virgin doctor of the virgin Church.”  

     Damasus didn't often receive such praise.  Today there are certainly severe scandals in the Church, but the difficulties during Damasus’ time help to put ours into perspective.  Damasus wanted a holy Church, but internal political struggles, doctrinal heresies, uneasy relations between the Churches in the East and those in the West marred the peace.

     Damasus was duly elected Pope by the bishops; but a minority faction of bishops elected and consecrated another person, Ursinus, as pope. The ensuing controversy over Damasus vs. the antipope resulted in violent battles in two basilicas in Rome, scandalizing the Catholics of Italy.  Supporters of the antipope managed to get Damasus accused of some grave crime—probably sexual.  He had to clear himself before both a civil court and a Church synod.  He did so handily, showing the accusation to be baseless.

     As pope, his lifestyle was simple, in contrast to that of some of the other prelates in Rome, and Damasus was strong in his steady denunciation of the Arian heresy which, of all the heresies of the early Church, came the closest to obliterating the Gospel as it has been handed down from Jesus’ Apostles.

     In addition, a misunderstanding of the Trinitarian terminology used by Rome threatened amicable relations between the Western and Eastern Churches, and Damasus was only moderately successful in dealing with that challenge.

     It was during Damasus’ pontificate that the Roman Emperor Constantine declared Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire.  So Damasus made Latin the principal liturgical language of the Western Church (it had been Greek).  This led to his encouragement of St. Jerome’s biblical studies and his translation of the Bible into the Vulgate which had such an impact for Catholics that, no less than twelve centuries later, the Council of Trent declared it to be “authentic in public readings, disputations, preaching.”  Damasus also preserved and restored the catacombs, the graves of the martyrs, and relics.

Reflection
     In a troubled and pivotal period of Church history, St. Damasus stands out as a true pastor and defender of the faith.  He makes me think of Pope St. John Paul II, who also knew how to do things that would strengthen faith.  To me, Damasus’ struggles are a reminder that, while Jesus never promised his Church exemption from hurricane winds, our Lord did guarantee final victory.

     St. Damasus, pray for us!

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