COLLECT: “O GOD, WHO THROUGH THE PREACHING OF SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER WON MANY PEOPLE OF YOURSELF, GRANT THAT THE HEARTS OF THE FAITHFUL MAY BURN THE SAME ZEAL FOR THE FAITH AND THAT THE HOLY CHURCH MAY EVERYWHERE REJOICE IN AN ABUNDANCE OF OFFERING. THROUGH OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, YOUR SON, WHO LIVES AND REIGNS WITH YOU IN THE UNITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, GOD, FOR EVER AND EVER. AMEN”.
Is 25:6-10a; Ps 22:1-6 and Mt 15:29-37.
The Saint Mother Church celebrated today was not one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus, but his life and work demonstrated and revealed apostleship. He never thought of becoming a missionary in life. Rather, his ambition was to become a distinguished scholar and a doctor of philosophy, or to follow an ecclesiastical career.
However, in the University of Paris, he fell under the spell of St. Ignatius Loyola, who, during two years of companionship, never ceased to admonish him: “What does it profit a man to gain the whole world, if he suffers the loss of his own soul?” This touched Francis Xavier, and he was later ordained a Jesuit Priest at the age of 31. After ordination, Francis Xavier followed a rigorous 40-day fast and spiritual preparation before he celebrated his First Solemn Mass.
When he started preaching, he fell sick and suffered from sciatica, and therefore, he stopped preaching and served Ignatius as secretary in Rome. A call later came from King John of Portugal for Jesuit Missionaries to send Francis to the East Indies.
At only a day’s notice, Francis set out with the Portuguese ambassador on the three-month trip across the Alps and Spain to Lisbon. He later found himself in Mozambique. While on the voyage, Francis served, nursed, comforted, preached to, and catechised the thousands of passengers and the crew who were suffering from scurvy.
St. Francis Xavier later preached the Gospel in India, Ceylon, and Japan. Ten years of missionary labour had taken St. Francis into over 50 Kingdoms: he won almost a million souls for God, and had a lasting foundation for the six great Asiatic mission fields.
He fell ill and died at the gates of China at the age, 46. He is the Patron Saint of the Propagation of the Faith, and of all missions to India, Japan, China and Australia. “Millions might be converted, if there were more preachers who would sincerely mind the interests of Jesus Christ, and not their own” (St. Francis Xavier). Very important statement from this great Saint. We could start this in our families.
Disobedience and sin always cut us off or away from being part and parcel of God’s companionship. When we sin, we are no longer part of those participating in the Lord’s great feast, where he feeds them.
This very often reduces us to challenges and hardships we are not able to handle, because we are no longer with the Lord to take care of that. We are reminded today by the passages we are meditating on (Mt 15:29-37 and Is 25:6-10) that whenever we face difficult and challenging situations, we should remember that God cares for us and we should trust and believe in him.
Indeed, there are times when certain things or situations make us psychologically lame, crippled, blind and dumb. Such a situation could be worse than being physically lame, crippled, blind, and dumb. There are moments we experience not only physical, but also psychological or spiritual misery in this world. Sometimes, these moments make us weep bitterly, not only physically but also psychologically and spiritually.
God indeed cares, and he is always there with us in our joys or happiness, as well as when we are going through difficult times and moments. He always feels sorry for us and he does not leave us alone to handle our burden in life. He is always there to wipe away the tears flowing from our eyes because of whatever we are going through in this life.
All we need to do is to exercise the spirit of patience endurance and perseverance during challenging moments and times, and make the conscious efforts to come back to him, to once more be part of his banquet of rich food, a banquet of fine wines, of food rich and juicy and of fine strained wines on his holy mountain (heaven).
The Season of Advent is God’s own grace-filled moment given to us to come back to him to be received once more into his banquet hall. Therefore, as we go through our difficult moments in life, let us not only bring ourselves before the Lord to take care of us during this special season, but let us also identify the less privileged and less fortunate than we are within our families, communities, and if we cannot do anything about their situation to enjoy the Lord’s banquet, let us endeavor to bring them to the Lord in prayer, to take care of them.
May Saint Francis Xavier intercede for us. Stay blessed and happy feast to all Institutions as well as all those who bear the name Francis Xavier.
Once again, pray for me as I give thanks to God for my earthly existence through my parents, Valentine K.D. Kpiebaya (of blessed memory) and Susanna Antile (still alive).
WE MEDITATE TODAY, WEDNESDAY, ON THE GLORIOUS MYSTERIES: ‘THE RESURRECTION, THE ASCENSION, THE DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT, THE ASSUMPTION, AND THE CORONATION’. (WE PRAY FAITH, HOPE, LOVE OF GOD, GRACE OF A HAPPY DEATH AND TRUST IN MARY’S INTERCESSION) “Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you, blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your wom, Jesus: Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us, sinners, now and at the hour of our death, Amen”.
PRAYER: “MAY YOUR MYSTERIES, O GOD, KINDLE IN US THAT FIRE OF CHARITY WITH WHICH ST. FRANCIS XAVIER BURNED FOR THE SALVATION OF SOULS, SO THAT, WALKING EVER MORE WORTHILY IN OUR VOCATION, WE MAY OBTAIN WITH HIM THE REWARD YOU PROMISE TO THOSE WHO LABOR WELL IN YOUR HARVEST. THROUGH CHERIT OUR LORD. AMEN”.
Rev. Fr. Aloysius Kpiebaya, Catholic Diocese of Wa, UW/R, Ghana. (00233) 0207867239/0545462863. Email: aloybaya20@ya@yahoo.com
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