St. Peter Canisius died on this date in 1597. He was born in the Netherlands and made the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola under the direction of St. Peter Faber, one of the greatest directors ever. Canisius joined the Jesuits and was extremely effective in his ministry, especially in defending the traditional Catholic faith in the face of Protestant cries for reformation. He was canonized and declared a doctor of the Church in 1925 by Pope Pius XI.
Canisius is well known for his catechisms, but he also wrote a Summa of Christian doctrine that is overflowing with scholarly footnotes referencing the scriptures and the fathers of the Church, including Fathers from the West, like St. Augustine of Hippo, and from the East, like St. Gregory of Nyssa. In his Summa, Canisius defines prayer (oratio)as “the pious disposition of the mind towards God, in which we faithfully ask for whatever will be beneficial for ourselves or others, or in which we celebrate divine grace and power, or in which, for any reason, we make our own devotion manifest in the presence of the supreme and eternal majesty.” He adds that “this includes not only petition, but also adoration, oblation, sacrifice, invocation, praise and thanksgiving.”
Canisius was not considered a master of the spiritual life, as was St. Ignatius or St. Peter Faber, but a master of proclaiming orthodoxy in heretical environments. Resting underneath this saint’s public, vociferous proclamation of the truth was his private, prayerful adherence to the highest truth.