To be a saint

Francis Xavier died with one companion. He contracted a fever while waiting for a ship to rescue him from being abandoned on a small island.

He was 46 years old.

I pray today for the return of such courage and grace to Catholic men.

The Basilica of St. Francis Xavier in Dyersville, Iowa, my home state, has a TLM every Sunday at noon.

Two panoramas of this amazing church may be found here....http://tomato.us/xavier-basilica-1-2011.swf  and here, http://tomato.us/xavier-basilica-alter.swf

http://www.xavierbasilica.com/

One Out of Four

St John Bosco tells us that one out of every four men are called to the priesthood.

Where are they? This young man, St. Francis Xavier, came from aristocracy. Can anyone leave more?

Why is Asia not Catholic?

One reason--there were never enough missionaries.

Here is a quotation from Diego Pacheco. Xavier and Tanegashima. Monumenta Nipponica, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Winter, 1974), pp. 477–480 on the Japanese mission.

In Cangoxima, the first place Father Master Francisco stopped at, there were a good number of Christians, although there was no one there to teach them; the shortage of laborers prevented the whole kingdom from becoming Christian.

And, for a good read on the miracles of this talented saint, read this, by John Hardon, to whom I pray daily to heal my asthma. http://www.therealpresence.org/archives/Miracles/Miracles_005.htm

From Today's Office of Readings LISTEN--Even to India!

Where are the generous hearts? Where are the missionary souls? Why are there not more young men responding to the call? Many souls are lost because men say no to the priesthood and the missions?

The day is coming when we shall not have the freedom to go to the missions. Then, what will be our regret?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Joao_III_Francisco_Xavier.jpg

A letter from St Francis Xavier to St Ignatius

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.