Saints and Christmas: St. Stanislaus Kostka (1550-1568)

St. Stanislaus Kostka (1550-1568) St Stanislaus was born in Poland in 1550. His father was a Polish senator and his family was a part of the Polish nobility.

As a child and later as a teenager, young Stanislaus was very devoted to his studies and to prayer. At the age of 14 he was sent along with his older brother Paul and Dr. John Bilinski, a traveling companion, to study at the Jesuit College in Vienna. 

At age 16, Stanislaus was struck with a very serious illness and was bedridden. He continued to get worse and what made this situation even worse is that Stanislaus had wanted very deeply to receive Holy Communion, but his Lutheran landlord named Kimburker, a Senator friend of his fathers, would not allow it in his house., because at that time anti-Catholic sentiment was high among the Lutherans in that area. As time progressed, Stanislaus felt as if he were dying, and he did not want to die without receiving Viaticum (Holy Communuion). He prayed fervently to his patron Saint, St Barbara, Virgin and Martyr, to obtain the grace of somehow being able to receive Holy Communion before he died.  

Later that night, he received a vision of his patron Saint Barbara, who appeared to him surrounded by a whole contingent of angels. Right after receiving Holy Communion, he then had  vision of the Blessed Virgin Mary and baby Jesus, and the Blessed Mother gave Her baby Jesus to Stanislaus to hold, and the Virgin Mary told Stanislaus that it was Jesus' will for him to become a Jesuit. When he came out of the ecstasy, he found that he was completely healed. Upon his recovery, for the next few years he pursued his calling to become a Jesuit, and at age 17 he completed enough studies and preparation to be accepted into the Jesuit Order, and to demonstrate his determination, Stanislaus walked the 350 miles to Rome (which included crossing the Alps) and there the Jesuit superior general St. Francis Borgia accepted him as a Jesuit. 

On August 9, 1568, Stanislaus became very ill with a fever. To those around him he predicted he would soon die, and he then wrote a letter to the Virgin Mary asking that he be in heaven on the feast day of her Assumption on Aug. 15, just six days away. And so it was that at age 18 his mission on this earth was completed, and Jesus and the Blessed Virgin Mary called Stanislaus to Themselves on the great Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, August 15, 1568. - See more at: http://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2013/12/visions-of-child-jesus-in-lives-of.html#sthash.47dyJPNH.dpuf