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Prayer for the terrorists http://jesusyouth.org/joynet/dec20.html
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Hi,
Sorry, as I could not access to my internet facility
for a week the 'Saint of the Day' was discontinued.
Thanks to God, from today again, 'The Saint of the
Day' is being forwarded to the Joynet.
with prayers,
Jose Joseph (Joseachayan) / Jeddah
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Saint of the Day December 21, 2002
St. Peter Canisius
In 1565, the Vatican was looking for a secret agent.
It was shortly after the Council of Trent and the pope
wanted to get the decrees of the Council to all the
European bishops. What would be a simple errand in our
day, was a dangerous assignment in the sixteenth
century. The first envoy who tried to carry the
decrees through territory of hostile Protestants and
vicious thieves was robbed of the precious documents.
Rome needed someone courageous but also someone above
suspicion. They chose Peter Canisius. At 43 he was a
well-known Jesuit who had founded colleges that even
Protestants respected. They gave him a cover as
official "visitor" of Jesuit foundations. But Peter
couldn't hide the decrees like our modern fictional
spies with their microfilmed messages in collar
buttons or cans of shaving cream. Peter traveled from
Rome and crisscrossed Germany successfully loaded down
with the Tridentine tomes -- 250 pages each -- not to
mention the three sacks of books he took along for his
own university!
Why did the Vatican choose Peter Canisius for this
delicate task?
Born in Holland in 1521, Peter had edited and written
several volumes on Church history and theology, been a
delegate to the Council of Trent, and reformed the
German universities from heresy. Called to Vienna to
reform their university, he couldn't win the people
with preaching or fancy words spoken in his German
accent. He won their hearts by ministering to the sick
and dying during a plague. The people, the king, and
the pope all wanted to make Peter bishop of Vienna,
but Peter declined vigorously and administered the
diocese for a year.
For many years during the Reformation, Peter saw the
students in his universities swayed by the flashy
speeches and the well-written arguments of the
Protestants. Peter was not alone in wishing for a
Catholic catechism that would present true Catholic
beliefs undistorted by fanatics. Finally King
Ferdinand himself ordered Peter and his companions to
write a catechism. This hot potato got tossed from
person to person until Peter and his friend Lejay were
assigned to write it. Lejay was obviously the logical
choice, being a better writer than Peter. So Peter
relaxed and sat back to offer any help he could. When
Father Lejay died, King Ferdinand would wait no
longer. Peter said of writing: "I have never learned
to be elegant as a writer, but I cannot remain dumb on
that account." The first issue of the Catechism
appeared in 1555 and was an immediate success. Peter
approached Christian doctrine in two parts: wisdom --
including faith, hope, and charity -- and justice --
avoiding evil and doing good, linked by a section on
sacraments.
Because of the success and the need, Peter quickly
produced two more versions: a Shorter Catechism for
middle school students which concentrated on helping
this age group choose good over evil by concentrating
on a different virtue each day of the week; and a
Shortest Catechism for young children which included
prayers for morning and evening, for mealtimes, and so
forth to get them used to praying.
As intent as Peter was on keeping people true to the
Catholic faith, he followed the Jesuit policy that
harsh words should not be used, that those listening
would see an example of charity in the way Catholics
acted and preached. However, his companions were not
always as willing. He showed great patience and
insight with one man, Father Couvillon. Couvillon was
so sharp and hostile that he was alienating his
companions and students. Anyone who confronted him
became the subject of abuse. It became obvious that
Couvillon suffered from emotional illness. But Peter
did not let that knowledge blind him to the fact that
Couvillon was still a brilliant and talented man.
Instead of asking Couvillon to resign he begged him to
stay on as a teacher and then appointed him as his
secretary. Peter thought that Couvillon needed to
worry less about himself and pray more and work
harder. He didn't coddle him but gave Couvillon blunt
advice about his pride. Coming from Peter this seemed
to help Couvillon. Peter consulted Couvillon often on
business of the Province and asked him to translate
Jesuit letters from India. Thanks to Peter , even
though Couvillon continued to suffer depression for
years, he also accomplished much good.
Peter died in December 21, 1597. He is known as the
Second Apostle of Germany and was named a Doctor of
the Church.
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