St. Stanislaus Kostka proved to the youth of all times that a man is worthwhile to the extent that he generously corresponds to God’s call and desires the things from on high.
Photo: Wikipedia
Newsroom (16/08/2022 11:45 AM, Gaudium Press) All Christians receive in the baptismal font a specific call, personal and conferred directly by God Himself, always accompanied by the maternal gaze of the Blessed Virgin. Throughout life, sooner or later, it manifests itself in a clear and irresistible way, whispering in the depths of our hearts: “This is the plan that the mercy of God has reserved for you. Embrace it, for it is in its fulfillment that happiness lies.
The saints were generous and faithful in their “yes”, which is why they are presented by Holy Church as models to be imitated. Let us know the life of one of them: young, rich and powerful, but aware that above all, is the will of God. His name is Stanislaus Kostka.
Three mysterious crosses
October 28, 1550, was a day of great celebration in the castle of Kostkow, in Prasnitz, Poland. Senator John Kostka proudly announced the birth of his son Stanislaus to the great men of the kingdom, who flocked to the castle to contemplate the little angel sleeping in a cradle of gold.
The birth, however, was shrouded in a gentle mystery: the baby bore on his chest three red crosses of inexplicable origin. The father necessarily wanted to interpret them as a sign of the military exploits and glories that the little one would obtain to increase the greatness of the family, which was among the noblest and most influential in Poland.
The mother, Margaret Kriska, had a religious heart and saw in this prodigy a sign from heaven: this was a child predestined by God. Events would prove the virtuous mother right. All kinds of qualities of spirit were evident in the boy, and an aura of innocence and happiness hovered around him. As soon as he spoke of any religious subject, his eyes sparkled with joy, longing desperately to be taught about the things of heaven.
Likewise, he could not bear to have any word spoken in his presence that was contrary to the glory of God. The story is told that at a lavish banquet hosted by Senator Kostka, a prince who was fond of the new ideas of the Protestant Reformation, could not contain himself, and erupted in insults against the Roman Church and God Himself. The boy was then seen to faint before everyone. Dismayed, the guests asked where such discomfort had come from and were silent with amazement when they learned that God could not be offended in front of little Stanislaus.
The studies in Vienna
Paul and Stanislaus had received a good intellectual education from Bilinski, the preceptor chosen to initiate them in the classical sciences. Now it was necessary to send them to study in a great establishment, worthy of the family name. The choice fell on the Jesuit College of Vienna, in Poland, the closest institution of the Society, to which numerous young people from various countries flocked.
Thus, when Paul was 16 and Stanislaus was 14, they said goodbye to their father’s house and left for a foreign land to complete their academic education. Both promised their virtuous mother that they would never indulge in any sin, for the worst misfortune that could befall them would be to offend God.
Stanislaus’ promise was sincere and profound, while Paul’s was a mere formality.
In fact, seeing the brothers side by side, how different they were! They were not at all harmonious. Stanislaus loved the seclusion, while Paul was adept at sinful amusements. With great propriety, the figures of Esau and Jacob seemed to revive in the senator’s sons.
“Ad maiora natus sum”
Life in Vienna was full of graces and crosses. The charisma of the sons of St. Ignatius touched the young Stanislaus deeply. He admired the Jesuits with all his heart, he was enchanted by the purity of their doctrine and the complete adherence to the evangelical counsels of those priests who were flexible to the breath of the Holy Spirit. It didn’t take long for him to want to be like them, because in his eyes, the Society of Jesus was the highest ideal he could embrace. It was from the strong conviction that he was born for greater things that his motto was born: “Ad maiora natus sum”.
On the other hand, how necessary it was to have recourse to the protection of Heaven to persevere in the practice of the virtues! Several times Paul, moved by the hatred for his integrity, dealt him brutal blows, leaving him dead and bloodied. This is how Bilinski expressed himself in his testimony at the beatification process:
“Paul never said a kind word to his holy brother. Nevertheless, both he and I were fully aware of the sanctity of all Stanislaus’s actions.
