St. John of Kanty

by

Tuesday, 23 December 2025 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we listened to the words of the Scriptures and draw ever closer to Christmas, we are all reminded of the coming of Our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, into our midst. The Lord has sent us His messenger and herald to prepare the path for His coming into this world, and He has fulfilled that promise, with the coming of St. John the Baptist, the one who was prophesied to be the one to prepare the way for the Lord. As we heard in our Scripture passages today, all these happened so that the Lord might come and rescue us all from our troubles and bring us into His loving presence once again, and that is the reason why we rejoice this Christmas.

In our first reading today, we heard of the words of the prophet Malachi, speaking about the coming of the days of God’s messenger, who would come to prepare the hearts and minds of the people, to prepare for the coming of the Lord, which was also alluded to in the words of the prophet Malachi. Malachi was one of the last prophets chronologically in the Old Testament era, who ministered to the people of God a few centuries before the Lord’s coming, and his words of prophecy further set the expectation of the coming of God’s salvation, which the people of God looked forward to, as they heard the words of reassurances that God had made through His many prophets, including that of Malachi.

Then, in our Gospel passage today, we heard of the account of the birth of St. John the Baptist, the one whom Malachi and the other prophets had been prophesying about, the one to prepare the path for the coming of the Lord. His miraculous conception and birth truly became knowledge among the people, as he was conceived by his mother at the age well-past childbearing and after being barren for so many years. His coming, conception and birth were also announced by the Angel of God before his father Zechariah, whose doubt led him to become mute before the moment as we heard in our Gospel today, that once the baby was named John as the Angel spoke of, Zechariah was miraculously able to speak once again. All of these and the later events in the life of St. John the Baptist serve as a reminder for us that as we approach the coming Christmas season with expectation and joy.

St. John the Baptist went on to call the people of God to be converted and to turn away from their sinful paths, and this is also therefore a reminder for all of us that as we approach Christmas, we should also prepare ourselves in heart and mind to turn towards the Lord, to return our focus upon Him, and to make Him the centre of our upcoming Christmas celebrations and rejoicing. We should not be distracted by the many temptations and distractions all around us, all the glamour and merrymaking surrounding the often secular and worldly Christmas celebrations. We have to be committed to the Lord and renew our faith in Him, and serve Him with ever greater conviction and zeal. We should do our best to make sure that we celebrate Christmas in the right way, and with the right predisposition and mindset.

That is why we should make use of this short remaining time before Christmas, whatever is left this Advent season to deepen our understanding of Christmas and its true meaning, its significance and importance for us. Today we should therefore spend some time to reflect upon the life and works of one St. John of Kanty, also known as St. John Cantius, a Polish priest and philosopher whose life and work should inspire us to become ever more worthy of God, ever more connected to Him, and ever closer to Him. St. John of Kanty was remembered for his great intellect and philosophical as well as theological prowess, as he became great professor and instructor, helping many of his students and followers to understand better their faith in God, as well as the many mysteries and aspects of the Christian faith.

Not only that, but the same St. John of Kanty was also well remembered for his great love for God, his personal piety and holiness, and especially also for his great compassion, love and care for the poor and the suffering all around him. He was known for his care for the needy students at his university and faculty, helping to support them whenever and wherever it was possible. He also spent time and effort to care for the poor and the needy in his community, and at wherever he was visiting and ministering. He lived his life simply and full of devotion, spending not more than what was necessary for him, and he made several pilgrimages on foot all the way to Rome. The faith and humility that St. John of Kanty showed in his life should be inspiration for all of us to follow in our own lives.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us therefore seek the Lord with a new heart, with a new commitment to follow Him and to devote our time and attention to Him, and from this upcoming Christmas celebration, to put Him back as the centre and focus of our lives. Let us all follow the examples set and shown by St. John of Kanty, doing our best to walk faithfully in the path that God has shown us. First let us all start by changing our Christmas celebrations from one that is worldly and self-centred into one that is centred on God, as well as love and life-giving, inspired by the love  and generosity which St. John of Kanty has shown to those who were less fortunate all around him. Let us also remember that Christmas is all also possible, and that we can rejoice exactly because God has shown us His most generous love and kindness, compassion and grace.

