St. Francis Xavier, patron of missions, shared message of salvation
Reflections on the readings for the Memorial of St. Francis Xavier (December 3, 2021): IS 29:17-24; PS 27:1,4,13-14; MT 9:27-31
MISSIO offers “Mission In Scripture” to nurture a missionary heart, providing reflections on the missionary themes in the readings of Sundays, Feast Days and Holy Days.
His dedication to sharing the word of God was based on his own commitment to Christ and the Church.
Navarre, Spain, was the hometown of St. Francis Xavier . He came from a noble family and, as a younger son, it was not unusual for him to plan an academic career and worldly advancement. He went to the University of Paris where he met St. Ignatius Loyola. The older man had a hard time convincing Francis to embrace a calling to the priesthood. In particular, Ignatius urged him to join him in the founding of the Society of Jesus, or Jesuits, who would become teachers as well as preachers and labor in the missions of the world. Francis Xavier served in India, the islands of Southeast Asia and Japan after sailing from Lisbon in 1540. His dedication to sharing the word of God was based on his own commitment to Christ and the Church. He lived and worked among the Asian people to whom he became devoted in humility and poverty. According to St. Francis Xavier, “It often happens to me to be hardly able to use my hands from the fatigue of baptizing: often in a single day I have baptized whole villages. Sometimes I have lost my voice and strength altogether with repeating again and again the Credo and other forms.”
Although he had hoped to travel to China, he died on an island off its coast in 1552 at age 46. Yet, his efforts opened the way for many missionaries to work in areas that had long been neglected or even unknown. He and those who followed him would bring the light of Christ to many despite great suffering and hardships. In addition to being a patron of missions, he is the patron of many dioceses, cities, and countries including India and Japan. Although he could not have known it at the time, St. Francis Xavier surely lived out his own words: “It is impossible to find a saint who did not take the “two P’s” seriously: Prayer and Penance.”
Suggested missionary action: Let us honor St. Francis Xavier by praying for all missionaries and the people they seek to help in all corners of the world. Let us also imitate him in sharing our faith in Christ with those we encounter each day through our example.