Benedicta Ward

 

Benedicta Ward

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The Desert Fathers were the first Christian monks, living in solitude in the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria. In contrast to the formalized and official theology of the "founding fathers" of the Church, they were ordinary Christians who chose to renounce the world and live lives of celibacy, fasting, vigil, prayer, and poverty in direct and simple response to the gospel. First recorded in the fourth century, their Sayings—consisting of spiritual advice, anecdotes, parables, and reflections on life—influenced the rule of St. Benedict, set the pattern for Western monasticism, and have inspired centuries of poetry, opera, and art.

Organized around key themes—Charity, Fortitude, Lust, Patience, Prayer, Self-control, and Visions—this edition of the Sayings is fresh, accessible, and authoritative.

The treatise of St Hippolytus "On the Refutation of All Heresies"

 

The treatise of St Hippolytus "On the Refutation of All Heresies"

The word made flesh makes us divine

Our faith is not founded upon empty words; nor are we carried away by mere caprice or beguiled by specious arguments. On the contrary, we put our faith in words spoken by the power of God, spoken by the Word himself at God’s command. God wished to win men back from disobedience, not by using force to reduce him to slavery but by addressing to his free will a call to liberty.

  The Word spoke first of all through the prophets, but because the message was couched in such obscure language that it could be only dimly apprehended, in the last days the Father sent the Word in person, commanding him to show himself openly so that the world could see him and be saved.

  We know that by taking a body from the Virgin he re-fashioned our fallen nature. We know that his manhood was of the same clay as our own; if this were not so, he would hardly have been a teacher who could expect to be imitated. If he were of a different substance from me, he would surely not have ordered me to do as he did, when by my very nature I am so weak. Such a demand could not be reconciled with his goodness and justice.

  No. He wanted us to consider him as no different from ourselves, and so he worked, he was hungry and thirsty, he slept. Without protest he endured his passion, he submitted to death and revealed his resurrection. In all these ways he offered his own manhood as the first fruits of our race to keep us from losing heart when suffering comes our way, and to make us look forward to receiving the same reward as he did, since we know that we possess the same humanity.

  When we have come to know the true God, both our bodies and our souls will be immortal and incorruptible. We shall enter the kingdom of heaven, because while we lived on earth we acknowledged heaven’s King. Friends of God and co-heirs with Christ, we shall be subject to no evil desires or inclinations, or to any affliction of body or soul, for we shall have become divine.

  Whatever evil you may have suffered, being man, it is God that sent it to you, precisely because you are man; but equally, when you have been deified, God has promised you a share in every one of his own attributes. The saying Know yourself means therefore that we should recognize and acknowledge in ourselves the God who made us in his own image, for if we do this, we in turn will be recognized and acknowledged by our Maker.

  So let us not be at enmity with ourselves but change our way of life without delay. For Christ who is God, exalted above all creation, has taken away man’s sin and has re-fashioned our fallen nature. In the beginning God made man in his image and so gave proof of his love for us. If we obey his holy commands and learn to imitate his goodness, we shall be like him and he will honour us. God is not beggarly, and for the sake of his own glory he has given us a share in his divinity.

St. Augustine on seeing Ambrose reading in silence (Confessions 6.3)

 

St. Augustine on seeing Ambrose reading in silence (Confessions 6.3)

 

 

Nor had I come yet to groan in my prayers that thou wouldst help me. My mind was wholly intent on knowledge and eager for disputation. Ambrose himself I esteemed a happy man, as the world counted happiness, because great personages held him in honor. Only his celibacy appeared to me a painful burden. But what hope he cherished, what struggles he had against the temptations that beset his high station, what solace in adversity, and what savory joys thy bread possessed for the hidden mouth of his heart when feeding on it, I could neither conjecture nor experience.

 

Nor did he know my own frustrations, nor the pit of my danger. For I could not request of him what I wanted as I wanted it, because I was debarred from hearing and speaking to him by crowds of busy people to whose infirmities, he devoted himself. And when he was not engaged with them - which was never for long at a time - he was either refreshing his body with necessary food or his mind with reading.

