--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: A vice in the heart is an idol on the…" description: "\"A vice in the heart is an idol on the altar.\" — St. Jerome" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/st-jerome-3227_altar_a-vice-in-the-heart-is-an-idol-on-the-al_1291281.png" --- # A vice in the heart is an idol on the altar. ![“A vice in the heart is an idol on the altar.” quote by St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/st-jerome-3227_altar_a-vice-in-the-heart-is-an-idol-on-the-al_1291281.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/st-jerome-3227_altar_a-vice-in-the-heart-is-an-idol-on-the-al_1291281.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/st-jerome-3227_altar_a-vice-in-the-heart-is-an-idol-on-the-al_1291281.png) > “A vice in the heart is an idol on the altar.” [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Heartly vices become worshipped, displacing true devotion. **In simple terms:** Bad habits become false idols. Key Takeaway Replace vices with virtues. Themes spirituality morality idolatry Mood solemn reflective Type theological inspirational When to use this quote - personal confession - spiritual retreats - ethical training Key Concepts ethical discipline inner transformation Questions to Reflect On - What personal 'idols' dominate your decisions? - How can you cultivate true devotion? A Different Perspective Human weakness may resist change despite awareness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Altar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altar/) [Altars](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altars/) [Catholicism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/catholicism/) [Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart/) [Heart Idol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-idol-3133235/) [Idol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idol/) [Idol Altar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idol-altar-4208082/) [Idols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/idols/) [Vice Heart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vice-heart-4208083/) [Vices](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/vices/) ## Related quotes > [The human heart is an idol factory that takes good things like a successful career, love, material possessions, even family, and turns them into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/timothy-keller/the-human-heart-is-an-idol-factory-that-takes-good-things-like-a/) [Timothy Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/timothy-keller/) > [Self-righteousness…is the largest idol of the human heart - the idol which man loves most and God hates most. Dearly beloved, you will always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-murray-m-cheyne/self-righteousness-is-the-largest-idol-of-the-human-heart-the-idol/) [Robert Murray M'Cheyne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-murray-m-cheyne/) > [The Human heart is an idol factory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-calvin/the-human-heart-is-an-idol-factory/) [John Calvin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-calvin/) > [To separate tabernacle from altar is to separate two things which by their origin and nature should remain united.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xii/to-separate-tabernacle-from-altar-is-to-separate-two-things-which-by/) [Pope Pius XII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xii/) > [My mother worshipped at the altar of the accessory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/iris-apfel/my-mother-worshipped-at-the-altar-of-the-accessory/) [Iris Apfel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/iris-apfel/) > [The goal isn't to be restrictive or tight about what passes through the altar (your mouth) and into the temple (your body). It's to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kris-carr/the-goal-isn-t-to-be-restrictive-or-tight-about-what-passes-through/) [Kris Carr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kris-carr/) > [The Devil is not afraid to sit on an altar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-o-malley/the-devil-is-not-afraid-to-sit-on-an-altar/) [Austin O'Malley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-o-malley/) > [I am standing on my own altar; The poses are my prayers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/b-k-s-iyengar/i-am-standing-on-my-own-altar-the-poses-are-my-prayers/) [B.K.S. Iyengar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/b-k-s-iyengar/) > [Don't sacrifice the permanent on the altar of the immediate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-jones-sr/don-t-sacrifice-the-permanent-on-the-altar-of-the-immediate/) [Bob Jones, Sr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-jones-sr/) > [I acknowledge that the sacrament of the altar is very God's body in form of bread, but it is in another manner God's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wycliffe/i-acknowledge-that-the-sacrament-of-the-altar-is-very-god-s-body-in/) [John Wycliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wycliffe/) > [I was, not an altar boy, but a reader of the Epistle, and I walked in on a nun and a priest furiously French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-was-not-an-altar-boy-but-a-reader-of-the-epistle-and-i-walked-in-on/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [Since once again, O Lord, in the steppes of Asia, I have no bread, no wine, no altar, I will