As we commemorate this first week of Advent, we recognize one of the Church’s great missionaries on his feast day, St Francis Xavier. Born in the 1506 in the Basque region of northern Spain, the same homeland as St Ignatius of Loyola, Xavier was born in the ancestral castle of a wealthy noble family. He left home to study in Paris, where he met Ignatius of Loyola. Xavier and Ignatius were ordained priests in 1537. Along with several other campaigns, the founded the Society of Jesus in 1538. He left for India as a missionary, stopping in different Jesuit missions in Africa along the way. In 1549, Xavier began the first Christian mission in Japan where he served for over two years. In 1552, he set sail to begin the first Christian mission in China. He was not allowed to disembark his ship. He died of an illness while awaiting entry as he stayed on a nearby island. He was canonized by Pope Gregory XV in 1622, at the same time as Ignatius Loyola.
St Francis Xavier ranks among the greatest missionaries in Christian history. Historians place the number of baptisms that he administered at roughly 30,000 people, but that number may be much higher. A great deal can be learned from Xavier in the way he conducted his life and work with meaning and purpose. His missionary work was always accompanied by great enthusiasm and joy. He was always open to learning new things and open to adapting the Gospel message to a new culture.
Just as Francis Xavier brought God’s message to a people who badly needed to hear that message, the prophet Isaiah preached God’s message to a people in exile who badly needed a message of salvation and hope. Today, Isaiah gives the people an image of what God’s kingdom would be like, an image of a great feast, giving them a message of joy and hope in the midst of their suffering and desperation. Just as Isaiah’s message should give us hope as well, our Advent journey gives us the hope of a child who will be born. It is the hope of a savior. May this promise of hope help us pass on God’s mercy on to others. May this hope inspire us on our own journeys when things seem bleak and tough.
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