Saint Francis Xavier: A Catholic "Fundamentalist" Who Gave No Quarter to False Religions
SOURCE
NOTE: Not an endorsement for Sedevacantism
Catholic
missionary work began on the first Pentecost Sunday as the first Pope,
Saint Peter, inflamed with the gifts and fruits of the Third Person of
the Blessed Trinity, God the Holy Ghost, Who had descended upon him and
the other Apostles and our dear Most Blessed Mother, preached to the
Jews assembled in Jerusalem that day, exhorting them to convert to the
true Faith. Three thousand Jews from all over the Mediterranean region
converted. Such open "proselytizing," of course, of the Jews is strictly
prohibited today by the counterfeit church of conciliarism.
Saint
Peter went on to become the Bishop of Antioch in Syria before
establishing his See in Rome, the seat of the empire of the Caesars that
controlled large parts of the known world that time. Saint Peter, along
with Saint Paul the Apostle, a convert to the Faith as a result of the
prayers offered at his death and from eternity by Saint Stephen the
Protomartyr, planted the seeds that would result in the rise of the
Empire of Christ the King that made its headquarters in Rome. Neither
Saint Peter or Saint Paul, however, lived to see the glories of
Christendom with the eyes of their bodies. They saw these glories from
Heaven. They did the work of Apostles without regard for results.
According
to Saint Alphonsus de Liguori, thirteen million Catholics were put to
death by the brute force of the civil authorities of the pagan Roman
Empire between the time of the Emperor Nero's persecution in the year 67
A.D. and the Edict of Milan issued by the Emperor Constantine in the
year 313 A.D. These Catholics did not look for results. They simply
wanted to be faithful to the Deposit of Faith that had been entrusted by
Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ exclusively to the infallible
teaching authority of the true Church that He founded upon the Rock of
Peter, the Pope. These martyrs, among whose ranks are to be found Saint
Bibiana, whose feast we commemorated yesterday, Sunday, December 2,
2012, the First Sunday of Advent, Saint Barbara, whose feast is
commemorated tomorrow, Tuesday, December 4, 2012, and our dear Saint
Lucy, whose feast is celebrated on Thursday, December 13, 2012, would
not burn even one grain of incense to the false gods. Not one single
grain of incense.
None
of the Catholic missionaries who sought to convert various barbaric
tribes an pagan peoples in Europe and North Africa and the Near East in
Asia Minor and India compromised the Faith even a little bit. They were
faithful to Christ the King without looking for results.
Saint Patrick did not engage the Druids in "inter-religious dialogue" on the Emerald Isle, Ireland.
Saint
Benedict of Nursia, the founder of Western monasticism, made no
compromises with the false idols still being venerated near Monte
Cassino:
But
while things started very favorably, as We said, and yielded rich and
salutary results, promising still greater in the future, Our saint with
the greatest grief of soul, saw a storm breaking over the growing
harvest, which an envious spirit had provoked and desires of earthly
gain had stirred up. Since Benedict was prompted by divine and not human
counsel, and feared lest the envy which had been aroused mainly against
himself should wrongfully recoil on his followers, "he let envy take
its course, and after he had disposed of the oratories and other
buildings -- leaving in them a competent number of brethren with
superiors -- he took with him a few monks and went to another place".
Trusting in God and relying on His ever present help, he went south and
arrived at a fort "called Cassino situated on the side of a high
mountain . . .; on this stood an old temple where Apollo was worshipped
by the foolish country people, according to the custom of the ancient
heathens. Around it likewise grew groves, in which even till that time
the mad multitude of infidels used to offer their idolatrous sacrifices.
The man of God coming to that place broke the idol, overthrew the
altar, burned the groves, and of the temple of Apollo made a chapel of
St. Martin. Where the profane altar had stood he built a chapel of St.
John; and by continual preaching he converted many of the people
thereabout". (Pope Pius XII, Fulgens Radiatur, March 21, 1947.)
Saint
Boniface (Winifred) did not esteem the tree that was considered
"sacred" by the pagans in Germany. He chopped it down and mocked it:
A
bold deed which he [Saint Benedict] performed at this time greatly
increased his prestige and led to numerous conversions. At Geismar, near
Fritzlar, there was a gigantic oak, called the "Tree of Thor," which
the pagans of the whole country regarded with the deepest veneration.
