St. John Cantius often ended his manuscripts with short prayers of praise and thanksgiving to the Lord God and the Blessed Virgin. The following is a selection of some of these prayers. .
Praise be to the Lord God, honor and glory, together with the Virgin Mary and all the saints, and thanks, eternally world without end. Thanks be to God, to the Virgin Mary, the Mother of Christ and to all heavenly beings, eternally world without end. To the Lord in Three Persons, to the One God and Most Undivided in being, together with His Mother, the Virgin Mary, all honor, praise and thanksgiving, now and always. Amen. To God be thanks… through the hands of John from Kenty…. To the Lord God in Three Persons, And in essence unique, Be praise, honor, might and thanks, Forever and ever. Amen. To God be thanks, and to the Virgin Mary, and all the saints, forever and ever. Amen To God Almighty, who gives strength at death, let there be glory, praise, honor, blessing and thanksgiving forever and ever. Amen. And also to the Virgin Mary and all the saints and beatified, to whom I render unceasing thanks. To God be thanks and to the Mother of God, the glorious Virgin, with the hosts of all heavenly beings, eternally world without end. For the glory of God. To God, for whom there may be honor, praise, glory and thanksgiving, eternally world without end. To God, may there be praise, honor and thanksgiving, and also to Mary, His Most Holy Mother, with all the saints, eternally world without end. Amen. To the Lord God, May there be praise and everlasting thanksgiving, eternally world without end. Amen Thanks be to God Almighty, together with His Blessed Mother, forever and ever. Amen.
ST. John Cantius supposedly often said: "What kind of work can be more noble than to cultivate the minds of young people, guarding it carefully, so that the knowledge and love of God and His holy precepts go hand-in-hand with learning? To form young Christians and citizens-isn't this the most beautiful and noble-minded way to make use of life, of all one's talents and energy?
Two quotes from St. John Cantius which he had inscribed on the wall of his living quarters: "Avoid slander because it is difficult to retract"—"Avoid offending anyone for to ask forgiveness is not delightful."
St. John Cantius wrote that if a penitent is truly humbled and contrite, the confessor should; "treat him compassionately out of consideration for the frailty of human nature."
"…we look with reverence to the Church, in order that we might have life with the saints."
St. John Cantius lived by the principle: Pauper venit, Christus venit. Once, when a pauper appeared while he was dining with friends, St. John Cantius exclaimed, "Christ has come" and invited him to the table.
"For him [i.e. St. John Cantius] everything related to learning was at the service of charity."
"He belonged to a group of outstanding men, distinguished by knowledge and holiness, who both taught and put into practice, as well as defended, the true faith which was under attack by its enemies." (from the Canonization Bull for St. John Cantius, Pope Clement XIII)
"God was constantly in his heart and on his lips." (from the Canonization Bull for St. John Cantius, Pope Clement XIII)
"Going hand-in-hand with that true brand of humility one saw in him a great childlike humility. There was nothing deceitful or ambiguous in his actions and words. Whatever was in his heart he unhesitantly and honestly revealed. If he thought that his words, even when speaking the truth, could accidentally offend someone, he humbly asked for forgiveness before approaching the altar." (from the Canonization Bull for St. John Cantius, Pope Clement XIII)
Of St. John Cantius, John Paul II said: "Scholarship and ascetism-wisdom and humility."
Fr. Piotr Skarga (renowned sixteenth-century Polish Jesuit and biographer of St. John Cantius) described St. John Cantius in this way: "In speech he always adhered to the truth and unrelentingly despised lies." (Based on the statement by Jesus in Matthew 5, 37)
Fr. Piotr Skarga (renowned sixteenth-century Polish Jesuit and biographer of St. John Cantius) described St. John Cantius in this way: "He was diligent in keeping fasts, generous in patience, firm in faith, fervent in love of God, lofty in meditation on the mysteries of God, strong in hope, extraordinary in restraint."
On 19 October 1973, Karol Cardinal Wojtyla said: "St. John Cantius was a professor and priest. In his time, he was precisely what one now refers to as an academic priest. It is possible to proclaim him as the patron of academic priests, not only here [in Poland] but in the whole world."
