Today's Ornament of Grace for Saturday of the first week of Advent is St. Francis Xavier, SJ.
from Isaiah 30:19-21
The lowly will ever find joy in the Lord, and the poor rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. For the tyrant will be no more and the arrogant will have gone; all who are alert to do evil will be cut off, those whose mere word condemns a man, who ensnare his defender at the gate and leave the just man with an empty claim.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Francis Xavier, one of the greatest missionaries of all. Born in Xavier castle in 1506 in what is now northern Spain, he died December 3, 1552 on Sancian Island, China (now Shangchuan Island).
In just 46 years, his zeal for God empowered him to convert thousands to Christianity. Francis traveled to India, the Malay Archipelago, and Japan. In each place, he welcomed the people by reverencing them, their food, customs, and language. A humble man, Francis did not insist that his former way of living was somehow better than the way he encountered in other lands. Instead, he worked diligently to learn difficult languages and to understand the heart of the people he served as he worked for their good.
Educated first at home, Francis was the youngest son of a nobleman. According to the practice of the time, he was expected to follow a career in the Church. So, when he was 19 years old, he went to the University of Paris, the theological center of Europe, to continue his studies. There he roomed with Peter Favre who became his good friend.
A few years later, Ignatius of Loyola came to the University of Paris. Ignatius, converted earlier from his military and romantic ventures, was fifteen years older than Francis. He soon won over Peter Favre and then Francis, and eventually four others to join him in seeking nothing more than to imitate Christ. On August 15, 1534, these seven men went to a Chapel on Montmartre in Paris. There, they vowed celibacy and poverty, promising to take a pilgrimage to the Holy Land before beginning their new ministry.
Unfortunately, war broke out between the Venetians and the Turks, preventing the planned pilgrimage. The group then gathered in Venice where Francis was ordained a priest in 1537. This original group, together with some new recruits, went to Rome where they offered their services to the Pope as the newly formed Society of Jesus.
Returning from Rome, Francis zealously followed the promises he had made to God. The new Society cared for the sick and preached the Gospel throughout central Italy with great love. King John III of Portugal wanted some of these dedicated men to care for and evangelize all those under his dominion in Asian nations.
Francis, assigned to India by Ignatius, eagerly embraced his new ministry, arriving there in 1542. In 1549, Francis went to Japan and continued his fruitful ministry. Jesus worked many miracles through Francis as he brought thousands to believe in the Lord. Francis also founded churches and colleges, but he taught those who wanted to be baptized with as much fervor as any other work he did.
Finally, he set off for China in 1552, but he never realized his dream there. A fatally ill Francis would have died abandoned on the shore of a nearby island if it were not for a poor man rescuing him and carrying him to his hut. There, Francis died as humbly as he had lived.
OBSERVING THE BEAUTIFUL ORNAMENTS
How can we imitate Francis Xavier’s humility and zeal for the Lord?
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