December 23rd

Today I thought I’d share my blog post from the Catholic Roundup Advent Calendar. Check out the rest of the postings from the many other contributors at the previous link or the banner on the sidebar. 🙂

The seventh O Antiphon which is celebrated today is “O Emmanuel,” God with Us. It is based on the reading Isaiah 7:14: “Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign. Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son and his name shall be called Emmanuel.”

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWGM9bJR2Cs&hl=en_US&fs=1&]

Latin:
O Emmanuel, Rex et legifer noster,
exspectatio Gentium, et Salvator earum:
veni ad salvandum nos, Domine, Deus noster.
English:
O Emmanuel, our king and our lawgiver,
the hope of the nations and their Saviour:
Come and save us, O Lord our God.

Today is also the feast day of the patron saint of Saint John of Kanty. John was born in Kanty, Poland on June 23, 1390. At the age of 23, he enrolled at Jagellonian University in Cracow. He impressed his professors with his academic skills and pleasant personality. He received his doctorate in philosophy in 1418 and spent the next three years preparing for the priesthood. He was ordained in 1421 and appointed lecturer at Jagellonian University.
In 1431, at the age of 41, he was forced out of his position and assigned as a parish priest at Olkusz, Bohemia. This assignment was very difficult – he was not used to parish work and had to serve many. In 1438, after seven years in the parish, he returned to Jagellonian University to serve as a professor of scripture.
He was a distinguished professor and benefactor of the poor. He was modest, devout and truthful and had a great sense of charity. He gave his money and possessions to those in need and only kept what he needed to survive.

St. John Kanty church in Milwaukee was originally built to fill a need in the growing Polish population of Milwaukee’s south side. St. John Kanty as a parish and school were established in September of 1906 and construction began in 1907. It began with 125 parish members and 170 students when the church was dedicated in December. Over the years, enrollment grew causing necessary expansions and improvements and a new church to be built. As John Kanty entered the 21st century, they began to collaborate with two area parishes to address the changing needs of the neighborhood and the shortage of priests. Today, these three churches are one Tri-Parish community with one pastor and one associate pastor. The community has members of Polish descent mixed in with an ever-growing Hispanic population.