The title of this series of articles suggests a study of those who have been examples of extraordinary works for Christ and His Church. In this present time, when so much active work is demanded of all of us interested in passing on the Faith to new generations, we must constantly remind ourselves that the actions we perform for Christ are as good as the motives which direct them. The more outwardly involved we become, the deeper should be our spiritual formation.

THE GREAT FOUNDERS of religious orders, the famous preachers, bishops and priests accomplished lasting good for the Church only to the degree that their exterior actions conformed to their interior dispositions. We should often reflect on the well-worn, nonetheless true saying, "more things are wrought by prayer than this world dreams of." For this reason, Holy Mother the Church in her wisdom draws our attention to the "little" people by canonizing such as Saint Therese of Lisieux. Another of these hidden saints, whose life seems to have nothing of the extraordinary about it, is Saint John Berchmans.

JOHN WAS BORN on the 13th day of March, 1599, the oldest of five children, in Diest, Belgium. His parents were Flemish, endowed by what many would consider the characteristics of that nationality of people, namely they were honest, dependable, hard workers, whose Catholic Faith took first place in their lives. They raised all their children simply, encouraging them in the practice of virtue. John was a kind and affectionate child. His natural traits of impetuosity and fickleness sometimes affected his relations with his friends, but in general he was quite popular with them. He was very much admired for his bravery and openness and his cheerful disposition. John prayed hard for the graces to overcome his natural dispositions and to be more consistent in the performance of his duties. He often went to school earlier than necessary in order to serve two or three Masses before his classes began. It is for this reason that he is regarded as the special patron of altar boys. He took his lessons seriously and was especially interested in studying religion.

In those days it was the custom for young men interested in the priesthood to receive their training by boarding at a parish house. At the age of ten, John received his parents' permission to board with several other boys at the home of Father Peter Emmerick, a Norbertine. John stayed with Father Emmerick for three years and also continued his secular education at the local school in town. At this time his parents experienced some financial reverses and were unable to pay for his education. John begged to be allowed to find a way to continue his studies and was successful in finding quarters at a Catholic boarding home in the neighboring city of Mechelen, in exchange for working there. In 1615 he entered the Jesuit college in that city to pursue his seminary studies. The boys with whom John lived all testified to his kindness to them. His popularity allowed him an influence over them which he used discreetly to correct their negligences. John was also known for his keen intellect and retentive memory, which he put to good use by diligent study. What distinguished him from many of his confreres was his deep piety. He had a strong devotion to our Blessed Lady and was accustomed to fast on Saturdays and vigils of her feasts. He recited her office daily. Although he was not a mystic, as in the case of St. Teresa of Avila or Saint John of the Cross, he always found delight in prayer, in speaking heart to heart with God.

UNDER THE GUIDANCE of the Jesuits, John's desire to become a priest became more specific. He wanted to be a priest of the Society of Jesus. In preparation for his final decision, he prayed fervently and disposed of the few worldly goods he possessed. His confessor suggested that he write to his parents to inform them of his wish. Their reaction was disappointing to John. They replied that he could become a secular priest and be free to be with them and take care of them in their old age, but a Jesuit—never! John advised them that he was firm in his decision. His father then visited him at the seminary and asked him to come home to say goodbye to his family and friends. Instead John asked his parents to come to Mechelen to witness his entrance into the novitiate, which took place on September 24,1616, when he was seventeen years old. During this time he did not go through the trial which many novices undergo of severing emotional ties with family and Mends. He completely abandoned himself, his future and his loved ones to his first love—Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament and the Blessed Virgin Mary. He had long since learned to accept sacrifice cheerfully; material poverty had led him to accept that poverty of spirit which likened him more and more to the Divine Master. His fellow novices noticed his perfect ease in religious life. His novice master, Father Bauters, remarked, "He is an angel in a body that is mortal." John was able to talk on subjects of piety with no effort and had the gift of attracting others to the Faith.

