1st Week of Advent, Tuesday, Dec 3: St. Francis Xavier
Isaiah 11:1-10 / Luke 10:21-24
The Spirit rests upon him; He will defend the rights of the helpless.
October 23, 1945, was the day that Branch Rickey signed Jackie Robinson as baseball's first black athlete. Jackie's entry into baseball was not easy. Racial slurs, insults, and threats dogged him everywhere he went. One day in Boston the situation got really bad. Right in the midst of it, a southerner and popular shortstop named Pee Wee Reese, called time out. He walked over to the second base, put his arm around Jackie, and stood there for a very long time. It was a sign everyone understood and no one ever forgot. It expressed the spirit of today's reading.
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What are we doing to wipe out prejudice and whatever else threatens the rights of people who are helpless or in the minority? “He will not judge by appearance; he will judge the poor fairly and defend the rights of the helpless.” Isaiah 11:3-4
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The meanings of words change, not all the time, but more like over time. The meanings of some words changed so much that it may be surprising, and the present meanings are so different from the past.
"Awful" used to mean “worthy of awe” and in the long past it can be used as in “the awful majesty of God.” But that doesn't sound right nowadays. Today, it means something is bad or that someone looks terrible. It also means exceedingly great as in “an awful lot of money.”
Long ago, "naughty" means naught or nothing. Then it came to mean evil or immoral, then it came to mean mischievous, and then it came to have sexual connotations. Likewise, the word "innocence" may have other meanings besides naive or ignorant or immature.
Also, the virtue of innocence is often trampled upon in a social culture where winning is everything and the only thing worth measuring.
But when Jesus talks about the innocence of children, He is talking about a person's knowledge of God, and it is expressed in a life of peace and love.
Knowledge of God brings about a capacity for peace and love, and a peaceful and loving person cannot hurt or harm anyone. That is the kind of person we are called to be, because we already have the knowledge of God, we have that wisdom, we have that insight.
In this time of Advent, we go back to our innocence of heart so that we can see clearer and understand deeper. We need to understand the true meaning of peace and love in this time of Advent so that we can truly have the peace and love that Jesus came to give us.
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The olive tree is very hardy tree. It can resist drought and disease and even fire, and it can live to a great age. Its root system is strong and robust and the peculiarity is that it is capable of regenerating the tree even if the above-ground structure is destroyed. It is with this peculiarity that the 1st reading used to describe the promise of salvation for Israel - "A shoot springs from the stock of Jesse, a scion thrusts from his roots".
With that will also come about a glorious time of peace and harmony, and also of integrity and faithfulness. Yet the promise of salvation and the glorious reign of God would require patience and waiting and trusting in God's promises.
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Just like an olive tree that may take as long as 15 years to bear fruit, the glorious time of peace and harmony, and integrity and faithfulness may also take that long to come about. Yet in the meanwhile, the roots of the olive tree are spreading and strengthening itself for its growth ahead. So even if there seems to be happening above-ground, there is certainly unseen activity happening underground.
So even if we don't see it, we know it is happening. More so with God's grace, which we can't see but yet we believe is working. Yes, blessed are we to whom the mysteries of God are revealed. And more blessed are we when we believe and wait in hope and patience.
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It is those who realize their own indigence, says Jesus, who are receptive to God’s gifts. With such people, Jesus can make his new beginning, also today, in this Advent.
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Prayer
Lord our God, you never give up on people. Again and again you want to make a new beginning with us. You showed us in Jesus your Son the kind of people you want us to be. As your Spirit rested on him, pour out on us the same Spirit, that we may see our mission in life with your wisdom and insight and that we may have the strength to live as we believe and hope. Grant us this through Christ our Lord. Amen
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St. Francis Xavier, Patron of Missions and Missionaries, Dec 3
1 Cor 9:16-19, 22-23 / Mark 16:15-20
Today the Church celebrates the feast of St Francis Xavier, the Co-patron of India and of all missions and missionaries all over the world.
As a young man of nobility, he obtained a good education and had a successful academic career before him. But being persuaded by and drawn to St Ignatius of Loyola who continuously admonished him, “What does it profit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul,” he became one among the first group of Jesuits. Thus, Francis found the treasure of great value in Christ and his mission. As a young Jesuit, he sailed to India, and later to Malacca and Japan, and preached the good news of Christ, and reaped an abundance of spiritual harvest. He had found that the harvest was plentiful and there was a need for more laborers. In his passion for spreading the gospel, in his simple obedience, in his humble disregard for himself, he was a near-perfect imitation of Christ. St Francis Xavier ranks among the greatest missionaries in Christian history.
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St. Francis Xavier was born in Navarre, Spain, 1506. St. Francis Xavier was a student of St. Ignatius of Loyola, and he was the co-founder of the Society of Jesus and one of the first seven Jesuits who were formed in 1534. He led an extensive mission into Asia and he was influential in the spreading of the faith especially in India.
He even ventured as far as China but he was only able to reach what is now Hong Kong. In fact, he died there on the 3rd December 1552. Along the way, he also converted many people in India, especially Goa, and also in Indonesia and Japan. He is said to have converted more people than anyone else has done since St. Paul. For this reason, he is the patron saint of the missions, together with St. Therese of the Child Jesus.
And like St. Paul, St. Francis Xavier also considered preaching the Good News not just as a duty but also as a blessing. Like what St. Paul said in the 1st reading, he made himself as a slave to everyone so as to win as many for God as he could. Like St. Paul, St. Francis Xavier also made himself all things to all men in order to save some at any cost. Like St. Paul, St. Francis Xavier left behind a legacy of missionary work and spirit that formed the blueprint and foundations of the Catholic faith in the countries.
As the Lord Jesus promised, He worked with St. Francis Xavier and confirmed with His word with signs. We have seen these signs, and may we continue to see these signs so that we in turn will proclaim the Good News like St. Francis Xavier did.
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Readings:
The context: Today’s Gospel describes Jesus’ miraculous healing of two blind men who approached him with trusting Faith. Blindness was common in Palestine because of the intense glare of the eastern sun, clouds of unclean flies and people’s ignorance of cleanliness and hygiene. The two blind men followed Jesus from the street all the way to the house Jesus entered, loudly expressing their confidence in the “Son of David” and requesting mercy. Jesus found in these men what was required for receiving a miracle, namely a strong and expectant Faith, an earnest desire for vision and a sincere prayer for mercy. Although they were instructed not to tell anyone of their healing, as soon as they were healed, they immediately expressed their gratitude by bearing witness to Jesus’ healing power throughout the town.
Life messages: 1) We, too, need light and eyesight because we are often blind to the needs and expectations of those around us and even living with us. We are also often blind to the presence of Jesus living in us and in others, to the blessings God showers on us and to the protection God gives us every day. Hence, let us pray for the spiritual eyesight to realize and experience the presence of Jesus in ourselves and others, and for the goodwill to do good to and for others.