"…the spiritual and intellectual formation of our Patron was shaped not by fashionable Scotism or Albertism, but rather on the doctrine of St. Augustine, complemented by the theological thought of Thomas Aquinas. This puts St. John Cantius in the ranks of those, who represent Christian humanism, that is to say, that intellectual trend in the christianitis of his time, which led to an authentic renewal of Christianity through a full evangelization that flowed from inner conviction and complete inner freedom." (quote originally taken from R. M. Zawadzki, Sw Jan Kanty w swietle najnowszych badan, pp. 9-10.)
"…he had only God in his heart and on his lips." (excerpted from the Divine Office for the feast of St. John Cantius, October 20)
"With the devoutness, with which he treated matters of God, he linked humility. Even though he exceeded all others in his knowledge, he nonetheless felt himself unimportant, never elevating himself above others. What is more, he desired to be despised and unrespected, while those who spoke ill of and who where unfriendly toward him, he bore with good spirits." (excerpted from the Divine Office for the feast of St. John Cantius, October 20)
"In those times, when errors and schisms reigned in neighboring countries, he called for the preservation of Christian perspectives and customs. That which he proclaimed from the pulpit and clarified for the faithful, he confirmed by his humility, pure life, charity, mortification and many other virtues, characteristic of a true priest and untiring laborer." (excerpted from the Divine Office for the feast of St. John Cantius, October 20)
St. John Cantius filled his life with good works as an expression of the exhortation given by St. James in his epistle: "So it is with the faith that does nothing in practice. It is thoroughly lifeless." (Jas 2, 17)
In his writings St. John Cantius defended the truths of the faith and for this was maliciously attacked by the Hussites.
With every day, St. John Cantius followed the words of Christ, "Then go and do the same" (Lk 10, 37) by performing works of love and mercy.
"He did not only read and study much but he discussed every question with the Lord-on his knees-for he strove to look at life's issues from God's perspective."
St. John Cantius spent much time in St. Anne's Church in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament.
St. John Cantius didn't separate piety from academics or religious life from teaching.
St. John Cantius lived a strict and pious life.
Devotion to the Blessed Virgin played a special role in St. John Cantius's life. At the end of each completed manuscript he noted his thanks to God and to His Blessed Mother.
St. John Cantius had great devotion to the Blessed Mother and the Lord's Passion (the day of both his birth and death was Friday).
St. John Cantius linked his devotion to the Lord's Passion with various penances and mortifications.
St. John Cantius didn't evade work and treated none of it with disdain.
St. John Cantius was particularly known for his truthfulness and great delicacy in speaking.
St. John Cantius was a model of someone who controled his tongue.
St. John Cantius spoke the truth even in cases when it exposed him to great trouble. In this he reflected on the words of Christ: "Say 'Yes' when you mean 'Yes' and 'No' when you mean 'No'. Anything beyond that is from the evil one." (Mt 5, 37)
St. John Cantius had great compassion for the poor and downtrodden, and did much to help them. He opened his heart wide for them.
St. John Cantius had a particular love for students who were so often in need.
In the sphere of material goods, one can see in St. John Cantius a Franciscan radicalism in his interpretation of the Gospel. His style of life and residence in the Collegium Maius reminded one more of an austere monastic life rather than that of a professor.
"St. John Cantius lived in times of enormous tension and rather complex change, that was felt in almost all aspects of life in the West,…"
St. John Cantius was a scholar who drew his wisdom from continual communion with God. He rooted his thought in Him.
Jesuits consider St. John Cantius the patron of philosophers.
St. John Cantius is considered the patron of professors and teachers, students, priests, and pilgrims. (from the Litany to St. John Cantius)
SOURCES
Clement XIII, Bullarii Romani continuatio, IV, pars. II, Pratis 1843, pp. 1314-1316.
Gasidlo Ks. Wladyslaw, Ku czci swietego Jana z Ket, w szescsetlecie jego urodzin, 1390-1990 (Kraków 1991).
Mrówczynski O. Jerzy C.R., Swiety profesor: Jan z Ket (Niepokalanów 1989).
Rechowicz Marian and Swastek Józef, "Jan z Ket", in Aleksandra Witkowska OSU, ed., Nasi swieci: Polski slownik hagiograficzny (Poznan 1995) 282-296.