"Approaching the biblical texts, especially the New Testament, is essential for the believer", because "ignoring the Scriptures means ignoring Christ". It was reasserted by the Pope, who, even today as in last Wednesday’s general audience , reflected again on the figure of Saint Jerome, "eminent doctor of the interpretation of the Holy Scriptures". The Bible, for Saint Jerome, is "stimulus and spring of Christian life in all circumstances and for every man", highlighted the Pope, according to whom "reading the Scriptures means talking with God". From the Christian perspective, "the study and meditation of the Scriptures make man wise and peaceful", but, "to penetrate God’s Word even more deeply, constant and progressive application is required". "Only a deep spirit of prayer and the help of the Holy Spirit can lead us to understand the Bible", warned the Holy Father, who specified that, "for Jerome, a fundamental criterion of the method for interpreting the Scriptures was being in tune with the magisterium of the Church. For him, a genuine interpretation of the Bible had always to be in harmonious agreement with the faith of the Catholic Church". "Every Christian man", Saint Jerome stated, "not mincing his words", "must be in communion with Saint Peter’s Chair".
