Albeit St Francis Xavier is not the founder our community, he has a special place in our life and heart.
He was with St Ignatius of Loyola and St. Peter Favre, at the beginning of the Society of Jesus in 1534. He met Ignatius during their theological studies in Paris. He dreamt to travel… but at first he was Ignatius’ secretary.
What mostly attracts me is his audacity and openness to go to Asia. He spent almost 2/3 of his life at
sea!
Listening to everyone, playing cards with sailors, eating sometimes with the captain. After a while as the Apostolic Nuncio to India, he always was eager to go further to outreach, learning new languages and ways of life for meeting people in Japan. Though his ways of evangelizing can be criticized and may seem dated, his passion still inspires us.
In these discombobulated times, St Francis Xavier is a compass for me and his energy is stimulating.
His motto is taken from the gospel of Mark (8: 36):
What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?
This quote is very helpful when I feel lost.
This year as December 3 was the 1 st Sunday of Advent, St. Francis Xavier was not celebrated. We choose to invite friends for a prayer, pondering and sharing from the second reading at Mass – St. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians: faithfulness of God in our lives. It was good to start the Advent 2023 under the protection of St Francis Xavier.
Sr. Marie-Noëlle
Xaviere Sisters in Toronto 