Mass Cards Online
| Can't Be Done: St. Francis Xavier's Dreams and Desires |
 |
 |
 |
|
If every St. Ignatius Day, we hear that famous cannonball story about Ignatius, on the Feast of St. Francis Xavier we usually hear the Jesuits tell their favorite anecdote about Xavier—the part about Xavier’s conversion when he was a student in Paris.
As the story goes, Ignatius met Francis in the University of Paris, and, recognizing the promise in the then-worldly and ambitious Xavier, Ignatius tried to win him over supposedly by quoting to him the words of our Lord: “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but suffers the loss of his soul?”
Of course in our simpler imagination as children, we envisioned Ignatius hounding the bewildered Xavier, following him along the corridors of their university while repeating those lines from Scripture. Makes you almost think of Ignatius as one of those over-zealous bible-quoting fundamentalists today that we try to avoid at all costs.
But now that we’re more grown-up and less simple, we know that our Father Ignatius must have used a far more subtle method. Whatever method he used to convert Francis--persistence, friendship, charm, or simply his own quiet holiness--Ignatius did finally win the worldly young man over despite all the odds against it.
Their roommate, the holy Peter Faber, who knew the drives and ambitions of Xavier, must have thought it couldn’t be done, but Ignatius persisted—-and eventually succeeded.
When Francis converted, he turned away from a life no less driven by desires and ambitions, but no longer materialistic and worldly. Whatever else he left behind in his conversion, it certainly did not include his drive and daring. After his conversion, Xavier was no less passionate, no less ambitious, no less driven--only this time he was passionate about things no longer worldly, ambitious about doing great things no longer for himself, driven about making a difference for Christ.
Xavier never lost the dreamer in him. He must have been some dreamer to have dared to do all the things he did as a missionary in his rather short life. After all, he was sent by Ignatius to the Indies as a last-minute replacement for Bobadilla, who had suddenly fallen ill. The very next day he packed up his things to leave Rome for Lisbon. I think many of us today, if placed in a similar situation, would have appealed to our "wounded inner child."
In 1541, on the day he turned 35, he began a tedious and dangerous voyage, reaching Goa after over a year. For two years he worked among the untouchables in the southern coast of India and preached to them in a language that he never quite mastered. After his work in India, Xavier went to Malacca and against the warnings of his friends, sailed to the dangerous islands of the Moluccas, known for their headhunters. But even there Xavier was loved, his diffculties in the languages notwithstanding.
As though all this was not enough, he decided to bring the good news to Japan, where he labored for over two years, trying hard to learn yet another language and to fit into yet another culture. He preached in street corners, often ignored, or ending up misunderstood and even despised. He walked through miles upon miles of snow to reach the capital of the empire in Miyako in the hope of obtaining permission from the Mikado to preach the Gospel. But all to no avail.
In 1552, Xavier turned his eyes towards China, believing that its conversion would have an important influence on the Japanese. As we know, he never made it to China. In the desolate island of Shangchuan, he waited for a boat to take him to the mainland, but he was seized by a fever that weakened him and eventually took his life.
Although he never made it to China, Xavier made a great difference in the lands where he labored as a missionary. Today even non-Catholics in Goa revere Xavier as their father and hero.
In Japan, Xavier is considered a significant figure in history, having been one of the first to introduce the West to Japanese culture. And the vast still-unconquered continent of China has produced martyrs and saints, thanks to generations of missionaries and Christians inspired by Xavier’s life.
All the things that Xavier accomplished in his life must have looked like they could not be done. If he had consulted someone, Francis would have been told that given all the odds and constraints, none of it would be possible. If he had asked someone about his dreams for Japan and China, he would have been advised to “get real.” If Xavier had been just a bit more cautious, he would have stayed home and just played it safe.
We can imagine that perhaps every step of the way, as he faced all the odds in his mission, someone—or certainly at least a small voice inside him—must have whispered to him, “It can’t be done.” But he did it anyway. He chose to ignore the voice—-and that has made all the difference.
I’d like to think that among many other things, this is Francis Xavier’s special gift to us today. Every year we join the rest of the Society and the Church to honor this man who was not afraid to dare and to dream because he knew that all his daring and dreaming were not for himself but for his Eternal King. As Xavier wrote in his letter to Ignatius from across the oceans, “There’s no better rest in this restless world than to do God’s will.”
Today, from across the centuries, Xavier questions us: What oceans are we being called to cross today? What new, unexplored shores are we being asked to make ourselves available for sending? Are we daring enough and driven enough to say “Yes,” or would we rather listen to—and be swayed by—that voice that says, “It can’t be done”?
Today, Xavier’s passion, his holy desires, his almost foolish daring ask us some pretty hard questions about ourselves, about our own passion, desires, and daring—or their lack or absence: Perhaps we have grown a little too cautious, a little too laid back, a little too realistic and calculating? Have we lost too much the fool and dreamer in us? Have we stopped being as radical as we used to be, as we are called to be, belonging as we do to a company of
men of great and holy desires?
Let us pray that on this, his feast day, Xavier will reawaken the dreamer in each one of us, and rekindle those great holy desires in our hearts to make a difference in a world that is wounded in every possible way and that continues to be in such need for Christ.
And next time we hear the voice that tells us, “It can’t be done” — be it from another person or from our own inner voice — it may do us well to remember Francis Xavier, who went against every conceivable odd to do precisely what he was told couldn’t be done.
- Fr. Johnny Go, SJ
*December 3 is the feast day of St. Francis Xavier.
This homily is from 50mething, a book collecting the homilies of Fr. Johnny. For more info, click here. All sales proceeds from 50mething go to Erda Technical and Vocational High School in Manila. 50mething is available in National Book Store and Xavier School.
 |
spacer
spacer
The more than 300 men of the Philippine Province of the Society of Jesus serve in five universities, numerous schools for basic education, two diocesan major seminaries, three urban and five rural parishes... (READ MORE)
Thank you for considering a donation to help our mission.
Your gift will be much appreciated and put to good use. Be assured, too, that you will be with us in our prayers, Masses and apostolic works, even as we also ask you to continue to pray for us.
Sincerely yours in the Lord,
JOSE C. J. MAGADIA, S.J.
Provincial
Curious about something? Trying to find a Jesuit?
Or just want to give us some feedback?
Send us a quick note!