Now, as he read, his eyes glanced over the pages and his heart searched out the sense, but his voice and tongue were silent. Often when we came to his room - for no one was forbidden to enter, nor was it his custom that the arrival of visitors should be announced to him - we would see him thus reading to himself. After we had sat for a long time in silence - for who would dare interrupt one so intent? - we would then depart, realizing that he was unwilling to be distracted in the little time he could gain for the recruiting of his mind, free from the clamor of other men's business. Perhaps he was fearful lest, if the author he was studying should express himself vaguely, some doubtful and attentive hearer would ask him to expound it or discuss some of the more abstruse questions, so that he could not get over as much material as he wished, if his time was occupied with others. And even a truer reason for his reading to himself might have been the care for preserving his voice, which was very easily weakened. Whatever his motive was in so doing, it was doubtless, in such a man, a good one.

From a sermon of Saint Leo the Great, pope

 

From a sermon of Saint Leo the Great, pope

Christian, remember your dignity

Dearly beloved, today our Saviour is born; let us rejoice. Sadness should have no place on the birthday of life. The fear of death has been swallowed up; life brings us joy with the promise of eternal happiness.

  No one is shut out from this joy; all share the same reason for rejoicing. Our Lord, victor over sin and death, finding no man free from sin, came to free us all. Let the saint rejoice as he sees the palm of victory at hand. Let the sinner be glad as he receives the offer of forgiveness. Let the pagan take courage as he is summoned to life.

  In the fullness of time, chosen in the unfathomable depths of God’s wisdom, the Son of God took for himself our common humanity in order to reconcile it with its creator. He came to overthrow the devil, the origin of death, in that very nature by which he had overthrown mankind.

  And so at the birth of our Lord the angels sing in joy: Glory to God in the highest, and they proclaim peace to men of good will as they see the heavenly Jerusalem being built from all the nations of the world. When the angels on high are so exultant at this marvellous work of God’s goodness, what joy should it not bring to the lowly hearts of men?

  Beloved, let us give thanks to God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit, because in his great love for us he took pity on us, and when we were dead in our sins he brought us to life with Christ, so that in him we might be a new creation. Let us throw off our old nature and all its ways and, as we have come to birth in Christ, let us renounce the works of the flesh.

  Christian, remember your dignity, and now that you share in God’s own nature, do not return by sin to your former base condition. Bear in mind who is your head and of whose body you are a member. Do not forget that you have been rescued from the power of darkness and brought into the light of God’s kingdom.

  Through the sacrament of baptism you have become a temple of the Holy Spirit. Do not drive away so great a guest by evil conduct and become again a slave to the devil, for your liberty was bought by the blood of Christ.

St. John Cantius

 

This article is about the saint and theologian. For the inventor, see John Kanzius. For the American inventor, see John Cantius Garand.

Saint John Cantius
Saint John Cantius
Confessor
Born	June 23, 1390 Kęty, Oświęcim, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland
Died	December 24, 1473 (aged 83) Kraków, Crown of the Kingdom of Poland
Venerated in	Catholic Church
Beatified	28 March 1676, Rome by Pope Clement X
Canonized	1767, Rome by Pope Clement XIII
Major shrine	Church of St. Anne Kraków, Poland
Feast	23 December 20 October (Poland, General Roman Calendar 1770–1969)
Attributes	in a professor's gown with his arm around shoulder of a young student whose gaze is directed towards Heaven; giving his garments to the poor
Patronage	Poland; Lithuania; Jagiellonian University
Theology career
Education	Kraków Academy
Theological work
Main interests	Biblical studies

Tomb of Saint John Cantius.
Church of St. Anne, Kraków, Poland.

John Cantius (Latin: Joannes Cantius; Polish: Jan z Kęt or Jan Kanty; 23 June 1390 – 24 December 1473) was a Polish Catholic priest, scholastic philosopher, physicist and theologian.

Biography

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John Cantius was born in Kęty, a small town near Oświęcim, Poland, to Anna and Stanisław Kanty. He attended the Kraków Academy at which he attained bachelor, and licentiate.^[1] In 1418 he became a Doctor of Philosophy.^[2] Upon graduation he spent the next three years conducting philosophy classes at the university, while preparing for the priesthood.

Upon his ordination, he became rector at the school of the Canons Regular of the Most Holy Sepulcher in Miechow.^[2] While there, he was offered a professorship of Sacra Scriptura (Holy Scripture) back at his alma mater, the Kraków Academy, which would later be named the Jagiellonian University. He attained a doctorate in theology and eventually became director of the theology department. He held the professorship until his death in 1473. Cantius spent many hours copying manuscripts of the Holy Scriptures, theological tracts, and other scholarly works.

