a blessed feast

Saint Jerome in his Study by Antonello de Messina (1475).

There is another quality of St. Jerome’s character that will console many of us who struggle to be virtuous and holy, a quality which surprises many whose image of sanctity lacks a sense of how Christ’s holiness transforms human character. Jerome was known for being a cantankerous fellow. He struggled at times with the virtue of patience, could be overbearing with those who disagreed with him, and had a reputation for being cranky. One commentator on Saint Jerome’s life noted 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!

–from The Word on Fire, via Charlotte at Waltzing Matilda

have i found my patron?  oh, and see that lion on the saint’s right?  Jerome tamed him by taking a thorn out of his paw.  the lion was devoted to Jerome from that day forward.