In our contemporary era men have almost no understanding of the notions of repentance or penance. The slightest inconvenience has become intolerable to the majority of men in the developed countries. We deny ourselves nothing and seek everything that money will buy.
When we fall if there is any repentance at all, it is often times very fleeting. A few Hail Marys and we think that we are even with God.
Not so, the giants of the past. They understood the gravity of sin and the importance of showing God profound repentance by true penance for one's sins.
We forget that performing the penance that the priest assigns us in confession grants us forgiveness, but does not make us even with God. That is where indulgences and true penance come in. They can help make up for the deficiencies of our penance.
This is an image of St. Jerome. St. Jerome died in the beginning of the 5th century A.D. He translated the entire bible into Latin. Scholars today, still rely upon his translation. Latin is a very stable and precise language. As a result of St. Jerome's translation it became much easier to obtain the correct meaning of the scriptures.
St. Jerome however had a temper. He knew that this was a fault of his. As the picture shows he demonstrated incredible repentance for this. He beat his chest over and over again with a stone. God saw his deep contrition. He is a Saint today, for many reasons. Like all Saints with the help of grace he learned to master his faults by doing penance and by having a true repentance for them.
Such an image shocks contemporary man. We do not see this kind of love for God demonstrated by such acts of self-denial.
Today, because of our softness most men are really not capable of such penances. We should pray to Our Lady and to St. Jerome asking them to help us have true repentance for our sins and a desire to perform greater penance according to our station in life.
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