During his time in Kraków, Cantius became well known in the city for his generosity and compassion toward the poor, especially needy students at the university. He subsisted on what was strictly necessary to sustain his life, giving alms regularly to the poor. He made one pilgrimage to Jerusalem and four pilgrimages on foot to Rome.^[1]

Michael Miechowita, the medieval Polish historian and Cantius's first biographer, described Cantius's extreme humility and charity; he took as his motto:

Conturbare cave: non est placare suave,

Infamare cave; nam revocare grave.^[1]

(Beware disturbing: it's not sweetly pleasing,

Beware speaking ill: for taking back words is burdensome.)

He died while living in retirement at his alma mater on 24 December 1473, aged 83. His remains were interred in the Collegiate Church of St Anne, where his tomb became and remains a popular pilgrimage site.^[2] He is the patron of the diocese of Bielsko-Żywiec (since 1992), and of the students.

Veneration

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John Cantius was beatified in Rome by Pope Clement X on 28 March 1676. He was named patron of Poland and Lithuania by Pope Clement XII in 1737.^[3] Ninety-one years after his beatification, John Cantius was canonized on 16 July 1767, by Pope Clement XIII.

The Roman Breviary distinguishes him with three hymns; he is the only confessor who is not a bishop to have been given this honor in the Catholic liturgy.

St. John Cantius is a popular saint in Poland. A number of churches and schools founded by Polish diaspora communities throughout North America are named in his honor, in cities as far-ranging as Cleveland, Ohio; Winnipeg, Manitoba; Detroit, Michigan; Chicago, Illinois; Rolling Prairie, Indiana, Milwaukee, Wisconsin; St. Cloud, Minnesota; Wilno, Minnesota, Philadelphia, Erie, and Windber, Pennsylvania; New York City and Buffalo, New York.

"John Cantius" has been used as a first and middle name—see, for example, John Cantius Garand.

Feast day

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When St. John Cantius's feast day was first inserted into the General Roman Calendar in 1770, it was initially assigned to 20 October, but in the calendar reform of 1969 it was moved to 23 December, the day before the anniversary of his death, which occurred on Christmas Eve 1473.^[4]

See also

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• Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius
• St. John Cantius Church (Chicago)
• St. John Cantius Church in the article on Wilno, Minnesota
• Saint John Cantius, patron saint archive

References

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1. ^ Jump up to:^a b c Godrycz, J. (1910). "St. John Cantius". The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
2. ^ Jump up to:^a b c ""St. John Kanty", Catholic Faith Community of Saint John Cantius, St. Cloud, Minnesota". Archived from the original on 2016-06-29. Retrieved 2014-02-02.
3. ^ Patron Saints Index: "Saint John Cantius" Archived 2008-10-18 at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ Calendarium Romanum (Libreria Editrice 1969), p. 111

External links

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•  Media related to John Cantius at Wikimedia Commons
• Biography from the Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius Archived 2016-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
• Bull of Canonization (1767) by Pope Clement XIII
• Novena to Saint John Cantius Archived 2016-10-26 at the Wayback Machine
• Biography at The Catholic Forum
• Patron Saints Index: Saint John Cantius
• The Saints: A concise Biographical Dictionary, (ed. John Coulson), Hawthorn Books, Inc. 1960

This article is about the saint and theologian. For the inventor, see John Kanzius. For the American inventor, see John Cantius Garand.

From a commentary by the Venerable Bede on St Luke's Gospel

 

From a commentary by the Venerable Bede on St Luke's Gospel

The Magnificat

And Mary said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord, my spirit rejoices in God my Saviour.

  The Lord has exalted me by a gift so great, so unheard of, that language is useless to describe it; and the depths of love in my heart can scarcely grasp it. I offer then all the powers of my soul in praise and thanksgiving. As I contemplate his greatness, which knows no limits, I joyfully surrender my whole life, my senses, my judgement, for my spirit rejoices in the eternal Godhead of that Jesus, that Saviour, whom I have conceived in this world of time.

  The Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.

