3 December 2020
Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest
St. Francis Xavier, the saint we commemorate today, is the patron saint of missionaries. And with good reason. From 1541 until his death in 1552, Francis Xavier travelled extensively throughout the Asian continent, reaching India, Malaysia, China and Japan bringing the Good News to all those he met.
The life of St. Francis Xavier illustrates the essential role that the virtue of patience plays in the Christian life. The saint embarked on slow, uncomfortable sea voyages that lasted months. He waited for correspondence from Europe that would sometimes take years to reach him. When arriving to new lands, he slowly and painstakingly learned new customs and new ways of communicating.
What sustained Francis Xavier during all this? In spite of the many storms literal and figurative that would come to buffet his ship or his heart, there was a rock that held him up, the Word of God. Like the wise man in today’s gospel, he had built his spiritual home on solid ground.
With joy, he waited, and he taught those whom he knew were also waiting for the fulfillment and joy that comes from knowing Jesus.
In our era of instant gratification, of airplanes, Zoom calls, and Google translate, where waiting seems like a waste of time, the virtue of patience seems to be obsolete. Yet, perhaps more than ever we need the joyful hope that waiting can provide. And this joyful hope comes from recognizing that there is an answer to the hunger in our hearts. God is currently satisfying it and will satisfy it day by day, hour by hour, second by second.
In our hardships, in our storms, Christ, our love is near.
Through the intercession of St. Francis Xavier, may this be the message that we patiently and joyfully share with all the world. May this be the rock to which we cling.