Paragraph 26
No mind was more docile than hers. She was slow to speak and ready to listen, mindful
of those words of advice: "Be silent, Israel, and listen." Deuteronomy 27:9
She knew the Scriptures by heart and although she loved the historical facts,
referring to them as the foundation of truth, she preferred to follow the spiritual meaning
and used this as the roof to protect the edification of her soul.
She persuaded me (Jerome of Bethlehem) to allow her to read through both the
Old Testament and the New with her daughter, while I commented on it.
I refused to do so because I did not think I was up to it, but she insisted
and so I agreed to teach what I had learned, not from myself but from outstanding
men of the church.
When I hesitated and openly admitted that there was something I did not know,
she absolutely refused to give up. . . She expressed a desire to learn the Hebrew
language which I had been studying since my teenage years and in which I had
gained a partial competence, tirelessly continuing with my studies so as not to forget
what I had learned. She persisted to the point where she could sing the Psalms in Hebrew
and read the language aloud without any trace of a Latin accent. (p. 103 LIVES OF
ROMAN CHRISTIAN WOMEN -- edited and translated by Carolinne White, 2010
for Penguin Classic Paperback edition) --
p. 108 = The saintly and blessed Paula died on Tuesday 26 January after sunset. . .
She lived the life of holiness she had chosen for five years at Rome and then
for twenty years at Bethlehem. She lived for 56 years, 8 months, and 21 days.
