Monday, December 23, 2013

December 23: Saint John of Kanty

Statue St. John of Kanty in Knyszyn
Photo by Henryk Borawski

History

John was a priest who worked as a professor of Scripture at a big university in Krakow, Poland. But some people told lies about him, and John was fired. He was sent to work as an assistant pastor for a small parish in Bohemia (now called the Czech Republic). The people there didn’t trust him. For years, John ministered with love and kindness and nobody was ever nice to him. Finally after eight years, the truth came out about his last job and he was able to return to Krakow. On the day he left, the Bohemian people of his parish followed him down the road for miles begging him to stay with them, much to his surprise.

Activity

The Bohemian people didn’t trust John because they thought anybody who had been fired deserved it. Sometimes we call that “black and white” thinking – making a snap judgement without having all the fats. Today, bake some Czech Black and White Cookies in honor of Saint John of Kanty. They’re great cookies to have at Christmas time.

Saint John of Kanty, pray for us!

More reading for parents:

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