May the Lord continue to guide us and strengthen us, empowering us with the love and courage to do our best in our lives, to be ever more loving and generous to each other. Through our faithful and worthy Christmas celebrations, where Christ is at the very focus and heart of our joy, let us all inspire more and more people that each one of us may be the shining beacons of God’s hope, light and truth. Let us show our love and generosity to those around us and not be distracted by the worldly glamour and desires. May all of us draw ever closer to God and be blessed as we approach the glorious and joyful season of Christmas. Amen.

by

Tuesday, 23 December 2025 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 57-66

When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her. When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.”

They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they asked the father, by means of signs, for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very surprised. Immediately Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God.

A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.

by

Tuesday, 23 December 2025 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14

Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.

Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

The ways of the Lord are love and faithfulness for those who keep His covenant and precepts. The Lord gives advice to those who revere Him and makes His covenant known to them.

by

Tuesday, 23 December 2025 : 4th Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Malachi 3 : 1-4, 23-24

Now I am sending My messenger ahead of Me to clear the way; then suddenly the Lord for Whom you long will enter the sanctuary. The Envoy of the covenant which you so greatly desire already comes, says YHVH of hosts. Who can bear the day of His coming and remain standing when He appears? For He will be like fire in the foundry and like the lye used for bleaching.

He will be as a refiner or a fuller. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. So YHVH will have priests who will present the offering as it should be. Then YHVH will accept with pleasure the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, as in former days.

I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the day of YHVH comes, for it will be a great and terrible day. He will reconcile parents with their children, and the children with their parents, so that I may not have to curse this land when I come.

by

Monday, 23 December 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today as we all listened to the words of the Scriptures and as we are about to come to the end of this Advent season, the time of preparation for Christmas, we heard of the prophecy and the fulfilment of the coming of God’s salvation which He has repeatedly promised and renewed to us through His prophets and messengers, everything came true beginning with the coming of the one to prepare the way for the Saviour, the one whom the prophet Malachi had spoken about in our first reading passage today, and which was fulfilled with the arrival of St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah into this world.

As mentioned, in that first reading passage from the Old Testament, the prophet Malachi spoke about the moment when the Lord was sending His salvation, heralded by the coming of the Envoy who would prepare the way, straightening His path, the one who would call on all the people of God and their leaders to turn away from their many sins and wickedness, from all the things that prevented them from returning towards the Lord their God. The prophet Malachi was sent to the people at the time after the return of the Israelites from their exile in the distant lands of Mesopotamia, Assyria and Babylon during the reign and dominion of the Persians, who allowed the Israelites to return to their homeland and rebuild their cities and the Temple in Jerusalem.

At that time, the people of God had regained their lands and their cities had been reestablished, and God sent the prophet Malachi to reaffirm what He has always told them in the previous centuries, of everything that He would do for their sake, the prophecies of the coming of the Messiah or Saviour, the One Who would restore the greatness of the people of God, reconcile them all to Him, and reestablish the Kingdom of Israel, the Kingdom of God and His people. And as the prophet Malachi mentioned, the Envoy of the Messiah would be sent to precede His coming, and this Envoy would either be the prophet Elijah or the one like Elijah, who was taken from the world by the Lord in a flaming chariot.

Therefore, Elijah did not suffer from physical death, and was one of the few who was taken up to Heaven in this manner. The people believed that the prophet Elijah would come again to bring God’s salvation and promises to His people, and all of these would come true with the coming of St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah that was long awaited. A few centuries after the prophet Malachi, who was one of the last or the last among the long line of God’s prophets, the Hope and Light that God has promised to His people has finally arrived and dawned with the arrival of this servant of God into the world, and we are reminded of this today so that we may also realise that this same Hope has been given to us all as well.

From the Gospel passage taken from the Gospel according to St. Luke the Evangelist, we heard the account of the time when St. John the Baptist was born into this world. After a miraculous pregnancy that happened when Elizabeth, the mother of St. John the Baptist was already old and way beyond childbearing age, the servant of God was born and all his relatives and other people, neighbours and all came to celebrate his birth. At the moment of his circumcision, we heard how they all wanted to name him after his father, but Elizabeth intervened and said that he ought to be named as John or Yohanna as per what the Angel of God, likely the Archangel Gabriel had told Zechariah, his father. And the moment that Zechariah confirmed this fact, he was miraculously able to speak again.