Mighty as the God of the Christians was, over the oak of Geismar, so
they boasted, He had no power, and none of His followers would are
destroy it. This tree the Christians advised Boniface to cut down,
assuring him that its fall would shake the faith of the pagans in the
power of their gods. Boniface consented, and on the appointed day
undertook to lay the ax to the tree with his own hands. A vast crowd of
pagans stood around, intently watching to see some dire misfortune
overwhelm the desecrator of their shrine. But when the mighty tree fell
to the ground under the strokes of the Bishop's ax, they with one accord
praised the God of the Christians and asked to be received among the
number of His followers. Boniface baptized them, and out of the wood of
the tree built a little oratory, which he dedicated to St. Peter.
(Father John Laux, Church History, published originally by Benziger Brothers, in 1930, republished by TAN Books and Publishers, 1980, p. 149.)
Saint
Hyacinth, the Apostle of the Northland, was not infected with
conciliarism's desire to "coexist peacefully" with demon worship:
For
a moment all was silence as Hyacinth fixed his eyes in careful scrutiny
upon the island. Then suddenly his hands clenched. Drawn up at one side
of the island were several small boats. And toward the center, from
amidst the thick trees, rose a slender column of smoke!
"The pagans!" he whispered. "They're offering sacrifice!"
Yes,
the hour of sunrise was a favorite time for idol worship and gratefully
Hyacinth realized that his plans were working out well More than a
hundred men and women must be on the island, kneeling in a secret grove
before the ugly statue they believed to be a god. Already there must
have been prayers and hymns, then the burning of a lamb or calf before
the idol. Soon the service would be over and the pagans would stream
down to their boats to return to their homes in Kiev.
"I've
no time to lose," he said firmly. "Kneel down, Brother Martin, and pray
that I do something really worthwhile to help these poor people!"
Before
the young religious could realize what was happening, Hyacinth had
turned and started down the grassy slope to the river's edge. His black
cloak floated before him like a sail, and for a moment Martin knelt as
one in a dream--forgetful of the command to pray. With what speed his
beloved superior moved! Why, he was all but flying down the hill! Then
the young friar grew really weak, for suddenly he understood that he was
witnessing a genuine wonder. By now Father Hyacinth had reached the
Dnieper and was starting to cross over to the island. But not in a boat.
Ah, no! Father Hyacinth was walking on the river as thought it were dry
land!
"Mother
of God! cried Martin. "I heard that he did such a thing at Vishogrod . .
. on the Vistula! But here? Before me? Oh, no! It's too much!
Presently
Hyacinth landed safely on the island, then disappeared into the thick
woods. And, though Martin strained his eyes for several minutes, he
could see him no longer. Nor was any sound to be heard save the harsh
cries of water birds as they circled over the river in search of food.
As
he looked and listened in an agony of suspense, the young religious
tried to clasp his trembling hands in prayer. Oh, what was going to
happen? Would Father Hyacinth really seek out the pagans? Would he put a
stop to their heathen sacrifice?
It can mean death," he [Martin] thought. "Even I know that the Russian pagans are little more than crude barbarians."
Suddenly
there was a clamor in the distance, muted at first, then growing
louder, and with a sinking heart, the young man realized that the pagans
were aroused. They were pouring out of the woods with screams and
shouts. But soon he could see that they were not attacking Father
Hyacinth. They were not even making for their boats. Rather, they were
throwing themselves on their knees in a very frenzy of terror. And why?
Because a black-and-white-clad friar was striding out of the woods and
driving before him a horrible creature--half man, half beat---with
flames shooting from its mouth and eyes!
Martin's
blood ran cold as he looked at the terrible sight. Could it be that
this was the Devil? that Father Hyacinth's prayers had forced him to
leave the idol and appear before the pagans in one of his hellish
shapes?
"Oh,
if one some of the Russian priests could be here!" whispered the young
friar, his teeth clattering. "Maybe this would teach them not to speak
ill of a true servant of God!"
Martin
was wrong. When word of the miracle was noised about in Kiev, the
jealousy of the heretical priests reached alarming proportions. So
Father Hyacinth had gone to the island and found the pagans worshiping
before an old oak tree? With one blow he had sent the great tree
crumbling into dust? As the Evil One emerged from the tree, he had
fought with him hand to hand, then thrown him into the Dnieper? (Mary
Fabyan Windeatt, Saint Hyacinth: Apostle of the Northland.)
Countless
are the number of times in which the demon worship that these great
Catholic missionaries sought to eradicate from the face of this earth
have been incorporated into "offerings" of the Protestant and Masonic Novus Ordo service,
sometimes with the full participation of the conciliar "pontiffs,"
especially Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II, Joseph Ratzinger/Benedict XVI
and, of course, the lay Jesuit himself, Jorge Mario Bergoglio, currently
masquerading as "Pope Francis." The demon worship known as Hinduism has
been offered the Chapel of the Apparitions in the Shrine of the Most
Holy Trinity in Fatima, Portugal (May 5, 2004). and in many other
Catholic venues in their conciliar captivity.
