Lectio
Saint Jerome’s ageing body bends over an open book. A red mantle falls around his bare shoulders, while light catches his wrinkled forehead and the pages below. One hand holds his place in the text, the other reaches across the table towards an inkwell. Just beyond his grasp rests a skull.
Jerome’s eyes remain fixed on the book. The composition places death at one side and the ageing saint at the other, with the work of reading and writing between them. The open pages and his reaching hand keep that work visibly unfinished. Time has marked Jerome’s face and body, yet he bends towards the page before him. The space between saint and skull leaves one question: how did Jerome use the time he was given?
Meditatio
Jerome devoted years to Scripture. He learnt Hebrew and translated the Old Testament from Hebrew into Latin, comparing texts and searching for words that could carry their meaning faithfully. Scripture was passed on through lives like his. In those words, generations of readers received time that another person chose to give.
The skull carries the warning of memento mori: remember that you must die. It places the limit of Jerome’s life beside the work to which he has given it. His eyes stay on the page and his hand reaches for ink. His hours are finite, and he gives this one to the open book. The words he sets down will serve readers beyond his own lifetime. The skull remains before us beside the unfinished book, asking: am I using the time I have been given well?
Oratio
God, my time is short, and each day is your gift.
Teach me to use it faithfully in the work before me.
Contemplatio
I notice Jerome’s eyes fixed on the open book, while the skull rests beside his outstretched hand.
Actio
Today, I will receive the time I have with gratitude and seek to use it well.
