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Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States, second typical edition, Copyright © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain © 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. Neither this work nor any part of it may be reproduced, distributed, performed or displayed in any medium, including electronic or digital, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Feast date: Dec 03
On Dec. 3, the Roman Catholic Church honors St. Francis Xavier, one of the first Jesuits who went on to evangelize vast portions of Asia.
Francis Xavier was born during 1506 in the Kingdom of Navarre, a region now divided between Spain and France. His mother was an esteemed heiress, and his father an adviser to King John III. While his brothers entered the military, Francis followed an intellectual path to a college in Paris. There he studied philosophy, and later taught it after earning his masters degree.
In Paris, the young man would discover his destiny with the help of his long-time friend Peter Faber, and an older student named Ignatius Loyola – who came to Paris in 1528 to finish a degree, and brought together a group of men looking to glorify God with their lives.
At first, personal ambition kept Francis from heeding God’s call. Ignatius’ humble and austere lifestyle did not appeal to him. But the older student, who had undergone a dramatic conversion, often posed Christ’s question to Francis: “What will it profit a man to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
Gradually, Ignatius convinced the young man to give up his own plans and open his mind to God’s will. In 1534, Francis Xavier, Peter Faber, and four other men joined Ignatius in making a vow of poverty, chastity, and dedication to the spread of the Gospel through personal obedience to the Pope.
Francis became a priest in 1537. Three years later, Pope Paul III confirmed Ignatius and his companions as a religious order, the Jesuits. During that year, the king of Portugal asked the Pope to send missionaries to his newly-acquired territories in India.
Together with another Jesuit, Simon Rodriguez, Francis first spent time in Portugal caring for the sick and giving instruction in the faith. On his 35th birthday, he set sail for Goa on India’s west coast. There, however, he found the Portuguese colonists causing disgrace to the Church through their bad behavior.
This situation spurred the Jesuit to action. He spent his days visiting prisoners and the sick, gathering groups of children together to teach them about God, and preaching to both Portuguese and Indians. Adopting the lifestyle of the common people, he lived on rice and water in a hut with a dirt floor.
Xavier’s missionary efforts among them often succeeded, though he had more difficulty converting the upper classes, and encountered opposition from both Hindus and Muslims. In 1545 he extended his efforts to Malaysia, before moving on to Japan in 1549.
Becoming fluent in Japanese, Francis instructed the first generation of Japanese Catholic converts. Many said that they were willing to suffer martyrdom, rather than renounce the faith brought by the far-flung Jesuit.
St. Francis Xavier became ill and died on Dec. 3, 1552, while seeking a way to enter the closely-guarded kingdom of China. In 1622, both St. Francis Xavier and St. Ignatius Loyola were canonized on the same day.
“I give you praise, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned, you have revealed them to the childlike.”
What does it mean to become childlike? Should we return to the innocent ignorance of our childhood? Or ignore the knowledge we already have? That seems unlikely. We can’t turn back time, and Christ still calls us to learn. So how else do we access “these things” that Christ mentions in His prayer?
Christ invites us here to set aside the search for human wisdom and embrace our human littleness. Some of the most pressing questions we grapple with are questions we might never answer ourselves. “How will my life go? Where will I end up? What if I never accomplish X, or understand Y?”
But the simplicity of God is beautiful. He’s not asking us to find all the answers. Remember, He has hidden them from the wise and the learned. His message isn’t restricted to people with multiple degrees or Einstein-level genius. Who receives the wisdom of God? According to Christ, “the childlike.” The little. Those who, regardless of their knowledge or wisdom, have humility.
What if hunting for answers actually draws us away from Him?
Christ’s words call us to consider that maybe having the wisdom or the answers actually isn’t the answer. He knew that a quest for human wisdom might distance us from Him. Christ’s closest friends, the Apostles, were ordinary men – fishermen, workers; not scribes or scholars. Likewise, some of the greatest saints never received formal schooling. It was not wisdom that brought them close to Christ. It was their childlikeness, their humility.
St. Francis Xavier, whose feast day is celebrated today, stated: “With humility, all things are obtained.” He was a priest of the Society of Jesus and a close friend of Ignatius of Loyola. His words give us a simple, beautiful explanation of Our Lord’s prayer in the Gospel today.