Indeed, Bergoglio permitted himself to be wrapped up in a Hindu "prayer" shawl:
As the post on Call Me Jorge on
which the photograph above may be found, Bergoglio also paid an
impromptu visit to a Buddhist temple on the way back from a Marian
shrine in Sri Lanka. So much idolatry, so little time.
Bergoglio
is so sensitive to the false beliefs of pagans that he is willing to do
that which the Apostles and millions of martyrs gave up their lives
than to give the appearance of doing, namely, denying the Holy Name of
the Divine Redeemer before men. Bergoglio is truly ashamed of Christ and
His doctrine before men:
For
what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the
loss of his soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For
he that shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and
sinful generation: the Son of man also will be ashamed of him, when he
shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8: 36-28)
And calling in the apostles, after they had scourged them, they charged them that they should not speak at all in the name of Jesus; and they dismissed them.
And
they indeed went from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they
were accounted worthy to suffer reproach for the name of Jesus. And every day they ceased not in the temple, and from house to house, to teach and preach Christ Jesus. (Acts 5: 40-42.)
If any man speak, let him speak, as the words of God. If any man minister, let him do it, as of the power, which
God administereth: that in all things God may be honoured through Jesus
Christ: to whom is glory and empire for ever and ever. Amen.
Dearly beloved, think not strange the burning heat which is to try you,
as if some new thing happened to you; But if you partake of the
sufferings of Christ, rejoice that when his glory shall be revealed, you
may also be glad with exceeding joy. If
you be reproached for the name of Christ, you shall be blessed: for
that which is of the honour, glory, and power of God, and that which is
his Spirit, resteth upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer, or a thief, or a railer, or a coveter of other men's things.
But if as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.
For the time is, that judgment should begin at the house of God. And if
first at us, what shall be the end of them that believe not the gospel
of God? And if the just man shall scarcely be saved, where shall the
ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them also that suffer
according to the will of God, commend their souls in good deeds to the
faithful Creator. (1 Peter 4: 11-19)
As
the conciliar popes, including Bergoglio, have demonstrated so amply,
idolatry in the name of “respecting” religious traditions is a
well-enshrined principle of the counterfeit church of conciliarism.
There is, of course, an exception to this. The conciliar officials do
not respect the religious traditions of Catholicism.
Various
Catholic churches in conciliar captivity have been desecrated by
"worship" rendered to the demons of false religions. Countless are the
blasphemies and sacrileges and abominations committed in the name of the
Catholic Church by the conciliar revolutionaries that make a mockery of
the courage of the millions of Catholic martyrs who gave up their lives
rather than even to give the appearance of committing such acts against
the honor and majesty and glory of God. Indeed, the conciliar
blasphemies and sacrileges and abominations, some of them committed most
openly by the conciliar "pontiffs" themselves, have been so commonplace
that many ordinary Catholics in the conciliar structures, assaulted on a
daily basis by the abomination that is the Novus Ordo service,
have lost all sense of outrage for the honor and majesty and glory of
God while some of those who do indeed know better, especially in the
Motu "clergy," keep their mouths shut out of fear of offending the
apostates who commit these actions against God.
As has been noted on this site frequently (see Hunkered Down on Mindanao from
many years ago now), efforts of some very well-intentioned
"conservative" Catholics yet attached to the conciliar structures to
oppose the garden-variety blasphemies and sacrileges at the parish and
diocesan levels are in vain as the conciliar "pontiffs" themselves have
provided all of the precedents necessary to make acts that any sensible
Catholic knows is offensive to God to become an institutionalized part
of life in the conciliar structures.
All
one has to do is to take a look at what Jorge Mario Bergoglio has done
in the past nine hundred ninety-seven days. He is a machine of blasphemy
and sacrilege, who dared to say the following on Sunday, November 29,
2015, the First Sunday of Advent, to those peaceniks known as
Mohammedans whilst he was in the Central African Republic:
It
is a great joy for me to be with you and I thank you for your warm
welcome. In a particular way I thank Imam Tidiani Moussa Naibi for his
kind words of greeting. My Pastoral Visit to the Central African
Republic would not be complete if it did not include this encounter with
the Muslim community.
