St. Jerome - Patron of Librarians - September 30th
Jerome was a Roman Christian whose father taught him his religion well but sent him to a famous pagan school. There Jerome grew to love pagan writings and to lose some of his love for God. Yet, in the company of a group of holy Christians, with whom he became great friends, his heart was turned completely to God.
Later, this brilliant young man decided to live alone in a wild desert. He was afraid that his love for pagan writings would lead him away from the love of God, so he did hard penance in that scorching hot desert. Yet even there, he suffered terrible temptations, and the impure entertainments held in Rome seemed to appear in front of him. The Saint did not give in, however. He did more penance and wept for his sins. He also went to study Hebrew with a monk as his teacher. This he did to get rid of the bad thoughts that kept attacking his mind. He became such a great scholar of Hebrew that he could later translate the Bible into Latin so that many more people at that time would be able to read it.
St. Jerome spent many years of his life in a little cave at Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. There he prayed, studied the Holy Bible, and taught many holy souls how to serve God perfectly. He wrote a great many letters and even books to defend the Faith from heretics.
St. Jerome had a bad temper, and his sharp tongue made him many enemies. Yet he was a very holy man who spent his life defending the Faith and trying to serve Jesus in the best way he could. And so, despite his temper, he became a great saint.
To overcome his strong temptations, St. Jerome worked and studied hard, and read the Holy Bible. I, too, will work and study hard, and read the Holy Gospel.
Jerome was a Roman Christian whose father taught him his religion well but sent him to a famous pagan school. There Jerome grew to love pagan writings and to lose some of his love for God. Yet, in the company of a group of holy Christians, with whom he became great friends, his heart was turned completely to God.
Later, this brilliant young man decided to live alone in a wild desert. He was afraid that his love for pagan writings would lead him away from the love of God, so he did hard penance in that scorching hot desert. Yet even there, he suffered terrible temptations, and the impure entertainments held in Rome seemed to appear in front of him. The Saint did not give in, however. He did more penance and wept for his sins. He also went to study Hebrew with a monk as his teacher. This he did to get rid of the bad thoughts that kept attacking his mind. He became such a great scholar of Hebrew that he could later translate the Bible into Latin so that many more people at that time would be able to read it.
St. Jerome spent many years of his life in a little cave at Bethlehem, where Jesus was born. There he prayed, studied the Holy Bible, and taught many holy souls how to serve God perfectly. He wrote a great many letters and even books to defend the Faith from heretics.
St. Jerome had a bad temper, and his sharp tongue made him many enemies. Yet he was a very holy man who spent his life defending the Faith and trying to serve Jesus in the best way he could. And so, despite his temper, he became a great saint.
To overcome his strong temptations, St. Jerome worked and studied hard, and read the Holy Bible. I, too, will work and study hard, and read the Holy Gospel.