The Last Communion of Saint Jerome: The Eucharist, Monasticism, and Priesthood in the Life of a Church Father - Hardcover

by Fr Basil Nixen Osb (Author)

In The Last Communion of Saint Jerome, history, legend, Scripture, and sacred art are woven into a luminous meditation on one of the greatest Doctors of the Church. Though no eyewitness account of St. Jerome's death survives, Church Tradition and medieval devotions imagined his final moments with reverent detail--the monk-scholar receiving Viaticum, surrounded by angels, whispering the Nunc Dimittis as his soul departed in peace. This evocative tradition inspired masterpieces by Botticelli and Domenichino, and sparked centuries of contemplation on Jerome's burning love for the Holy Eucharist.

Moving beyond legend alone, this work returns to Jerome's own writings to reveal how deeply the Eucharist shaped his reading of Scripture, his priesthood, and his vision of Christ. Drawing from his commentaries on the Old and New Testaments, along with his prolific letters, readers will come to understand that for Jerome the Eucharist was not only sacrament, but the very key that unlocks the Word of God.

Both theological study and spiritual meditation, The Last Communion of Saint Jerome invites readers to see Scripture, art, and the sacraments as one living mystery centered on Christ's Real Presence in the Eucharist.

Readers will come away learning:

• how St. Jerome understood the Eucharist as both sacrament and interpretive key to Scripture,
• why Eucharistic devotion is deeply consistent with Jerome's authentic life and writings,
• practical theological insight into worthy reception, Viaticum, and Spiritual Communion,
• and a renewed appreciation for Catholic tradition's blend of history, legend, and sacred imagination.

Quotes

• "Since the flesh of the Lord is true food, and his blood is true drink, according to the anagogical sense, this alone is our good in the present age, if we are nourished by his flesh and drink his blood, not only in the mystery (Eucharist), but also in the reading of the Scriptures."
• "The Eucharist is perhaps the greatest expression of God's extravagant love for us."
• "In our day, when Christ's Priesthood is so often mistakenly reduced to an "administrative position" of power, prestige, and preeminence, we greatly need the humility that shone forth in the Little Flower of Lisieux, the Poverello of Assisi, and the Lion of Bethlehem."
• "With what love, O Jesus, I would carry You in my hands when, at my voice, You would come down from heaven. And with what love would I give you to souls!"

The Last Communion of Saint Jerome offers readers a strikingly original and deeply Catholic portrait of one of the Church's greatest Fathers. While many writings on St. Jerome focus on his scholarship, sharp temperament, or role as compiler Scripture, this new work reveals the essential understanding of Jerome as a profoundly humble and Eucharistic soul. For Jerome, the Eucharist is not an afterthought or devotional add-on, but the very lens through which Scripture, theology, and Christian life are meant to be understood.

Drawing from Jerome's own writings, Scripture, patristic sources, medieval tradition, and sacred art, the author weaves together history, legend, theology, and beauty into a unified meditation on the Lion of Bethlehem and his devotion to Christ's presence in the Blessed Sacrament.

In an age where the Church is often misunderstood and reverence toward Tradition has grown thin, this work offers a quiet but powerful thesis, recalling the supernatural dignity of Christ's priesthood and the humility required to approach it. Both scholarly and devotional, The Last Communion of Saint Jerome invites modern Catholics to rediscover the Eucharist as the heart of Scripture, the soul of the Church, and the true center of Christian life.