raise myself above those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/since-once-again-o-lord-in-the-steppes-of-asia-i-have-no-bread-no/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [We dare not trim stones to make God an altar, for if we do we ruin everything. We would spend time bringing people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/we-dare-not-trim-stones-to-make-god-an-altar-for-if-we-do-we-ruin/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [It is when we are in misery that we revere the gods; the prosperous seldom approach the altar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silius-italicus/it-is-when-we-are-in-misery-that-we-revere-the-gods-the-prosperous/) [Silius Italicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silius-italicus/) > [This is the sacrifice: the endless possibility that is offered up on the altar of the form...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-sacrifice-the-endless-possibility-that-is-offered-up-on/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) ## More by St. Jerome > [Wine is the first weapon that devils use in attacking the young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/wine-is-the-first-weapon-that-devils-use-in-attacking-the-young/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [The Roman world is in collapse but we do not bend our neck.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/the-roman-world-is-in-collapse-but-we-do-not-bend-our-neck/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [And as regards Adam and Eve we must maintain that before the fall they were virgins in Paradise: but after they sinned, and were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/and-as-regards-adam-and-eve-we-must-maintain-that-before-the-fall/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [When the stomach is full, it is easy to talk of fasting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/when-the-stomach-is-full-it-is-easy-to-talk-of-fasting/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Music to me is a voice, my voice, it's my way of expressing what colours can I bring in, what emotions, what feel. What…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/music-to-me-is-a-voice-my-voice-it-s-my-way-of-expressing-what/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Everything must have in it a sharp seasoning of truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/everything-must-have-in-it-a-sharp-seasoning-of-truth/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [The best advice that I can give you is this: Church-traditions- especially when they do not run counter to the faith- are to be…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/the-best-advice-that-i-can-give-you-is-this-church-traditions/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Woman is the gate of the devil, the road to iniquity, the sting of the scorpion, in a word, a dangerous species.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/woman-is-the-gate-of-the-devil-the-road-to-iniquity-the-sting-of-the/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [If Christ did not want to dismiss the Jews without food in the desert for fear that they would collapse on the way, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/if-christ-did-not-want-to-dismiss-the-jews-without-food-in-the-desert/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [For it is good to cleave to God, and to put our hopes in the Lord, so that, when we have exchanged this poor…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/for-it-is-good-to-cleave-to-god-and-to-put-our-hopes-in-the-lord-so/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [When I could not see the light with my blind eyes, I blamed not my eyes, but the sun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/when-i-could-not-see-the-light-with-my-blind-eyes-i-blamed-not-my/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Instead of speaking saintly words we must act them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/instead-of-speaking-saintly-words-we-must-act-them/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [Honest speech does not seek secret places.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/honest-speech-does-not-seek-secret-places/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [It is no fault of Christianity that a hypocrite falls into sin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/it-is-no-fault-of-christianity-that-a-hypocrite-falls-into-sin/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) > [ If you call \[the synagogue\] a brothel, a den of vice, the devil's refuge, Satan's fortress, a place to deprave the soul, an abyss… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/if-you-call-the-synagogue-a-brothel-a-den-of-vice-the-devil-s-refuge/) [St. Jerome](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) [Explore all 136 St. Jerome quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/) ## More Altar quotes > [This is the sacrifice: the endless possibility that is offered up on the altar of the form...