St. Francis Xavier did attend the University of Paris for a time, but that’s not how he became a saint. He was a missionary in many countries, notably India and Japan, and it definitely wasn’t easy. St. Francis Xavier probably never knew ahead of time where he’d be sent, or what challenges he’d find on the way, or whether people would accept the Gospel. But St. Francis Xavier had childlike trust in God, and he ultimately baptized around thirty thousand converts before his death.
St. Francis didn’t rely on human wisdom to do God’s will. Rather, he embraced his littleness. He allowed God to carry his life, as a father carries a little child. Christ is calling you to do the same. Can you let go of the quest for answers? Can you let Him carry you?
St. Francis Xavier, pray for us!
“¡Yo te alabo, Padre, Señor del cielo y de la tierra, porque has escondido estas cosas a los sabios y a los entendidos, y las has revelado a la gente sencilla!”
¿Qué significa volverse como niños? ¿Debemos volver a la ignorancia inocente de nuestra infancia? ¿O ignorar el conocimiento que ya tenemos? Eso parece poco probable. No podemos volver atrás en el tiempo, y Cristo todavía nos llama a aprender. Entonces, ¿de qué otra manera podemos acceder a “estas cosas” que Cristo menciona en Su oración?
Cristo nos invita aquí a dejar de lado la búsqueda de la sabiduría humana y abrazar nuestra pequeñez humana. Algunas de las preguntas más urgentes con las que lidiamos son preguntas que tal vez nunca podamos respondernos a nosotros mismos. “¿Cómo me va a ir la vida? ¿Dónde voy a terminar? ¿Qué pasa si nunca logro esto o llego a entender aquello?”
Pero la sencillez de Dios es bella. No nos pide que encontremos todas las respuestas. Acuérdate que Él las ha escondido de los sabios e instruidos. Su mensaje no se limita a las personas con múltiples títulos o genios de nivel Einstein. ¿Quién recibe la sabiduría de Dios? Según Cristo, “la gente sencilla”. Los pequeños. Aquellos que, independientemente de su conocimiento o sabiduría, tienen humildad.
¿Y si la búsqueda de respuestas en realidad nos aleja de Él?
Las palabras de Cristo nos llaman a considerar que tal vez tener la sabiduría o las respuestas en realidad no sea la respuesta. Él sabía que una búsqueda de sabiduría humana podría alejarnos de Él. Los amigos más cercanos de Cristo, los Apóstoles, eran hombres comunes: pescadores, trabajadores; no escribas ni eruditos. Del mismo modo, algunos de los santos más grandes nunca recibieron una educación formal. No fue la sabiduría lo que los acercó a Cristo. Fue su sencillez y su humildad.
San Francisco Javier, cuya festividad se celebra hoy, afirmó: “Con humildad, todo se consigue”. Fue un sacerdote de la Compañía de Jesús y un amigo cercano de Ignacio de Loyola. Sus palabras nos dan una explicación sencilla y hermosa de la oración de Nuestro Señor en el Evangelio de hoy.
San Francisco Javier asistió a la Universidad de París durante un tiempo, pero no fue por eso que se convirtió en santo. Fue misionero en muchos países, especialmente en India y Japón, y definitivamente no fue fácil. Probablemente San Francisco Javier nunca supo de antemano a dónde sería enviado, ni cuáles desafíos encontraría en el camino, ni si la gente aceptaría el Evangelio. Pero San Francisco Javier tenía la confianza en Dios como un niño le tiene a su papá, y terminó bautizando a unos treinta mil conversos antes de muerte.
San Francisco no confió en la sabiduría humana para hacer la voluntad de Dios. Más bien, abrazó su pequeñez. Dejó que Dios llevara su vida, como un padre lleva en sus brazos a un niño pequeño. Cristo te está llamando a hacer lo mismo. ¿Puedes dejar de buscar las respuestas? ¿Puedes dejar que Él te lleve?
San Francisco Javier, ¡ruega por nosotros!
Hailing from Nashville, Catherine is a graduate of Christendom College with a lifelong passion for words. Her love of writing and her Catholic Faith continue to shape her as a freelance editor, copywriter, and (aspiring) novelist, where she pursues her passions for the love and greater glory of God.
Feature Image Credit: Kelly Sikkema, unsplash.com/photos/man-carrying-baby-boy-and-kissing-on-cheek-FqqaJI9OxMI
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