(taken from Society of St. John Cantius newsletter Via Sacra, Vol.1, Issue 2, May 25, 1999)
Saint John from Kenty, patron of our religious community, lived in times not unlike our own. Although not as intense as the cultural crisis of the late twentieth century, his time was nonetheless as period of tension and sweeping change. As for us, it was a time of crisis as well as reform in the realms of culture, politics and religion.
In Europe of the fifteenth century, the Church was still reeling from the effects of the western schism. The emergence of antipopes divided the allegiances of Catholics. Criticism of Church authority led to the support of conciliarism, which asserted that the only solution to the Church's problems was submission of the Pope to the authority of Church councils.
Many philosophers wished to separate the Church from the realm of learning, some mystics wished to separate piety from a search for the truth, Hussite heretics wished to detach the Church from all temporal matters, and academics defended the rights of pagans and schismatics, under the banner of freedom of conscience. The similarity to our time is uncanny.
However, even amidst such sentiments among many of his colleagues at the Krakovian Academy, St. John from Kenty stood firm in his loyalty to the Roman Pontiff and the timeless teachings of the Church.
Despite the turmoil, it was also a period of renewal within the Church. St. John stood out as one of a number of mystics in fifteenth-century Krakow who were influenced by devotio moderna—a contemporary Dutch movement, which encouraged lay people to a life of individual piety through reflection on the Gospels, personal consecration, and works of mercy. It also promoted a renewed devotion to the Eucharist through the practice—considered revolutionary for the time—of frequent reception of Confession and Holy Communion.
The influence of this movement on the Master from Kenty may explain why, among the numerous manuscripts produced by this seasoned scholar, we find no great theological or mystical treatises. One trait characteristic of devotio moderna was that it did not encourage the writing of such works as was popular in that day. It called rather for a humble silence and renunciation of the unnecessary praise from others, that such works would have entailed.
What the Master from Kenty did leave us, however, were many volumes of transcribed manuscripts, as well as practical commentaries on morality and faith.
St. John from Kenty didn't found a school of mysticism or live in a monastery but in a manner unique for his day, he demonstrated how one could live the gospel in everyday life through service to the Church and one's fellow man. He drew constant inspiration from a deep devotion to Christ's Passion and a profound love of our Savior's Blessed Mother.
So exemplary was he, that two centuries later Pope Clement XIII wrote for his canonization that the Saint from Kenty "belonged to a group of outstanding men, distinguished by knowledge and holiness, who both taught and put into practice, as well as defended, the true faith which was under attach by its enemies."