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-buber/this-is-the-sacrifice-the-endless-possibility-that-is-offered-up-on/) [Martin Buber](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-buber/) > [“...those others - they're looking for trends - subjects to catch a spark - but I have you - a coal from God's altar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-geddes/those-others-they-re-looking-for-trends-subjects-to-catch-a-spark-but/) [John Geddes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-geddes/) > [There was a time I worshipped at the altar of Rudy Martzke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ernie-johnson-jr/there-was-a-time-i-worshipped-at-the-altar-of-rudy-martzke/) [Ernie Johnson Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ernie-johnson-jr/) > [I'm a lapsed altar boy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guillermo-del-toro/i-m-a-lapsed-altar-boy/) [Guillermo del Toro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guillermo-del-toro/) > [It is when we are in misery that we revere the gods; the prosperous seldom approach the altar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silius-italicus/it-is-when-we-are-in-misery-that-we-revere-the-gods-the-prosperous/) [Silius Italicus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silius-italicus/) > [We dare not trim stones to make God an altar, for if we do we ruin everything. We would spend time bringing people to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/max-anders/we-dare-not-trim-stones-to-make-god-an-altar-for-if-we-do-we-ruin/) [Max Anders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/max-anders/) > [God is the LORD, which hath shewed us light: bind the sacrifice with cords, even unto the horns of the altar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bible/god-is-the-lord-which-hath-shewed-us-light-bind-the-sacrifice-with/) [Bible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bible/) > [“Sacrifice your fear on the altar of your dreams.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barbara-van-tuyl/sacrifice-your-fear-on-the-altar-of-your-dreams/) [Barbara Van Tuyl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barbara-van-tuyl/) > [“It doesn’t really matter what altar you’re being sacrificed on, it’s gonna sting either way.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angela-roquet/it-doesn-t-really-matter-what-altar-you-re-being-sacrificed-on-it-s/) [Angela Roquet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angela-roquet/) > [Since once again, O Lord, in the steppes of Asia, I have no bread, no wine, no altar, I will raise myself above those…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/since-once-again-o-lord-in-the-steppes-of-asia-i-have-no-bread-no/) [Pierre Teilhard de Chardin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pierre-teilhard-de-chardin/) > [I was, not an altar boy, but a reader of the Epistle, and I walked in on a nun and a priest furiously French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-saunders/i-was-not-an-altar-boy-but-a-reader-of-the-epistle-and-i-walked-in-on/) [George Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-saunders/) > [“The quickest way to alter an altar is not with a hammer, or even religious deconstruction, but with a typo.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/the-quickest-way-to-alter-an-altar-is-not-with-a-hammer-or-even/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Beyond the table, there is an altar, with candles lit for Billie Holiday and Willa Carter and Hypatia and Patsy Cline. Next to it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carmen-maria-machado/beyond-the-table-there-is-an-altar-with-candles-lit-for-billie/) [Carmen Maria Machado](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carmen-maria-machado/) > [I acknowledge that the sacrament of the altar is very God's body in form of bread, but it is in another manner God's body…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-wycliffe/i-acknowledge-that-the-sacrament-of-the-altar-is-very-god-s-body-in/) [John Wycliffe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-wycliffe/) > [“Oh cold, cold, rigid, dreadful Death, set up thine altar here, and dress it with such terrors as thou hast at thy command: for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dickens-charles/oh-cold-cold-rigid-dreadful-death-set-up-thine-altar-here-and-dress/) [Dickens, Charles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dickens-charles/) [Browse all 131 Altar quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/altar/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "A vice in the heart is an idol on the altar.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "St. Jerome" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/a-vice-in-the-heart-is-an-idol-on-the-altar/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Altar" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/a-vice-in-the-heart-is-an-idol-on-the-altar/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/st-jerome-3227_altar_a-vice-in-the-heart-is-an-idol-on-the-al_1291281.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/st-jerome-3227_altar_a-vice-in-the-heart-is-an-idol-on-the-al_1291281.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1c2/st-jerome-3227_altar_a-vice-in-the-heart-is-an-idol-on-the-al_1291281.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“A vice in the heart is an idol on the altar.” — St. Jerome", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "St. Jerome", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-jerome/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "A vice in the heart is...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/a-vice-in-the-heart-is-an-idol-on-the-altar/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-jerome/a-vice-in-the-heart-is-an-idol-on-the-altar/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```