Today is the feast day of the great 16th century Jesuit missioner St. Francis Xavier. He was commissioned by the founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuits), St. Ignatius of Loyola, to bring those from the Far East into Holy Mother Church.
He was astonishingly active and effective in bringing thousands to Christ, teaching them the Catechism and baptizing them, across India and Japan.
I like the photo above because it shows St. Francis "in action."
Below follows the description of his mission in his own words (from the Church's prayer book, called the breviary or sometimes The Liturgy of the Hours.
It's important to remember the great missioners, because the Church in more modern times reminds us that all of the baptized faithful should have a missionary focus. This is something that our current Holy Father, Pope Francis, especially has stressed.
As we prepare to re-align parishes and re-assign priests to meet the changing needs and demographics of the diocese, the Archbishop is asking us pastors to remind the faithful that we need to shift our focus from "maintenance to mission." That is, not just maintaining our parish facilities and organizations, but to make sure that all of our activities are aimed at bringing people to Christ through His Church. Pope Francis frequently reminds Christians that we have to look not inward, toward our own comfortable structures and current members, but outward, to make sure that we bring many more who need Jesus into the Church.
St. Francis Xavier, pray for us!
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| A letter from St Francis Xavier to St Ignatius |
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Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel
We have visited the villages of the new converts who
accepted the Christian religion a few years ago. No Portuguese live
here, the country is so utterly barren and poor. The native Christians
have no priests. They know only that they are Christians. There is
nobody to say Mass for them; nobody to teach them the Creed, the Our
Father, the Hail Mary and the Commandments of God’s Law.
I have not stopped since the day I arrived. I
conscientiously made the rounds of the villages. I bathed in the sacred
waters all the children who had not yet been baptized. This means that I
have purified a very large number of children so young that, as the
saying goes, they could not tell their right hand from their left. The
older children would not let me say my Office or eat or sleep until I
taught them one prayer or another. Then I began to understand: “The
kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
I could not refuse so devout a request without failing
in devotion myself. I taught them, first the confession of faith in the
Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, then the Apostles’ Creed, the Our
Father and Hail Mary. I noticed among them persons of great
intelligence. If only someone could educate them in the Christian way of
life, I have no doubt that they would make excellent Christians.
Many, many people hereabouts are not becoming
Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians.
Again and again I have thought of going round the universities of
Europe, especially Paris, and everywhere crying out like a madman,
riveting the attention of those with more learning than charity: “What a
tragedy: how many souls are being shut out of heaven and falling into
hell, thanks to you!”
I wish they would work as hard at this as they do at
their books, and so settle their account with God for their learning and
the talents entrusted to them.
This thought would certainly stir most of them to
meditate on spiritual realities, to listen actively to what God is
saying to them. They would forget their own desires, their human
affairs, and give themselves over entirely to God’s will and his choice.
They would cry out with all their heart: Lord, I am here! What do you want me to do? Send me anywhere you like – even to India.
