St. Francis Xavier

"Lives of great men all remind us.
We can make our lives sublime
And, departing leave behind us
Footprints in the sands of time."
-Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, A Psalm of Life

He was born in the Castle of Xavier near Sanguesa, in Navarre, on 7 April,1506. He was brought up in a noble family had many worldly ambitions with prospects for a promising career, but was touched by the phrase of St. Ignatius "What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world but loses his own soul" - Matthew 16:26 which changed his attitude and indeed transformed his entire life.

As a true Jesuit he was ready to go wherever the Pope required him to go with apostolic zeal and was totally obedient to the Magisterium of the Church both in letter and in spirit. He stands out as a model of obedience for us especially in the world of today where it is fashionable to be disobedient and disrespectful of authority figures.

He had great love for the Church and was anxious to spread the Word of God and bring God's grace, won for mankind by the sacrifice of the cross, to the people through the sacraments. On account of his love for the sacraments he used to sit for 12 hours at a time hearing confessions. He encourages us to love and value the sacraments as a means of grace and to think with the mind of the church for "The household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and bulwark of the truth" - 1Timothy 3:14-15.

Once when St. Francis was praying the Lord asked him "Francis, what can you give me?" and Francis replied, "Lord, I have given you my all" Did this really happen? Well, we don't know but we do know that he had truly given his all to God. He inspires us today to be passionate for what we truly believe in and to be willing to give our all for it. St. Francis's 'never say die' attitude and perseverance are a model for us to emulate especially through difficult times, for, even when he was unwell or opposed by the local rulers, he would not give up, but press on even more.

When he was invited to the court of the Japanese king he dressed as a Japanese nobleman so that the king would be able to accept and respect him and finally accept the message and allow its propagation which was his final objective. He also invites us to be ready to adapt quickly to the needs and requirements of the time or situation in order to get our message across and complete the work entrusted to us effectively.

His love and affection for his brother Jesuits is vivid in the fact that he used to cut out the signatures from their letters received and carry them in a locket around his neck in order to feel close to them. He reminds us to value our relatives and friends for friendship is truly God's greatest gift.

He was touched by the love of God which caused him to cry out to the Lord "O Lord, it is enough ! ". He challenges us today, to be on fire with the love of God and to be totally convinced that God loves us more than we will ever be able to imagine having shown His love for us by dying on the cross to save us, for "No greater love can a man have for his friends than to lay down his life for them" - John 15:13. Moreover, scripture attests that "In this we know the love of God in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us"- Romans 5:8. The greatest human need today is not money or possesions but love and acceptance, and people are searching for it everywhere and struggling hard to get it. In this context the knowledge that God loves us has the power to transform our lives, as we read in His Word "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us" - Romans 5:5, for then we realize that we are not alone in this world, but that someone truly cares for us. Thus St Augustine says that "Our hearts are made for You O Lord, and they will be restless untill they rest in You alone". Acknowledging that God alone can satisfy the deepest longing of the human heart is a very important step on the ardous yet beautiful road to a truly fulfilled life, for Jesus says "I have come that you may have life and have it in abundance" - John 10:10. He also understood that holiness is not about separation from the world but rather about a state of being loved by a thrice holy God "Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory" - Isaiah 6:3.

Rather than only venerating his relics and praying to him, let us also strive to make his motto "All for the greatest glory of God" our very own...even through the vagaries of our everyday lives.