| December 23, non-binding commemoration | |
| Position: | Priest, professor, pilgrim |
| Death: | 1473 |
| Patron: | Poland, Lithuania, seminarians |
| Attributes: | priest or professor in cassock, cross, monstrance, apparition of the Virgin Mary |
CURRICULUM VITAE
He came from Keta near Kraków, where he graduated from the university and later became a professor of theology and philosophy. He also worked as a canon and, for a short time, was a parish administrator. His life was filled with loving care, especially for poor students. He knew the value and significance of the pilgrimage on foot, which he made to Jerusalem and then to the tombs of the apostles in Rome four times. He always loved to return to his beloved chair in Kraków and died at an advanced age.
CV FOR MEDITATION
THE POWER OF A LOVING LIFE
He was born on 23 June 1390 in the village of Malec, 5 km from Kęta, about 70 km southwest of Kraków, Kraków, Poland. His father, Stanisław Cantius, and mother, Anna, taught their gifted son primarily piety. Jan Cantius, called Kętský after his hometown, studied at the Jagiellonian University in Krakow from about 20 or 23 years old, with excellent results. At 27, he became an associate professor of philosophy. After further studies, especially in theology, he was ordained a priest. He was allegedly 34 years old, which would place him in 1424. However, in 1421, the church authorities appointed him rector of the monastery school in Miechów. He worked there until 1429, when he was called as a professor at the university in Krakow, where he had previously studied. Before that, he was also a canon of the Krakow Chapter of St. Florian. He soon renounced his church duties and earned a living by copying codices. He always began his work with the words “in nomine Domini” and ended it with “in laudem Dei”. Over the years, he also wrote commentaries on the Gospel of St. Matthew, the Sentences of Peter Lombard, and the Summa of Thomas Aquinas.
John of Kent was distinguished by great modesty and asceticism. Both were associated with great love for God and his fellow man. In his humility before God, he was keenly aware of his every slightest imperfection, which is why he liked to travel to holy places on foot as a penitent, regardless of the distance. With the blessing of the Bishop of Krakow, he set out for the Holy Land. He did not give in to various warnings or persuasions from his companions to use a horse. In the heat of love, he is said to have spoken to the Mohammedans in Palestine and returned in good health, only exhausted from the journey, but with great comfort in his heart. After that, he traveled to the tombs of the apostles in Rome four more times. On his travels, he performed acts of love and thus taught practically. Everywhere, some people need help not only because of poverty, but also because of illness of body or soul.
On one of his trips to Rome, he was attacked by robbers, who asked him if he had any more money, and he said no. When they released him, he remembered the gold coins sewn into his garment and returned them, explaining that he had not intended to deceive them but had forgotten them. This, one might say, shocked them, and this encounter with the saint converted them. The amazement at such sincerity made them reflect on their previous lives, until they came to a penitential confession, to which John invited them with the promise of heavenly consolation. After granting them absolution, John is said to have accepted their hospitality and encouraged them in good things. In connection with this story, the example of Jesus, who did not condemn, but, as he said, “came to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10)
John of Kent was very merciful and kind to everyone, especially people with low incomes, to whom he gave more than he could. It is said that he often gave his shoes to a barefoot beggar and then lowered his cloak so that it was not visible that he was walking barefoot. One winter, he allegedly saw a half-naked poor man on the street in the snow, wrapped him in his doctor’s cloak, and continued to serve mass for him. Immediately after the service, he rushed with his assistants to the place where he had left the person in question. However, he was never found. However, John saw the doctor’s cloak hanging in his locked home. Subsequently, a legend spread that the poor man was Jesus himself.
More detailed biographies deal more with John’s generosity. In them, he is called a pantry and a provider for poor students. During a great famine, when there was nowhere else to take, an unknown voice told him in a dream that in the morning he should ask the first person he met for a donation to illuminate the image of the Mother of God, and then ask pious women for a pea, a lump of salt and a pinch of porridge… and offer everything to the Virgin Mary, who would multiply the small alms with her blessing. The first person John met in the morning was a merchant who wanted to show his gratitude for the grace he had received and added something for the students. He also received much more from the women in response to a modest request, and from that day on, he had no shortage of people with low incomes.
It is said that he wept with those who wept, rejoiced with those who were happy, and suffered with those who suffered. The legend also tells of a poor widow who called for help for her dying child too late. Despite her despair, John urged her to sacrifice the child to God. He took it in his arms, and after his prayer, it came to life. His work was imbued with the power of a loving life.
Once a fire broke out in Krakow, and John told the people, “Where a person is helpless, God will help.” Then he knelt to pray fervently. During the fire, a man allegedly appeared to him; according to John, it was St. Stanislaus, who told him to be calm and that his prayer would put out the fire. And that is what happened. Subsequently, John admonished people to repent to avert God’s punishments. These can occur because God does not intervene against the harmful things people do. Following the example of a particular saint, John wrote verses in various places – on doors, tables, seats, and in books – with which he reminded everyone that it is not permissible to harm the good reputation of others.
For some time, Jan was also a parish priest in the mining town of Olkuš nad Krakovem, but he reportedly perceived it as a burden and was soon called back to a university chair in Kraków, where he was pleased to return. He was twice elected dean of the Faculty of Philosophy.
After giving away all he had for the last time and receiving the last sacraments, he died at the age of 83. He was buried in the Church of St. Anne in Kraków. He was beatified in 1690 by Pope Alexander VIII and canonized in 1767 by Pope Clement XIII.
RESOLUTION, PRAYER
