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Stories of
John of Kanty (Kanty is near Oswiecim in Poland) are many but not entirely
dependable. Nevertheless we have record of him as a holy and learned man who was
both a distinguished university teacher and a benefactor of the poor. He came
from a family of good position, and was sent to the University of Cracow, where
he did well. He was ordained priest, and appointed to a lectureship in the
University. His academic life was however interrupted when jealous rivals
managed to get him removed from his teaching post, and he was sent to labor as a
parish priest. This caused him much distress, as he was both unused to this kind
of work and weighed down by the feeling of its heavy responsibility. But he
gradually won the love of his parishioners, who wept when, after some years, he
left them to return to the University of Cracow as professor of Scripture. This
post he held for the rest of his long life; and he became increasingly famous
for his teaching, his humble and austere way of living and his spontaneous
generosity to chose in need. Perhaps his best lesson for us, especially in these
days of increasing communication, lies in one of his favorite sayings to his
pupils: 'Fight all false opinions, but let your weapons be patience, sweetness
and love. Roughness is bad for your own soul and spoils the best
cause.'
When
he died St. John was greatly mourned, and was already accounted a worker of
miracles; but he was not canonized until 1767.
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