Daily Reflection Thursday of the Third Week of Easter
-
April 27, 2023Today we celebrate St. Peter Canisius, a 16th century doctor of the Church and one of the first Jesuits. It isn’t often I can point to a saint who has a daily effect on most of our lives. It’s due to the efforts of Canisius that the words, “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners” were added to the Hail Mary by the Council of Trent in 1566. Who knew?
While acknowledging that there were many paths to God, Canisius chose devotion to Our Lady as his focus. His 5-volume book on Mary has been described as one of the best theological works of the 16th Century.
He was certainly a busy man – in Germany at the height of the Reformation, he so successfully preached about the True Faith that many parts of the country returned to Catholicism, and he also credited with causing a turnaround in Poland where most of the population had become protestant. [Again, who knew?] He also wrote a German catechism and founded the University of Innsbruck.
In 1591, at the age of 70, he suffered a stroke which put an end to his relentless traveling but, with the help of a secretary, he was able to keep publishing until his death in 1597.
In the Gospel, Jesus reminds that we don’t find Jesus but rather it’s the Father who finds us and leads us to Jesus as the Way to God. We see an instance of this teaching in our First Reading about the eunuch who was led to Jesus by Philip the deacon. Importantly, the eunuch was ready and open to be drawn to the truth.
Jesus repeats that he is the Bread of Life, using that formal expression ‘I AM’ which points to his divinity. The Bread that Jesus will give will bring a never-ending life to those who eat it because he is the very Word of God, and he offers up his Body and Blood in a sacrifice of love bringing life to the whole world.
The Eucharist is the great sign by which we both affirm and celebrate our union with Jesus so may we always cherish it and live out of it.
