"Love knows no order"?

[BarbaraTherese]

I did post this into the water cooler, but no responses at all. I am hoping someone in this Forum may be able to assist…

have been told that St. Jerome wrote: “Love knows no order”…I have never heard this quotation before. Can anyone affirm for me that St. Jerome did indeed write the statement…and if he did write it, can you tell me where I can find the quote (reference details in St. Jerome’s writings) so I can put the quote into its full context.

If another Forum would be more helpful to me, most grateful if you would indicate same together with appropriate Forum.

Thanks heaps…Barb

 

[Joe_Gloor]

The closest I could come to that in searching the Vatican website was this:

“Exclusive love for Christ, for whose sake the priest freely renounces having a family of his own, so dilates his heart as to make him capable of a love that knows no bounds. His family is the universe. True, human conditioning persists. Even Jesus was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, but this did not prevent him from being in fact the Saviour of the world. If on the visible and social plane a limit is set to a man’s activity, charity knows no limit other than its own imperfection. This is why the priest too receives a canonical mission limited in time and space, but the charity that inspires him, of itself, knows no bounds, is eternal and cannot exclude anyone.”

The spirituality of priestly celibacy by Divo Barsotti Theologian

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Joe Gloor:

The closest I could come to that in searching the Vatican website was this:The spirituality of priestly celibacy by Divo Barsotti Theologian

Hi Joe…thank you for taking the time and trouble.
“Love knows no order” is a fairly stunning statement and I have never heard it quoted before and from the lack of response in this thread, I am tending to doubt that St. Jerome did indeed write the sentence.
But I do thank you for your quote and reference and I will read the text in full.

Barb

 

[Toni]

From founding orphanages, St. Jerome also founded a hospital and even cared for prostitutes by establishing a shelter for them. St. Jerome gave 110% to those who were in need and this eventually broke his health. He died at the age of 56 in 1547.

The true mark of any Christian is selflessness. To forget oneself in order to serve others is at the heart of the Gospel message. The life of St. Jerome Emiliani beautifully captures Christ’s teaching that laying down one’s life for others is the greatest act of love.

Found that one but here is another site you may find that quote on.theworkofgod.org/Bible/Sermons/SJerome.htm

 

[Della]

I searched in the Catholic Encyclopedia online and found this quote by St. Jerome in his Letter 7 “TO CHROMATIUS, JOVINUS, AND EUSEBIUS”:

You are surprised perhaps at my thus making a fresh beginning quite at the close of my letter. But what am I to do? I cannot refuse expression to my feelings. The brief limits of a letter compel me to be silent; my affection for you urges me to speak. I write in haste, my language is confused and ill-arranged; but love knows nothing of order.

It’s self-explanatory, isn’t it? And, I think to use it out of context, to try to make it say more than it does, would be unwise.

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Della:

I searched in the Catholic Encyclopedia online and found this quote by St. Jerome in his Letter 7 “TO CHROMATIUS, JOVINUS, AND EUSEBIUS”:

It’s self-explanatory, isn’t it? And, I think to use it out of context, to try to make it say more than it does, would be unwise.

Thanks heaps Della…I tried a seach in a couple of sites but nothing came up. Thank you for the reference and I look forward to reading St. Jerome’s Letter 7 to get his full meaning into context. This is why I questioned the sentence “love knows no order” until I could put it into its context…now thanks to you I am able to do so. I agree with you that taking a sentence out of the context of the overall can distort meaning and convey an entirely unintended meaning. I had about given up on finding the context and was querying the existence of the sentence.

Thank you again…Barb

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Toni:

From founding orphanages, St. Jerome also founded a hospital and even cared for prostitutes by establishing a shelter for them. St. Jerome gave 110% to those who were in need and this eventually broke his health. He died at the age of 56 in 1547.

The true mark of any Christian is selflessness. To forget oneself in order to serve others is at the heart of the Gospel message. The life of St. Jerome Emiliani beautifully captures Christ’s teaching that laying down one’s life for others is the greatest act of love.

Found that one but here is another site you may find that quote on.theworkofgod.org/Bible/Sermons/SJerome.htm

Thank you also Toni…St. Jerome, whom I have in the past known very little about, is starting to really have appeal and I am looking forward to following up the links given in this thread including yours above. Getting ready for school at the moment (60 yrs old! - me! not the school! ) and a few minutes before needing to catch my bus.

Thank you very much again for the time and trouble Toni…

Barb:thumbsup:

 

[Liberian]

Barbara,

There is something similar, not in Jerome, but in Galatians 5:22-23: “In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

• Liberian

 

[BarbaraTherese]

Liberian:

Barbara,

There is something similar, not in Jerome, but in Galatians 5:22-23: “In contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

• Liberian

Hi Liberian…thank you for the above. Sorry its taken a bit of time to get back to you - I am still technically absent
from CAF for a while trying to catch up with things here!:whacky:
I am looking forward to reading the Letter from St. Jerome that contains my quotation and will ponder this and in the context of what you have quoted from Galatians above. Thanks heaps!

Barb South Aust.