 St. Francis Xavier
Name: St. Francis Xavier
Date: 3 December
A young Spanish gentleman, in the dangerous days of the Reformation, was making a name forhimself as a professor of philosophy at the University of Paris. He was aspiring, apparently, to ahigh dignity, until Saint Ignatius of Loyola decided to undertake the spiritual conquest of thisardent soul. “What does it profit a man to gain the entire world, if he suffers the loss of his soul?” Ignatius often repeated to the brilliant teacher. The words of Christ, joined to the example ofIgnatius and his disciples, prevailed. It was not long before his gifted friend decided to labor forthe glory of God, by adopting the evangelical life of an apostle, to which he was indeed called. He was among the first five members of the Society of Jesus, those who with Ignatius made theirreligious vows in the church of Montmartre in Paris, on the feast of the Assumption in 1534. On his way to Rome with the others, handicapped by severe penances he had imposed on himself,he remained in Venice and exercised a brief apostolate by caring for the sick in the city hospital. The others waited for him to regain his ability to walk. These first fervent Jesuits were intendingto embark for the Holy Land, but were prevented by a war. In Rome, Francis again went to ahospital to serve the sick; he also visited the prisons to encourage and console the poor inmates,while preparing for ordination with the others, according to the desire of the pope. Saint Ignatius having remained in Venice, the other five returned there afterwards. Francis wassent by Saint Ignatius to the Orient in 1534, where for twelve years he labored unceasingly to winsouls, sleeping only three hours a night, eating very little, and bearing the Gospel to Hindustan, toMalacca, and as far as Japan. At all times thwarted by jealousy, covetousness, and thecarelessness of those who should have helped and encouraged him, he did not slacken in hisapostolic endeavors despite opposition and the difficulties of every sort which he encountered. The gift of tongues and miracles accompanied him everywhere; he resurrected several dead persons. And his inexhaustible kindness was not the least of his assets in winning thousands ofpagans to the Faith. He baptized so many that his arm became virtually disabled, ten thousand ina single month in the kingdom of Trevancor, where in the same space of time he saw to thebuilding of forty-five churches. At Meliapour, site of the martyrdom of Saint Thomas, he foundthe marble on which the Apostle was sacrificed, and which exuded blood the first time Mass wassaid upon it. Passing through various islands, cities and provinces of India, he strengthened hisfirst conquests by additional preaching. He planted crosses in the public squares and overcame allobstacles. From India he went to Japan; Saint Francis is called Apostle of Japan as well as of India. Therethe pagan priests opposed and calumniated him, and tried without success to outwit him indebates. Humiliated, they used subtle means to instill dislike for him in the minds of the courtauthorities. But he won the love as well as the respect of those he evangelized, blessing themwith such miracles as filling the hitherto sterile sea of Cangoxima with inexhaustible reserves offish. The vast kingdom of China appealed to his charity, and he was resolved to risk his life toforce an entry, when God took him to Himself. It was on December 2, 1552, that the Apostle ofthe Indies died on Sancian, an island facing the city of Canton in China, like Moses, in sight of theland of promise. |
