St. Jerome (c.340/347 to Sept. 30, 420)

"Lord show me your mercy and make my heart glad."

St. Jerome was born between 340 and 347 in Stridon, a small town in northern Italy on the Yugoslavian border. At age 18, he was baptized by Pope Liberius in Rome.
He is best known for his translation of the bible into Latin. St. Jerome died in Bethlehem, Judea on Sept. 30, 420. He was buried in St. Mary Majorin in Rome and is the patron saint of librarians.
I've only met one person named Jerome in my life and he happened to be a member of the clergy. When I was 15-years-old, our parish priest was named Father Jerome. We called him Father Jerry. He was not more than 28-years-old, wore flannel shirts, and rode a motorcycle. He offered us confession in unlikely places such as outdoors on the church steps.
And, we held him and our religion in the highest regard. I had lost my grandfather at that time and because of it questioned my faith. Many of my peers were experimenting with cigarettes, alcohol, and sex.
Father Jerry was kind to us and understood what it was like to be a teenager. I'm not sure what his method was for getting through to my Confirmation class but it worked. He taught us to respect our parents yet be independent thinkers.
The last I heard Father Jerry was a chaplain in the Army. Wherever he is today, may he know that he had a profound and positive influence on me that I will never forget.

St. Paula (May 5, 347 to Jan. 26, 404)

When my maternal grandfather's younger sister, Vera, was 32-years-old, she became a widow. This was around 1937 and she had two young children. Aunt Vera devoted her life to raising Martha and Pat, and she never remarried. Yes, of course, she dated but her family came first. So, she ran a grocery store and, after the kids were grown, worked as a house mother to nursing students.
Aunt Vera was devoted to all the saints. She particularly loved St. Anne and St. Martha (Aunt Vera and her husband had a baby girl Anne who died at two days old). She was also extremely intuitive and had premonitions that came true.
"If God wants, I'll see you again," she'd say each and every time I left her house. This was something that she said since 1951, according to my dad. Aunt Vera lived to be 98-years-old
St. Paula, like Aunt Vera, became a widow at at age 32.
She was born on May 5, 347 in Rome, Italy. She and her husband, Toxotius, had five children. After his death, St. Paula devoted her life to caring for and helping the poor. One of her close friends was St. Jerome.
St. Paula moved with him to Bethlehem, the Holy Land. Together they opened up churches, and founded communities for nuns and monks. St. Paula died on Jan. 26, 404 in Bethlehem. She is the patron saint of widows and her feast day is Jan. 26.