Breathe. Pray. Abide. Let Christ turn your anger into grace.
I didn’t even know I was capable of such anger. Until I felt it.
Seething, raging, wild. That’s what I looked like in the mirror. I knew I needed forgiveness, repentance, and a way to keep from erupting again.
My parish priest patiently guided me to John 15:4. Over the next few days, as I pondered Jesus’ gentle invitation to “abide” in Him, I began to wonder: Did any of the saints wrestle with anger? Maybe I could learn how they found their way back to abiding in Him.
Turns out, several saints had battled their own tempers! Here’s a look at the three I found most inspiring.
St. Jerome: The sharp-tongued scholar
Born in 347 (in what is now Croatia), St. Jerome studied grammar, philosophy, and rhetoric in Rome. Few scholars of his time could match his brilliance. But perhaps fewer still could match his temper.
Passionate about truth, St. Jerome often spat out angry words when people acted against his values. His sharp words spilled into letters written to friends and foes, and even colored his preaching at times.
But St. Jerome was keenly aware of his uncharitable temper and spent years trying to bring it under control. He retreated into the desert to study, fast, and pray. As penance, he would beat his breast with a stone and sleep on a stone pillow, asking God for a softened heart and a kinder tongue.
He poured himself into the work of translating the Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic texts of Scripture into Latin, praying and doing penance for his temper even as he carried on this task. From his labor was born one of the Church’s greatest treasures: the Latin Vulgate.
Even after this, St. Jerome continued his inner battle with anger. He never stopped relying on the mercy of God in his struggle. Because of his passion, faithfulness, and humility, the Christian world gained access to the life-changing Word of God.
As I read about this great saint, I decided that the next time I began to seethe, I would turn to prayer and Scripture instead of letting my tongue loose. I haven’t always managed to do this, but whenever I have, I can testify that God has changed things, either in others or in me.
📌 If you’re struggling to control your temper, call upon the intercession of St. Jerome. He is well aware of the struggle to overcome anger.
St Vincent de Paul: The irritable young man
Born to a poor peasant family in rural France in 1581, Vincent joined the priesthood hoping to have a respectable job and escape the shackles of poverty.
He was an ambitious young man, and when things didn’t go his way, he was easily frustrated. When his poor father, clad shabbily, visited him in college, Vincent was so annoyed by his father’s appearance that he turned him away in irritation. In his own words, he was “in temper hard and repellent, rough and crabbed.”
What then brought about the change that earned him the name “apostle of charity”?
Vincent’s life took a horrific turn while he was on a voyage. His ship was captured by pirates, and he was sold into slavery. After two long years, he finally escaped. On his return to France, his priestly appointments brought him face-to-face with the poorest of people, especially when he was made a chaplain to galley prisoners.
These experiences brought about a conversion of heart. He began visiting the poor, offering them food and clothing. He taught them about the love of God in simple language. He threw himself into works of mercy, founding the Congregation of the Mission (Vincentians) and helping set up societies, hospitals, and orphanages serving the poorest.
The once-hard, easily annoyed Vincent lost his appetite for anger because he had begun to see Christ in the people he served. His turnaround was so startling and complete, it makes me wonder what would happen if I tried to see Christ in those who annoy me the most!
📌 Ask St. Vincent to pray that you may be able to see Christ (or at least goodness) in the people who stir up anger within you.
St. Peter: The impulsive one
Often, anger is the result of reacting too quickly, without thinking. This is certainly true for me and, among the saints, for the apostle Peter.
Not calm or measured, Peter was quick to use both his actions and words, without stopping to think. Even when speaking with Jesus.
When Jesus predicted his own suffering and death, Peter couldn’t hold back, He rebuked him!
Then Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, “God forbid, Lord! No such thing shall ever happen to you.”
(Matthew 16:22, NABRE)
In the Garden of Gethsemane, his anger turned violent. Without thinking, he struck out, cutting off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Later that very night, when Jesus was brought to trial, his fear also turned to anger. He cursed and swore that he had never known Jesus! Moments later, he was cut to the heart as the rooster crowed.
Reckless, raw, and impulsive. That’s what Peter’s anger was like. And sometimes, so is mine. And like him, I often regret the words the moment they leave my mouth.
But Peter’s story didn’t end in that courtyard. It had a new beginning after the Resurrection, when Jesus restored Peter with a threefold call to love and serve the flock. With Christ’s gentle forgiveness and encouragement, the rough, hard fisherman became the bold leader of the apostles and the Church, finally dying for the faith and the God he loved.
📌 When I’m seething and want to simply lash out, St. Peter, pray for me, that like you I may learn to use my passion for good.
Letting God transform our anger
Scripture reminds us: Anger is a natural emotion, not wrong in itself. But we should be careful how we act upon it (Ephesians 4:26). I still remember the outburst that led me to confession. I had crossed a line and I was ashamed.
But as I rested in John 15:4 and learned about these three saints, hope sprang up. If the saints before me felt anger, too, and found a way to surrender and be transformed, so could I.
St. Jerome taught me to never give up but to lean on Christ and Scripture. St. Vincent showed me the key was to see Christ in others. St. Peter reminded me that Christ’s forgiveness can always help me begin again.
These saints allowed God to enter into their anger, to abide there, and to slowly transform them.
And that’s the invitation for you and me, too: to abide in Him and let Him abide in us. To allow Him to work in our hearts, so that in time, we learn to be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger.
So the next time you feel that rage rise, breathe. Bring your anger to Him. Let Him abide in you. With Jesus, your anger can become the place where grace begins.
