Yesterday a dear friend gave me a book called “I’m Proud of You.” It’s the story of a friendship between the author and Fred Rogers, who most of us know as “Mr. Rogers.” As I began to read it, I was struck again by that familiar feeling of “this is how I want people to see me.” Fred could make people feel important. He left them feeling they had been heard and understood. But, of course, his show didn’t sidestep the messiness of life. Still, He simply journeyed through it in a way that expressed peace and serenity, joy, and trust.
Then today, we have Saint Jerome to talk about. When it comes to personalities, you couldn’t find two men who are more different. He was known to be a man of extreme temper, and if he perceived someone was teaching an error about the faith, he would write harsh and severe criticisms about them. But, on the other hand, his love for Christ is intense. That is why he saw anyone who taught such things as an enemy of the truth, an enemy of God. He was impatient. Overbearing. Many authors refer to him with the word “cantankerous.” One commentator went as far as saying that perhaps Jerome chose to be a hermit, not so much as a heroic act of sacrifice, but because had he not lived alone, he most assuredly would not have been a saint!
How do we reconcile the two men? First, you have the gentle and meek Christianity of Mr. Rogers. A man who worked with hope and love to reach children across the world. He gave them help to understand and control their emotions. Then you have a man with a temper whose love for Christ is evident, but his zealousness is brash and in your face. Mr. Rogers may very well be in Heaven but likely will never be canonized and probably wouldn’t want to be, while Jerome is officially recognized as a Saint in Heaven. Jerome gave us the Latin Vulgate, mastering every language needed to translate the scriptures into the common language of education at the time. Fred helped generations to learn to deal with pain and suffering in a way that brought comfort and reconciliation.
Both men remind us of something fundamental to our faith. We weren’t created to be photocopies of one another. Each of us is unique and made by God to be distinctively different from one another. We also can’t allow our weaknesses to be an excuse. Saints are not born with perfect characters or refined personalities. They have to work to grow into the disciples of Christ that we need to be because growing toward Christ means becoming more fully human, not less. Jesus after His resurrection had a glorified body. He wasn’t less human than before, He was more fully human than ever. That is what God wants for us, for us to become fully alive, fully what Humanity is created for. That is why Saints both learn to know their weaknesses and to fully accept them. They use them as opportunities for growth, for conversion, for humility. They don’t sidestep the messiness of life, and they don’t allow their faults to hold them back. They face it head-on with Christ as the central focus.
Because here is the hope that Saint Jerome provides: God can make a Saint out of anyone. Growing in virtue doesn’t mean we stop being human. It also doesn’t mean we stop being ourselves. It means we learn how to use the qualities we have to be holy. We could use our stubbornness to generate focus. We use our intensity to express our affection for Christ. We could use our passion and desire to yearn for the Eucharist as “the deer yearns for running streams.” We use whatever attribute we find in ourselves as a tool to bring glory to God and to change our hearts for the better. Jerome was a violent man who made a lot of enemies due to his temperament. He was able to overcome these faults by praying, penance, and the grace of God. The question for us to meditate on today is this: what qualities do I have in my personality, and how can I mold and shape them into a tool to be used to further God’s kingdom?
A homily for readings on the Memorial of Saint Jerome, Priest and Doctor of the Church: September 30th, 2021