Every religious order has its constitutions, or rule of life, approved by the hierarchy of the Church. These rules are studied in detail by novices and are read to the entire community at regular intervals. It has always been said in religious congregations that if a religious would serve the rule, the rule would serve the religious. The holy rule, then, is a means of sanctification to all who observe it regularly. It calls for regular times of prayer in common, observance of silence at certain periods of time, and establishes norms of conduct for members of the order, all of which are calculated to bring these religious closer to their eternal goal. Pope Julius III said of the rule of St. Ignatius, that its exact observance would lead to the highest degree of sanctity. Human nature being fallen, it is to be expected that a good number of those in religious life would be guilty of infractions to the rule.

FOR JOHN BERCHMANS there was no middle road. His love for Christ inclined him to wish to practice severe mortifications. "If I do not become a saint when I am young," he said, "I shall never become one." Yet he knew that severe penances done without spiritual direction could lead to pride. He therefore abandoned his will to the Divine Will, as it was manifested through his superiors and the observance of the rule. Without hesitation and always cheerfully, John carried out every command given him by a superior or one of his fellow religious. He exerted his strongest energies in trying to obey the Jesuit rule to the letter. It is for this reason that we see pictures or statues of him carrying the rule book. He once remarked to a fellow novice, "My penance is to live the common life....I will pay the greatest attention to the least inspiration of God." One of John's inspirations was his meditation on the bitter agony of Christ in the garden. He knew that the reason cheerful obedience to lawful authority pleases God is because it is the happy acceptance of the Divine Will itself.

John's mother died while he was in canonical novitiate, which meant that he was unable to be with her. At the completion of his two year novitiate, on September 25, 1618, he professed his simple vows and was to travel to Rome for higher studies. He wrote to his father to meet him when he passed through Mechelen. On his arrival there, young Berchmans learned that his father had died eight days before. John continued his journey on foot, arriving in the Eternal City on December 31,1618. He entered the Jesuit Roman College, where he distinguished himself by his holiness of life and his persistence in study. Some of the older priests, who had earlier known Saint Aloysius Gonzaga, said that they liked John even better than Gonzaga because of his great friendliness.

In March of 1621 John successfully passed his course in philosophy and he then began to prepare himself for public defense of certain philosophical propositions. He was selected by his superiors to take part in a philosophical disputation to be held on August 6, 1621, at the Greek College.

On the last day of each month it was the custom for the Jesuits to receive a patron and a motto from the Bible for the following month. On July 31, John's motto was from Saint Mark 13, 33: "Take heed, watch and pray, for you know not when the time is." His health had begun to fail and he felt that this text was possibly a sign from God that he should prepare for imminent death. On August 5, John contracted a high fever, which he concealed from his companions, as he wished to take part in the disputation for which he was prepared. The following day he gave an excellent dissertation, which lasted one hour. He returned to his cell exhausted and was confined to bed. Each day he grew weaker, and finally on August 13th, fortified by the Sacraments of the Church, at the age of twenty-two years, he died. Immediately after his death, popular devotion to John Berchmans was spread by those who knew and loved him. He was declared Blessed in 1865 by Pope Pius IX and canonized by Pope Leo XIII in 1888.

THE DISCIPLINE by which he ordered his life and carried out his duties so faithfully drew its source from the immense love he had for Jesus and Mary. He was a man whose joy in living in the presence of God radiated to those around him. His apparently easy acceptance of the "common life," as he called it, contrary to his natural inclinations, shows a masterful sense of self-control. His life inspired countless others to imitate his virtues. He is considered one of the great men of the Church not because of his outstanding exploits, his exciting preaching, or his defense of the Faith against armies and heretics, but because of that which makes all these men truly great—his heroic sanctity. Let us hope and pray that in these days of dissension, even among those who are striving to preserve the Catholic Faith, that the spirit of cheerful acceptance of the Will of God, as exemplified in this saint, will be profitable to us all.

DONALD R. FANTZ, a former seminarian with the Redemptorist Fathers, is one of the Founders of the Holy Innocents School and a member of the Society of St. Pius X Parish in Concord, California.