(c.306-384) Damasus was born in Rome, and his father became a priest after becoming a widower. Damasus also became a priest and was chosen as the 37th pope. He weathered an antipope’s claims and the rise of the Arian heresy, steering the Church from schism in both instances. Pope Damasus commissioned Saint Jerome to translate the Bible into the common language of Latin, presided over the Council of Rome that determined the canon of Scripture, and encouraged the veneration of the martyrs.
The papacy of Saint Damasus was focused on unity. In recovery, we do together what we could not accomplish on our own. How have you discovered the need for fellowship and community in recovery?
“He who walking on the sea could calm the bitter waves, who gives life to the dying seeds of the earth; he who was able to loose the mortal chains of death, and after three days’ darkness could bring again to the upper world the brother for his sister Martha: he, I believe, will make Damasus rise again from the dust” (an epitaph Pope Saint Damasus wrote for himself).
Reflection by Brad Farmer