December 11 + Saint Pope Damasus

All lovers of Scripture have reason to celebrate this day. Pope Damasus I (Pope from October 366 to his death in 384) presided over the Council of Rome of 382 that determined the canon (the official list) of Sacred Scriptures. It was Damasus who commissioned St. Jerome to translate the Scriptures into Latin, the Vulgate version of the Bible. Not only did he commission the Vulgate translation but he also changed the liturgical language of the Church from Greek to Latin. He spoke out against major heresies in the Church, encouraged the veneration of martyrs, and worked hard to preserve and restore the catacombs, the graves of the martyrs, and relics.

Damasus was a writer, but he didn't author many-volumed treatises as other Christian writers did. Damasus liked to write epigrams in verse: short sayings that capture the essence of what needed to be said. He wrote many epigrams on martyrs and saints.

From the Decree of Damasus (attributed to Damasus):

The arrangement of the names of Christ, however, is manifold: Lord, because He is Spirit; Word, because He is God; Son, because He is the only-begotten son of the Father; Man, because He was born of the Virgin; Priest, because He offered Himself as a sacrifice; Shepherd, because He is a guardian; Worm, because He rose again; Mountain, because He is strong; Way, because there is a straight path through Him to life; Lamb, because He suffered; Corner-Stone, because instruction is His; Teacher, because He demonstrates how to live; Sun, because He is the illuminator; Truth, because He is from the Father; Life, because He is the creator; Bread because He is flesh; Samaritan, because He is the merciful protector; Christ, because He is anointed; Jesus, because He is a mediator; Vine, because we are redeemed by His blood; Lion, because he is king; Rock, because He is firm; Flower, because He is the chosen one; Prophet, because He has revealed what is to come.