St. Francis Xavier, Thank You

For from the rising of the sun, even to its setting, my name is great among the nations; And everywhere they bring sacrifice to my name, and a pure offering; For great is my name among the nations, says the LORD of hosts.
Malachi 1:11

From the very beginning, there was a longing from the Lord, that His people would come and bring an offering to give thanks to Him. For all things flow from Him and it is only right to give Him thanks and praise.

Then came Jesus, the Word Incarnate, on the night He was betrayed, He give thanks and says, "This is My body... this is My blood... do this, in memory of Me." The source and summit of our Christian lives.

Men and women through out the history, from Jerome ("ignorance of scripture is the ignorance of Christ"), Augustine ("our hearts are restless till they rest in Thee"), Benedict (ora et labora), Catherine of Siena ("if you are what you should be, you will set the world on fire"), Ignatius of Loyola (Ad Maiorem Dei Gloriam), and others have come and responded to Christ invitation: to give thanks and praise with their lives and deeds, sanctifying the world, one era at a time.

Then, came Francis Xavier, a contemporary of Ignatius of Loyola. He felt that God has called him to become a missionary. His longing was so deep, that he wrote to Ignatius of Loyola,

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.

h/t to Fr. Dwight

And so he went and preached the gospel.

Destination:

Goa, India

Maluku (Ambon, Ternate, and Morotai), Indonesia

Guangzhou, China

Kagoshima, Japan

Results:

History was etched: Christianity/Catholicism entered Indonesia in the year of 1546-1547.

Isn't that neat? By his courage, Francis Xavier introduced Christianity to India, Indonesia, Japan, and China.

Sadly, on the 3rd December of the year 1552, 46 years old Francis Xavier caught a fever while he was waiting in Sangchuan Island for a boat that would take him to Mainland China. He can't defy the frailty of his own body. So he passed from this world to the next, only accompanied by a Chinese man named Antonio.

That is why today, we commemorate the 457th anniversary of Francis Xavier's death.

In response to this solemn day, I would like to say:

Thank you St. Francis Xavier, for giving your life, so that others may know the gospel.

Thank you St. Francis Xavier, for somehow, 457 years later, I seem to think that I owe you my faith that I want to preserve and live day in and day out for the rest of my life.