You don’t have to be perfect to be a saint

The example of St. Jerome reminds us we don’t have to be perfect to be saints. We all make mistakes, and the saints did, too!

My new morning habit this school year is a big hit with my kids.

Every morning we’ve read aloud a short biography about a saint from Through the Year with Tomie dePaola, or sometimes I use the Universalis app to look up the saint of the day. It’s been a quick and fun way to learn more about the saints and keep up with the feasts of the liturgical year.

Last week I looked ahead to see what saints were coming up, and noticed a familiar name on the calendar.

“Guess whose feast day is coming up next week?” I asked my kids. “Here’s a clue: You learned about him at Vacation Bible School…”

My kids had come home with crafts about St. Jerome from the fantastic Vacation Bible School a local Catholic parish hosts every summer. His feast day is September 30, and he’s a great saint to know, whether you’re an adult or kid.

A saint we often remember

St. Jerome is not generally the most well-known saint among kids, but the VBS crew focused on his life for a special reason.

The kids’ crafts about St. Jerome came with this memorable caption:

St. Jerome reminds us that even saints are not perfect. His life was holy, even though he had a bad temper!

I found this caption kind of hilarious, but appreciated the deeper message too. As the crafts hang on our kids’ art wall, St. Jerome comes up in conversation.

Theresa Barber

When my kids and I make mistakes and feel discouraged in our efforts to do the right thing, we try to think of St. Jerome.

“Remember St. Jerome?” I tell them. “He had a hard time being kind, but now he’s in Heaven with Jesus. If he could do it, so can we!”

This simple little reminder has become a regular phrase of encouragement in our home.

I asked my five-year-old why it’s important to know about St. Jerome, and she said, “You can be a little bit mad sometimes, but that’s okay! You can still be a saint!”

So here’s your little reminder, from St. Jerome and my kids: You don’t have to be perfect to be a saint. We all make mistakes, and the saints did, too. But just like them, we’ll never stop trying to follow Jesus.