July 27–St. Titus Brandsma, Priest, Religious, and Martyr

Sculpture Titus Brandsma by Gerard Mathot, Pieter Bondamplein, Nijmegen, the Netherlands licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

We need martyrs! “The blood of the martyrs is the seed of Christians” according to Tertullian and also to St. John Paul II. The twentieth century was filled with martyrs in Mexico, Spain, Nazi-occupied Europe, Communist-controlled countries, and anti-Catholic dictatorships and governments. This has spilled into the twenty-first century as well. “Martyrs are revered with particular devotion by the People of God who see in them a living portrayal of Christ's Passion.”

Today’s saint was a “witness” (the meaning of the word martyr) to Jesus’ Passion in Nazi-occupied Netherlands. Born in 1881, St. Titus Brandsma grew up on a dairy farm and entered the Carmelite order in 1898. He was ordained a priest in 1905, received his doctorate, helped found the Catholic University of Nijmegen, and taught philosophy and history of mysticism there. He also became a journalist, which led to his arrest by the Nazis in 1942. He was hand-delivering a letter from the Dutch bishops to editors of Catholic newspaper editors to prohibit publishing official Nazi documents and was arrested and sent to Dachau where he was killed by an injection of carbolic acid. “In 1985, Pope St. John Paul II declared Titus Blessed, saying that he “‘answered hate with love.’"

We need martyrs to show that Jesus’ sacrifice of love is lived out in the lives and deaths of his faithful ones! We need martyrs to bolster the faith of our brothers and sisters in Christ! We need martyrs to convert the hearts of those who oppose, harass, torture, persecute, arrest, unjustly convict, and unjustly imprison and kill! We need martyrs to proclaim the truths of faith, hope, and love in Christ Jesus! We need martyrs to be “a life-giving sap of unity for the Church, the Mystical Body of Christ.” St. Titus Brandsma, pray for us.

December 21--St. Peter Canisius, S.J., Priest and Doctor of the Church

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death. Amen.” This phrase from the Hail Mary is not from Scripture. Instead, tradition has it that St. Peter Canisius added these words, which were then included in the Catechism of the Council of Trent.

St. Peter Canisius was from the Netherlands and became a Jesuit soon after the order was founded. He then spent his time in Germany doing what he could to bring the truth of Catholicism to a Lutheran population. He published a Catechism, imitating Martin Luther, which was highly successful in bringing people back to Catholicism. He founded schools and universities, visited the sick and imprisoned, attended the Council of Trent, wrote books, and more. He is considered the patron of the Catholic press because of his Catechism, which was printed in twelve languages during his lifetime and eventually in 26 languages.

He was known for his charity toward Protestants and his general opposition to debating them. He wanted to win them over with loving actions, rather than by contentious wrangling. He wrote: “Such people should be attracted and won to the simplicity of the faith as much by example as by argument.”

St. Peter Canisius also wrote, “If you have too much to do, with God’s help you will find time to do it all.” So, he helps us remember that Mary brings Jesus to us and us to Jesus through her intercession. He reminds us that love is about living truth humbly. He advised us to continue to do God’s will and God will help us. These are worthwhile admonitions as we prepare for the coming of Jesus into our hearts and homes this Christmas season.