Our Lady came to heal him
In the third year of his stay in Vienna, Stanislaus’s health succumbed to the weight of his life of sacrifice, and he became seriously ill. Rumour spread that he was in danger of death, and Paul despaired at the thought of returning home with his dead brother.
The sick saint begged for the presence of a priest and Viaticum, for his physical strength diminished every hour. Kimberker, the owner of the sumptuous boarding house where they were staying, flatly denied them this supreme consolation, under the penalty of expelling them from their rooms if a Catholic priest entered the premises.
At this hard blow, Stanislaus’s faith did not waver. He prayed fervently and trusted against all hope. What was his astonishment when one morning, three bright angels accompanied by Saint Barbara approached him, bringing him Holy Communion and filling his soul with consolation and joy!
If the wickedness of men had denied him what was most sacred, it was not Divine Providence that would leave him helpless. Shortly afterwards he saw the sovereign figure of the Blessed Virgin approaching his bed, holding her Divine Son in her arms and smiling at him. In a maternal gesture, she placed the Infant in the arms of the poor sick man, and the Child Jesus covered him with affection.
At that moment, all the persecutions vanished, and the countless sufferings seemed to her like dust… Yes, it was worth suffering all the privations to enjoy that heavenly conviviality! Feeling his strength suddenly returning, he heard the Queen of Heaven’s soft voice:
– “Now that I have healed you, enter the Company of my Son! It is He who wants you!”.
Only one way remains: the “impossible”
The amazement that his miraculous healing provoked was not small. Invigorated and indescribably happy, St. Stanislaus asked for admission to the Father Provincial of Austria, who could not disregard the unmistakable signs of his vocation. However, to receive him without his father’s consent would be an imprudence that would have tragic consequences. He was denied access to the congregation that Our Lady had told him to enter. What a distressing paradox.
The flame of enthusiasm and fervour that the heavenly visitation kindled in his soul was so great that it would not be extinguished in the face of this first refusal. He was ready to knock on as many Jesuit houses as there were in the world, certain that one of them would receive him. If his father didn’t authorize him to follow the heavenly call, there was only one way out for him to carry out the mandate of the Blessed Virgin to its perfect fulfillment: fleeing.
One dark dawn, disguised as a pilgrim and without arousing any suspicion, Stanislaus left for Germany. He walked from Vienna to Dillengen. There he could finally be understood by St. Peter Canisius, who admitted him to the Society of Jesus, judging, however, that remaining in Germany would not keep him safe from his father’s tyranny.
The most suitable place was Rome, where St. Francis de Borja, the Superior General, would protect him. And so he set out to cross the Alps, the Apennines, and reach the Eternal City, after two months of heroic and tireless walking. He crossed, without hesitation, practically half of Europe!
He reached the perfection of a long existence
The days of incomparable joy spent in the novitiate were followed by threats from Poland. The father, unable to contain his hatred, demanded his return at any cost because to have a son as a priest would be “a dishonour to the family.
However, God’s designs were very different. Our Lady had appeared to him in Rome and had come to call him, saying that he had little time left to live. His soul was already ready for Heaven!
So, on a feast of the Blessed Virgin, he commented that very soon he would die. Nobody believed him. Suddenly, from a slight malaise, a strong fever broke out in the novice and he died a holy death on the feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15, 1568.
How wrong the noble senator of Poland was! God had reserved for the young Stanislaus an unsurpassable and eternal glory. If his family is known throughout the world today, and if it has the honour to figure indelibly in the memory of the Holy Church, it is only because the holiness of his son shone there. St. Stanislaus Kostka proved to the youth of all times that a man is worthwhile to the extent that he responds generously to God’s call and desires the things from on high.
By Sr. Carmela Werner Ferreira, EP
Text taken, with adaptations, from the magazine Heralds of the Gospel n. 80, August 2008.
Compiled by Zephania Gangl