| Jerome (September 30th) though surely a saint, wasn’t at all “nice.” He had an irascible disposition and a sarcastic tongue. He abused his few friends. He was physically distasteful due to his excessive ascetic practices. Although he candidly admitted his failings, he remained a cantankerous ox to his dying day. Never mind—he was the foremost biblical scholar of the ancient Church, perhaps of all time.
It was Jerome who tackled the enormous task (begun ca. 383) of producing the first full translation of the Scriptures from Hebrew and Greek into Latin; this “Vulgate” version became the official translation of the Bible. Also writing biblical commentaries and sermons, Jerome is one of the primary shapers of the Western Church. He was born in northern Italy ca.345, and was converted to Christ during his student days in Rome, being baptized by 366. He soon became a monk with a number of others, but he quarreled with them and the group disbanded.
Later, he became the spiritual director for a group of wealthy widows in Rome, but he had to leave the city under a cloud of gossip fueled by local clergy and laity who were stung by his harsh criticisms of them. Eventually settling in Bethlehem, he was joined by a few of the Roman widows who then funded his establishment of a monastery. He spent his days in a cell hewn from rock (near the traditional site of Christ’s birth) teaching, studying, and writing.
Though too prideful of his learning, Jerome was not ambitious for honors and was an indefatigable worker for the Church. He had a rare and influential zeal for the orthodoxy of the faith at a crucial time. Even his detractors were impressed with his personal holiness. He died on Sept. 30, 420. It is written that “Jerome was seldom pleasant, but at least he was never dull.”
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