St. Francis Xavier, Priest (Memorial)

3 December , commemorates the dedication, mission and service that Saint Francis Xavier committed himself to through his outreach of faith and missionary work in India, Asia and Europe. Born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta in Spain on 7 April, 1506, Francis Xavier was a co-founder of the Society of Jesus in 15 August 1534 together with Ignatius of Loyola and five others. Francis Xavier came to India with the Portuguese Viceroy of Goa in 1543, St. Francis was a great Roman Catholic missionary to Africa, India, South East Asia (Mallaca, Maluku islands, Ambon island, etc), China and Japan, mainly in the Portuguese Empire. He devoted much of his life to missions in Asia. He managed to convince the truth about the Good News and convert many pagans. We too should be consider our mission as Jesus' last words on earth were to his disciples, telling them "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you" (Matt 28:19)

Francis Xavier died from a fever at Shangchuan island (São João Island), Portuguese Base, China, on 3 December 1552 and on 11 December 1553, Xavier's body was shipped to Goa. The body is now in the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa, where it was placed in a glass container encased in a silver casket on 2 December 1637. Francis Xavier body lies uncorrupt or decayed till this day. Francis Xavier was beatified by Paul V on 25 October 1619, and was canonized by Gregory XV on 12 March 1622.

Prayer by Saint Francis Xavier

Eternal God, Creator of all things, remember that You alone has created the souls of unbelievers, which You have made according to Your Image and Likeness. Behold, O Lord, how to Your dishonor many of them are falling into Hell. Remember, O Lord, Your Son Jesus Christ, Who so generously shed His Blood and suffered for them. Do not permit that Your Son, Our Lord, remain unknown by unbelievers, but, with the help of Your Saints and the Church, the Bride of Your Son, remember Your mercy, forget their idolatry and infidelity, and make them know Him, Who You have sent, Jesus Christ, Your Son, Our Lord, Who is our salvation, our life, and our resurrection, through Whom we have been saved and redeemed, and to Whom is due glory forever. Amen.

Tuesday, December 03, 2013
St. Francis Xavier, Priest (Memorial)

Reading

Isaiah 11: 1 - 10
1	There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots.
2	And the Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the LORD.
3	And his delight shall be in the fear of the LORD. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear;
4	but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked.
5	Righteousness shall be the girdle of his waist, and faithfulness the girdle of his loins.
6	The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid, and the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them.
7	The cow and the bear shall feed; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8	The sucking child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder's den.
9	They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.
10	In that day the root of Jesse shall stand as an ensign to the peoples; him shall the nations seek, and his dwellings shall be glorious.

Psalm

Psalms 72: 1, 7 - 8, 12 - 13, 17
1	Give the king thy justice, O God, and thy righteousness to the royal son!
7	In his days may righteousness flourish, and peace abound, till the moon be no more!
8	May he have dominion from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth!
12	For he delivers the needy when he calls, the poor and him who has no helper.
13	He has pity on the weak and the needy, and saves the lives of the needy.
17	May his name endure for ever, his fame continue as long as the sun! May men bless themselves by him, all nations call him blessed!

Gospel

Luke 10: 21 - 24
21	In that same hour he rejoiced in the Holy Spirit and said, "I thank thee, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to babes; yea, Father, for such was thy gracious will.
22	All things have been delivered to me by my Father; and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and any one to whom the Son chooses to reveal him."
23	Then turning to the disciples he said privately, "Blessed are the eyes which see what you see!
24	For I tell you that many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it."

Novena of Grace

The Miraculous Novena of Grace, is a Catholic devotion addressed to Saint Francis Xavier, usually recited from March 4 to March 12 and the devotion spread far and wide and it has been instrumental in obtaining many favours, spiritual and temporal. It can be recited also at any time outside the mention period for the same purpose. 

"Most amiable and most loving Saint Francis Xavier, in union with thee I reverently adore the Divine Majesty. I rejoice exceedingly on account of the marvellous gifts which God bestowed upon thee. I thank God for the special graces He gave thee during thy life on earth and for the great glory that came to thee after thy death. I implore thee to obtain for me, through thy powerful intercession, the greatest of all blessings--that of living and dying in the state of grace. I also beg of thee to secure for me the special favour I ask in this novena. (Here you may mention the grace, spiritual or temporal, that you wish to obtain.) In asking this favor, I am fully resigned to the Divine Will. I pray and desire only to obtain that which is most conducive to the greater glory of God and the greater good of my soul."

It is then customary to say:

V. Pray for us, Saint Francis Xavier. 

R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

O God, Who didst vouchsafe, by the preaching and miracles of Saint Francis Xavier, to join unto Thy Church the nations of the Indies, grant, we beseech Thee, that we who reverence his glorious merits may also imitate his example, through Jesus Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Then add 3 Our Father's and 3 Hail Mary's in memory of Saint Francis Xavier's devotion to the Most Holy Trinity, and Glory be to the Father 10 times in thanksgiving for the graces received during his 10 years of apostleship.