Stanislaus Kostka was a Polish Jesuit novice who died at just eighteen. His firm resolve and pure love for God in so short a life made him a patron of young people.
Life
Stanislaus Kostka was born in 1550 into a noble Polish family. While studying with his brother at the Jesuit school in Vienna, he felt a strong call to religious life, but his father firmly opposed it.
Refusing to give up, he walked a long way to Germany to meet Fr. Peter Canisius, and then went on to Rome. There the Superior General, Fr. Francis Borgia, allowed him to enter the Jesuit novitiate in 1567.
Only about ten months later, in 1568, he died of a fever at the age of eighteen. He was canonized in 1726.
Spirituality
The spirituality of St. Stanislaus is a simple and steadfast answer to God's call. He did not hesitate in the face of opposition or a long journey, and in the novitiate he gave his whole heart to small tasks and prayer. Love for Our Lady and reverence for the Eucharist guided his life.
Reflection
St. Stanislaus shows that even the young can answer God wholeheartedly. When the young people in our families search for their path of faith, how can I encourage them and pray with them?