The great events surrounding the birth of this Herald of the Messiah preceded all the great things that he would do for the people of God, in how he devoted himself thoroughly to God’s cause, living in the wilderness as one consecrated to God and then calling upon everyone to return to God with repentance and the genuine desire to be forgiven from their sins and wickedness. He baptised many people at the River Jordan, with that water baptism as the sign of commitment by those who went through it to do the necessary penance and to follow through the path of God’s forgiveness and mercy. He would also call on more and more to come back towards God, while also courageously rebuking the chief priests and the Pharisees for their wicked attitudes.

Today, the Church also celebrates the Feast of St. John of Kanty, also known as St. John Cantius, who hailed from the region of Kanty near the city of Krakow in what is today part of Poland. He eventually became a priest and academic, teaching in the local university. He was well known for his generosity and love for the poor people throughout the city especially towards the poor students who were studying at the university. He lived humbly and without much glamour, while being generous and loving, caring and compassionate towards all of those who were in need. He also spent long hours doing many good works for the sake of the Lord and His Church, showing great charity and generosity in His interactions towards everyone around him.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be inspired by great courage and faith showed by the holy servants of God, our predecessors, namely St. John of Kanty in his virtues and great faith, as well as by St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah in obeying the commandments of God and in committing himself to the mission which God has entrusted to him. Let us all as Christians strive to be the bearers of God’s hope, light, truth and love in our daily lives, and also in how we celebrate our upcoming Christian celebrations and festivities so that hopefully we may showcase the love and generosity of our ever loving God and Father in everything that we do, and share the generous love of God, our joy and blessings to everyone around us, now and always. Amen.

by

Monday, 23 December 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 57-66

When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her. When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.”

They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they asked the father, by means of signs, for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very surprised. Immediately Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God.

A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.

by

Monday, 23 December 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Psalm)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Psalm 24 : 4-5ab, 8-9, 10 and 14

Teach me Your ways, o Lord; make known to me Your paths. Guide me in Your truth and instruct me, for You are my God, my Saviour.

Good and upright, the Lord teaches sinners His way. He teaches the humble of heart and guides them in what is right.

The ways of the Lord are love and faithfulness for those who keep His covenant and precepts. The Lord gives advice to those who revere Him and makes His covenant known to them.

by

Monday, 23 December 2024 : 4th Week of Ordinary Time, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (First Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Malachi 3 : 1-4, 23-24

Now I am sending My messenger ahead of Me to clear the way; then suddenly the Lord for Whom you long will enter the sanctuary. The Envoy of the covenant which you so greatly desire already comes, says YHVH of hosts. Who can bear the day of His coming and remain standing when He appears? For He will be like fire in the foundry and like the lye used for bleaching.

He will be as a refiner or a fuller. He will purify the sons of Levi and refine them like gold and silver. So YHVH will have priests who will present the offering as it should be. Then YHVH will accept with pleasure the offering of Judah and Jerusalem, as in former days.

I am going to send you the prophet Elijah before the day of YHVH comes, for it will be a great and terrible day. He will reconcile parents with their children, and the children with their parents, so that I may not have to curse this land when I come.

by

Saturday, 23 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Homily and Scripture Reflections)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, as we come very close to the time and beginning of the Christmas season which is just in two days time or so, all of us are ever reminded of why we all celebrate Christmas in the Scripture readings that we have heard. We heard in this day in particular of the messenger that the Lord had sent to us in order to proclaim the coming and appearance of His Saviour, that is none other than St. John the Baptist, the Herald of the Messiah, who prepared and made straight the way and path for the Lord. Later on, we will discuss why this is truly very important for us to reflect upon what this holy servant of God had done and its significance to our lives.

In our first reading today, we heard from the Book of the prophet Malachi, who was one of the final prophets to appear to the people of God before the time of the New Testament, approximately four centuries or so before the birth of Christ our Lord. The prophet Malachi spoke about the coming of the Messiah, and also the messenger whom the Lord would send ahead of His Saviour to prepare the way for Him. This messenger and herald that the Lord would send to His people was St. John the Baptist, whom the Lord sent to call of His people to come to Him and repent from their sins and wickedness. There was that long wait and expectation of the coming of the Messiah among the people of God, who had been promised the coming of God’s salvation from prophets to prophets.

