Fighting Error with Charity: The Feast of St. John Cantius
Fighting Error with Charity: The Feast of St. John Cantius
December 23rd Readings Reflection: Optional Memorial of Saint John of Kanty, priest
Today is the feast of St. John of Kanty, a Polish priest who lived in the 15th century. He is known for his great charity, which stemmed from his love for God. One of the most famous stories surrounding the saint is the Miracle of the Jug. One day, St. John Cantius (to use the common Latin form of his name) saw a girl who had just dropped a jug of milk, which she was about to sell to provide for her household. The jug broke, and its contents spilled onto the ground. According to the legend, St. John Cantius picked up the pieces of the jug, and it was miraculously made whole again. Like Our Lord at the Wedding Feast in Cana, St. John Cantius told the girl to fill the jug with water, which turned into a “rich sweet milk.”1
St. John Cantius’ life was an example of Our Lord’s words in the Gospel reading for today’s feast, exhorting us to “[give] expecting nothing back.” The saint spent his life performing countless works of charity. A highly intelligent priest, he was a professor at a Polish university, where he instructed others in the Truth. His great charity influenced all that he did, including his teaching at the university. He once famously said, “Fight all error, but do it with good humor, patience, kindness, and love. Harshness will damage your own soul and spoil the best cause.”2
It is fitting that we celebrate the feast of St. John Cantius so close to Christmas, a season that we celebrate through generosity toward our neighbour. The saint’s commitment to the truth is also timely as we find ourselves in the midst of a confusing and tumultuous time in our world and in the Church. However, we can learn an important lesson from the life of St. John Cantius, namely that charity must guide all that we do. We must indeed “fight all error,” as he said, but we must do so “with good humour, patience, kindness, and love.”
We must love God first and foremost, and in loving Him, we must unceasingly love His Bride, the Holy Catholic Church. We have Christ’s promise that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against [the Church]” (Mt 16:18 DRB). Jesus gave His life on the Cross out of love for the Church (see Eph 5:25), and while dark times can and will fall upon her, the Church will endure until her eternal Bridegroom comes again in glory. Through Christ’s victory on the Cross, no darkness can ever extinguish the light of God’s grace within the Catholic Church.
In two days, we will celebrate the anniversary of Christ’s Nativity, the day when He was born in human flesh to set man free from the darkness of sin. May our commemorating the Nativity fill us with a deeper love for the Catholic Church, through whom alone we receive the Sacraments and the eternal truth of salvation.
St. John Cantius, ora pro nobis!
The Canons Regular of St. John Cantius, “The Miracle of the Jug,” YouTube video, posted by St. John Cantius, 20 October 2023, at YouTube, www.youtube.com.
“St. John of Kanty,” at Catholic Online, www.catholic.org.
Beautiful!