  Mary looks back to the beginning of her song, where she said: My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord. Only that soul for whom the Lord in his love does great things can proclaim his greatness with fitting praise and encourage those who share her desire and purpose, saying: Join with me in proclaiming the greatness of the Lord; let us extol his name together.

  Those who know the Lord, yet refuse to proclaim his greatness and sanctify his name to the limit of their power, will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven. His name is called holy because in the sublimity of his unique power he surpasses every creature and is far removed from all that he has made.

  He has come to the help of his servant Israel for he has remembered his promise of mercy.

  In a beautiful phrase Mary calls Israel the servant of the Lord. The Lord came to his aid to save him. Israel is an obedient and humble servant, in the words of Hosea: Israel was a servant, and I loved him.

  Those who refuse to be humble cannot be saved. They cannot say with the prophet: See, God comes to my aid; the Lord is the helper of my soul. But anyone who makes himself humble like a little child is greater in the kingdom of heaven.

  The promise he made to our fathers, to Abraham and his children for ever.

  This does not refer to the physical descendants of Abraham, but to his spiritual children. These are his descendants, sprung not from the flesh only, but who, whether circumcised or not, have followed him in faith. Circumcised as he was, Abraham believed, and this was credited to him as an act of righteousness.

  The coming of the Saviour was promised to Abraham and to his descendants for ever. These are the children of promise, to whom it is said: If you belong to Christ, then you are descendants of Abraham, heirs in accordance with the promise.

  But it is right that before the birth of the Lord or of John, their mothers should utter prophecies; for just as sin began with a woman, so too does redemption. Through the deceit of one woman, grace perished; the prophecies of two women announce its return to life.

Advent IV: Sunday

 

Advent IV: Sunday

 

Gratiam tuam, quaesumus, Domine, mentibus nostris infunde, ut qui, Angelo nuntiante, Christi Filii tui incarnationem cognovimus, per passionem eius et crucem ad resurrectionis gloriam perducamur.

 

Pour, O Lord, your grace into our hearts, that we, who have known the Incarnation of Christ your Son by the message of an Angel, may by his Passion and Cross be brought into the glory of his Resurrection.

 

Dec. 17

 

Deus, humanae conditor et redemptor naturae, qui Verbum tuum in utero perpetuae virginitatis carnem assumere voluisti, respice propitius ad preces nostras, ut Unigenitus tuus, nostra humanitate suscepta, nos divino suo consortio sociare dignetur.

 

O God, Creator and Redeemer of human nature, who willed that your Word should take flesh in an ever-virgin womb, look with favor on our prayers, that your Only Begotten Son, having taken to himself our humanity, may be pleased to grant us a share in his divinity.

 

Dec. 18

 

Concede, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus, ut, qui sub peccati iugo ex vetusta servitute deprimimur, exspectata Unigeniti tui nova nativitate liberemur.

 

Grant, we pray, almighty God, that we, who are weighed down from of old by slavery beneath the yoke of sin, may be set free by the newness of the long-awaited Nativity of your Only Begotten Son.

 

Dec. 19

 

Deus, qui splendorem gloriae tuae per sacrae Virginis partum mundo dignatus es revelare, tribue, quaesumus, ut tantae incarnationis mysterium et fidei integritate colamus, et devoto semper obsequio frequentemus.

 

O God, who through the child-bearing of the holy Virgin graciously revealed the radiance of your glory to the world, grant, we pray, that we may venerate with integrity of faith the mystery of so wondrous an Incarnation and always celebrate it with due reverence.

 

Dec. 20

 

Deus, aeterna maiestas, cuius ineffabile Verbum, Angelo nuntiante, Virgo immaculata suscepit, et, domus divinitatis effecta, Sancti Spiritus luce repletur, quaesumus, ut nos, eius exemplo, voluntati tuae humiliter adhaerere valeamus.

 

O God, eternal majesty, whose ineffable Word the immaculate Virgin received through the message of an Angel and so became the dwelling-place of divinity, filled with the light of the Holy Spirit, grant, we pray, that by her example we may in humility hold fast to your will.

 

Dec. 21

 

Preces populi tui, quaesumus, Domine, clementer exaudi, ut, qui de Unigeniti tui in nostra carne adventu laetantur, cum venerit in sua maiestate, aeternae vitae praemium consequantur.