The Lord spoke of this servant of God through Malachi as the one who would help to lead the people of God through a process of purification, so that they may all indeed be ready and prepared to welcome Him when He comes again, as the world was still full of sins and evil. Hence, through St. John the Baptist, the one who was prophesied to come as the Lord’s messenger, God would work His wonders among His people, calling all of them to repentance and to turn themselves away from the path of sin and evil. St. John the Baptist came into this world so that when the Lord came, He would have a people that had been touched by the call to repentance, and had been reminded of their sins and the need for them to be forgiven from those sins.

In our Gospel passage today, we then heard of the moment when St. John the Baptist himself was born, which was miraculous as the child himself was born of a barren mother who had been way past childbearing time, and then the occurrences around his birth was no less wonderful and amazing, as his father, Zechariah whose doubt had caused him to become dumb and mute, was able to speak again the moment he wrote down the name of the child, which the Angel of God had told him in the moment when he was told of the good news of the coming of the Lord’s Herald. Thus, through that moment, we can see how the Lord truly began the time of His saving grace, beginning from St. John the Baptist who proclaimed to the people of God, after a long period of silence from the days of Malachi, that the Lord was finally about to come.

That is why today, as we all gather together to prepare ourselves further for the time of Christmas which is coming really soon, all of us are reminded of the need for the realignment and reorientation of our lives, our whole focus and emphasis especially in Christmas and all of the things that we celebrate so that in all of them, we may once again put the Lord, our God and Saviour at the centre, instead of ourselves and our own selfish desires, ambitions and all the other things that may prevent us from realising the true meaning and joy of Christmas, that is in Christ, Our Lord. Too often we have allowed the many temptations, sins and evils of this world to mislead us down the wrong path.

We have often allowed for the comforts and pleasures of this world to lead us astray. This is also reflected in our way of celebrating Christmas, which often has lost its meaning and focus. Instead of celebrating the joy which we have at the salvation and reassurances that God had brought unto us through His Son, Our Lord and Saviour, we have ended up focusing so much on the festivities and the celebrations that we often forgot why we even celebrate Christmas in the first place. As we continue to approach Christmas, let us all hence do our best to rediscover this true meaning and joy that we ought to have in Christ, Our Lord and God, the One in Whom we are all called to focus our attention on, in thanking Him for all that He had done for us.

Today, the Church also celebrates the feast of St. John of Kanty, also known as St. John Cantius, a Polish priest who was remembered as a great and holy man of God, a dedicated priest and servant of God, as well as as a great and wonderful teacher of the faith and sciences. He was also well remembered for his great generosity particularly towards the needy and the poor, and also among the students who studied at the university where he was teaching at the time. St. John helped those who needed his help and showed his great dedication and love both for God as well as for his fellow brothers and sisters, an example we can well emulate and follow in our own lives in this world, as someone who place God and his fellow men and women ahead of himself.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, let us all therefore be ever more committed to God and His path, and that as Christians, may our lives be truly worthy of Him, in loving and caring for one another, and in modelling ourselves upon Christ’s own examples so that we may always be full of love and compassion for our fellow brothers and sisters all around us. May our Christmas joy and celebration be truly about Christ and not about our own selfish desires and greed, unlike how we often celebrated it all these while. May the Lord continue to guide us especially as we come towards the joyous celebration of Christmas which begins after tomorrow, and may He bless our every good efforts and endeavours in all things. Amen.

by

Saturday, 23 December 2023 : 3rd Week of Advent, Memorial of St. John of Kanty, Priest (Gospel Reading)

Liturgical Colour : Purple/Violet

Luke 1 : 57-66

When the time came for Elizabeth, she gave birth to a son. Her neighbours and relatives heard that the merciful Lord had done a wonderful thing for her, and they rejoiced with her. When, on the eighth day, they came to attend the circumcision of the child, they wanted to name him Zechariah after his father. But his mother said, “Not so; he shall be called John.”

They said to her, “But no one in your family has that name!” and they asked the father, by means of signs, for the name he wanted to give him. Zechariah asked for a writing tablet, and wrote on it, “His name is John,” and they were very surprised. Immediately Zechariah could speak again, and his first words were in praise of God.

A holy fear came on all in the neighbourhood, and throughout the hill country of Judea the people talked about these events. All who heard of it pondered in their minds, and wondered, “What will this child be?” For they understood that the hand of the Lord was with him.