St. Peter Canisius

SAINT PETER CANISIUS
Doctor of the Church,(1521-1597)

One of the champions of the 'reformation'.  Born in 1521 of a distinguished family of Holland, St. Peter Canisius studied in Cologne and received his license as doctor of civil law; he then went to Louvain (Belgium) to learn canon law. These studies followed close upon the days when Luther had burnt the papal bulls at Wittenberg, Germany. Soon Saint Peter, become a Jesuit, was teaching at the University of Cologne; he was there when the unfortunate archbishop of that city fell into the new heresy. The Catholics who desired to depose him needed a deputy to the emperor to present their request, and Saint Peter was chosen.

His mission, seconded by the Holy Spirit, succeeded; and the deputy was remarked by a Cardinal, who desired to send him to the Council of Trent as his representative and theologian. Saint Peter's superior, St. Ignatius of Loyola himself, approved this choice, and the young Jesuit took his place among the Fathers of the Council. He was commissioned to draft a memoir on the exact nature of the errors being propagated in the lands of the reform, in consort with the Pope's theologian, another Jesuit named Jacques Laynez. Their work was admired; the Council was dissolved soon afterwards, however, and Saint Peter was recalled to Rome by Saint Ignatius, to consult with him concerning the formation of the religious and the future of their Order.

To form an idea of his labours, we should have to accompany him on his journeys, and witness his fatigues and sufferings, as well as his battles and his victories. We first find him in Bavaria. He quickly won the admiration of all as professor of theology in Ingoldstadt, and was elected rector of the university. Through his means, an interest in theological science was revived among the students, and the sacred calling of the priesthood came to be held in high honour. His sermons terrified the most hardened sinners, awoke the slumbering faith of the people, and kindled in all hearts a zeal for religion. On account of the veneration he everywhere inspired, the Emperor Ferdinand, placing confidence in him in a case which seemed almost desperate, summoned him to Vienna. Here there was indeed enough to cause him sorrow in the many and deep wounds which the heretics had inflicted on religion. He found the people demoralized, the clergy degraded, God's worship neglected, and most of the towns deprived of their pastors. The once flourishing university had not for twenty years produced a single priest, and there were three hundred parishes without pastors in the territory then belonging to Austria.

Canisius strove with his whole might, by word and example, to combat these evils. His first care was to reintroduce orthodox teaching into the higher schools, and to secure that their authorities should be men of approved faith. But neither did he forget the poor country people. When he learnt how that, far and wide in the country about Vienna, most of the villages were deprived of all spiritual aid, he set forth himself, and made toilsome journeys from place to place, preaching, instructing, and administering the sacraments. And the poor people thanked God with tears of joy, for His mercy in sending to them, as they said, this angel from heaven. From Vienna, Canisius was sent by the Emperor to Bohemia, where religion was attacked by foes still fiercer and more powerful. But nothing could shake the courage of God's servant. The heretics raged against him, insulted him, and pelted him with stones; but in vain. The power of his preaching, his patience, gentleness, and charity, in the end disarmed their wrath, and led back a great part of the people into the bosom of the Church.

Afterwards Saint Peter and two other Jesuits founded a college at Ingolstadt, going there with only two books in their baggage, the Spiritual Exercises of Saint Ignatius and the famous Ratio Studiorum, or Plan of Studies of their Order. Saint Peter was named Rector of the University by that institution.

He was in demand everywhere; King Ferdinand of Rome obtained his presence for Vienna. A pestilence broke out there, and he was most often found at the bedside of the dying, caring for the bodies and regenerating the souls of the unfortunate citizens. He opened a boarding school for boys, and Vienna soon found itself reborn in the faith: the famous Catechism of Saint Peter Canisius had much to do with the renovation. During his lifetime it appeared in more than 200 editions, in at least twelve languages. It remains a monument of the triumph of the Church over error in the time of Luther.

Until his death in 1597 the Apostle of Germany continued the valiant and perpetual combat of the Church against error. For a long time forgotten, Saint Peter was canonized and declared a Doctor of the Church by Pope Pius XI in 1927.


Following is a Homily of St. Peter Canisius, followed by a prayer:
I shall always love and reverence the Apostles sent by Christ, and their successors in sowing the seed of the Gospel, those zealous and tireless cooperators in propagating the word, who may justly say of themselves: Let a man so account of us as the ministers of Christ and the dispensers of the mysteries of God. For Christ, like a most watchful and most faithful householder, wished that the Gospel lamp should be lighted by such ministers and delegates with fire sent down from heaven, and once lighted, should not be put under a measure, but set upon a candlestick, so that it may spread its brightness far and wide, and put to flight all darkness and error rife among both Jews and Gentiles.

Now it is not enough for the Gospel teacher to be a brilliant speaker in the eyes of the people; he must also be as a voice crying in the desert, and endeavor by his eloquence to help many to lead good lives, lest, if he omit his duty of speaking, he be called the dumb dog that is not able to bark, spoken of by the prophet. Yes, he should also burn in such a way that, equipped with good works and love, he may adorn his evangelical office, and follow the leadership of Paul. He indeed was not satisfied with bidding the bishop of the Ephesians: This command and teach: conduct thyself in work as a good soldier of Christ Jesus; but he unflaggingly preached the Gospel to friend and foe alike, and said with a good conscience to the bishops gathered at Ephesus: You know how I have kept back nothing that was for your good, but have declared it to you, and taught you in public and from house to house, urging Jews and Gentiles to turn to God in repentance and to believe in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Such should be the shepherd in the Church who, like Paul, becomes all things to all men, so that the sick may find healing in him; the sad, joy; the desperate, hope; the ignorant, instruction; those in doubt, advice; the penitent, forgiveness and comfort, and finally, every one whatever is necessary for salvation. And so Christ, when he wished to appoint the chief teachers of the world and of the Church, did not limit himself to saying to his disciples: You are the light of the world; but also added these words: A city seated on a mountain cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a measure, but upon a candlestick, that it may shine to all who are in the house. Those churchmen err who imagine that it is by brilliant preaching, rather than by holiness of and all-embracing love, they fulfill their office.


O Almighty God, Ruler of the living and the dead, whose hand holds all things in being, look graciously upon all whom we commend to thy mercy, those who have authority over us, our family, relatives, benefactors, and all who have claims on us by reason of relationship or friendship. Bless our family, our home town, our country, that men and women there in every walk of life may live in peace, and, always earnestly seeking by their manner of life to please thee.


And now, a couple of quotes:

For the sake of obtaining that eternal life no works of piety ought to seem too hard to a true believer; no toil too heavy, no pain too bitter, no time spent in labor and suffering too long or too wearisome. For if nothing is sweeter or more desirable than this present life which is so full of calamities, how much more desirable must that other life be deemed which is so far removed from all sense of evil or fear of it, which will in every conceivable way always abound in the unspeakable and unending joys, delight and happiness of heaven. (De Fide et Symbolo fidei)

Better that only a few Catholics should be left, staunch and sincere in their religion, than that they should, remaining many, desire as it were, to be in collusion with the Church's enemies and in conformity with the open foes of our Faith. (Even if they are within the walls)