21 December, Wednesday — True Joy

21 Dec – Memorial for St Peter Canisius

St. Peter Canisius (1521–1597) was the son of Jacob Canisius, a wealthy burgomeister, and Ægidia van Houweningen, who died shortly after Peter’s birth. He was educated in Cologne, Germany, where he studied art, civil law, and theology. He received a master’s degree by age 19. His closest friends at university were monks and clerics.

He joined the Jesuits on May 8, 1543 after attending a retreat conducted by Bl. Peter Faber. He taught at the University of Cologne, and helped found the first Jesuit house in the city. He was ordained in 1546. He was theologian of Cardinal Otto Truchsess von Waldburg, Bishop of Augsburg in 1547.

He travelled and worked with St. Ignatius of Loyola, who was his spiritual director in Rome, Italy. He taught rhetoric in Messina, Sicily in 1548, preaching in Italian and Latin. He was doctor of theology in 1549. He began teaching theology and preaching at Ingolstadt, Germany in 1549, and was rector of the university the following year.

In 1552, he began teaching theology and preaching in the Cathedral of St. Stephen in Vienna, Austria. He was the royal court confessor even as he continued to work in hospitals and prisons. During Lent in 1553, he travelled to preach in abandoned parishes in Lower Austria.

During Mass one day, he received a vision of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, and ever after offered his work to the Sacred Heart. He led the Counter-Reformation in Germany, Austria, Bohemia, and Switzerland, and his work led to the return of Catholicism to Germany. His catechism went through 200 editions during his lifetime, and was translated into 12 languages. In some places catechisms were referred to as ‘Canisi’.

He attended the Diets of Augsburg (1555), Ratisbon (1556, 1557), and founded Jesuit colleges in Ingolstadt, Prague, Dilingen, and Fribourg. Everywhere he worked, he became a noted preacher and often worked with children, teaching them and hearing their confessions.

He represented Pope Paul IV at the imperial Diet of Pieternow. He addressed the Council of Trent on the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. He recommended St. Stanislaus Kostka for reception as a Jesuit. He was court preacher to Archduke Ferdinand II of Austria.

While in Fribourg, Switzerland, he received a message from the city’s patron saint, Nicholas of Myra, that he should stop travelling. Canisius spent the rest of his life there. He taught, preached, edited books, and worked to support the Catholic press and printers in many cities. His advice was sought by St. Francis de Sales, and by his friend St. Charles Borromeo. He was proclaimed a Doctor of the Church in 1925 by Pope Pius XI.

• Patron Saint Index

Sg of Sgs:2:8-14
Lk 1:39-45

Filled with the Holy Spirit

Christmas is truly my favorite season of the year; it has always been since I was a child, even though my family were non-Catholics in my growing up years and they never really celebrated Christmas. Somehow it has this magical spirit that was so captivating to me. Only years later, when I received Christ, did I truly comprehend its significance!

It was also during this season that my husband and I met (over carolling practice) and this year, we celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary. What makes it even more special for me as I reflected on today’s first reading in Song of Songs, it was one of the readings chosen for our wedding mass and he sang these verses as I walked down the aisle.

There is such an atmosphere of joy and good cheer during Christmas and today’s readings remind us of his triumphant coming. So what is joy really? To me, joy is not the absence of pain and suffering, but to have joy in spite of it. In 25 years of marriage, we’ve had our fair share of ups and downs. We have gone through many trials, but through it all, we never felt abandoned by the Lord. These difficulties strengthened us and our marriage, and it is because Jesus has been with us through it all, and He still is! When Mary visited Elizabeth carrying the child Jesus, the baby in Elizabeth leapt for joy and “she was filled with the Holy Spirit.” So it is in our marriage and in our lives, wherever we go, as long as we have Christ in us, joy follows! True joy is not found in the future or the oft-mistaken view that we will be happy “only if” … only if we live in a bigger house; only if we have that promotion; only if we get to go on that holiday etc.

Brothers and sisters, true joy is found here and now — for His spirit lives in us!

(Today’s OXYGEN by Lorraine Wong)

Prayer: Dear Lord, help us to see the joy that is around us in our everyday life; to see the joy that is within us, and to celebrate being alive in the Spirt. For you are with us and nothing else matters.

Thanksgiving: Our Father in Heaven, we are grateful for your unyielding love and for giving us Jesus to redeem our sins and for the Holy Spirit that lives in us.