Christians
and Muslims are brothers and sisters. We must therefore consider
ourselves and conduct ourselves as such. We are well aware that the
recent events and acts of violence which have shaken your country were
not grounded in properly religious motives. Those who claim to believe
in God must also be men and women of peace. Christians, Muslims and
members of the traditional religions have lived together in peace for
many years. They ought, therefore, to remain united in working for an
end to every act which, from whatever side, disfigures the Face of God
and whose ultimate aim is to defend particular interests by any and all
means, to the detriment of the common good. Together, we must say no to
hatred, no to revenge and no to violence, particularly that violence
which is perpetrated in the name of a religion or of God himself. God is
peace, God salam.
In
these dramatic times, Christian and Muslim leaders have sought to rise
to the challenges of the moment. They have played an important role in
re-establishing harmony and fraternity among all. I would like
express my gratitude and appreciation for this. We can also call to mind
the many acts of solidarity which Christians and Muslims have shown
with regard to their fellow citizens of other religious confessions, by
welcoming them and defending them during this latest crisis in your
country, as well as in other parts of the world.
We
cannot fail to express hope that the forthcoming national consultations
will provide the country with leaders capable of bringing Central
Africans together, thus becoming symbols of national unity rather than
merely representatives of one or another faction. I strongly urge you to
make your country a welcoming home for all its children, regardless of
their ethnic origin, political affiliation or religious confession. The
Central African Republic, situated in the heart of Africa, with the
cooperation of all her sons and daughters, will then prove a stimulus in
this regard to the entire continent. It will prove a positive influence
and help extinguish the smouldering tensions which prevent Africans
from benefitting from that development which they deserve and to which
they have a right.
Dear
friends, dear brothers, I invite you to pray and work for
reconciliation, fraternity and solidarity among all people, without
forgetting those who have suffered the most as a result of recent events.
May God bless you and protect you! Salam alaikum! (Meeting with the Muslim Community.)
Christians and Muslims are not “brothers and sisters.”
Mohammedanism
is a false religion that is based on a rejection of the doctrine of the
Most Blessed Trinity and of the Sacred Divinity of the Second Person of
the Most Blessed Trinity made Incarnate in the Virginal and Immaculate
Womb of His Most Blessed Mother by the power of the Third Person of the
Most Blessed Trinity, God the Holy Ghost. It is conceived in the man of a
lustful, bloodthirsty man who wanted to create a Pan-Arabic movement.
The false prophet Mohammed saw to it that his false religion spread by
the force of the sword over Arabia as great centers of Catholicism in
Egypt and Libya were overrun by his murderous followers.
Jorge
Mario Bergoglio ignores the fact that Mohammedanism attempted to spread
into France as early as the year 732 A.D., after the Moors had taken
hold in large parts of the Iberian Peninsula twenty-one years before,
and that they were successful in penetrating the Balkans, especially in
Kosovo, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Albania during the Ottoman invasions.
Bergoglio lives in a fantasy world of theology and history that
parallels the universe inhabited by his ideological soulmate, Barack
Hussein Obama/Barry Soetoro.
Bergoglio’s
fantasy world is one that permits no room for any kind of historical
facts to interfere with his delusions about Mohammedans as having
“values” and that they were not responsible for the sack of Rome, which
proves, he wants to believe, that Mohammedanism is a religion of peace.
He repeated this delusional view of the world when he gave yet another
interview while airborne between the Central African Republic and Rome
on Monday, November 30, 2015, the Feast of Saint Andrew the Apostle:
Delia Gallagher, CNN:
Thank
you. You have shown many signs of respect and friendship towards
Muslims. I am wondering: what do Islam and the teachings of the Prophet
Muhammad have to say to today’s world?
Pope Francis:
I
don’t really understand the question… One can dialogue, they have
values. Many values. They have many values and those values are
constructive. I also have the experience of being friends – this is a
strong word, “friends” – with a Muslim:
he is a world leader. We can talk: he has his values, I have mine. He
prays, and I pray. Many values… For example, prayer, fasting, religious
values but not only. One can not write off a religion because there are
some groups – or sometimes many groups – of fundamentalists. It is a
historical fact that there have always been wars of religion. And we too
have to ask forgiveness. Catherine de Medici was no saint! Then there was the Thirty Years War, the eve of St Bartholomew… We too have to ask pardon for cases of fundamentalist extremism, for the wars of religion. Anyway,
[Muslims] have their values and we can dialogue with them. Today I was
in the mosque and I prayed; and the Imam wanted to come with me to
circle the little stadium where many people were not able to fit… And
there, on the popemobile, were the Pope and the Imam. We could talk. As
everywhere, there are people who have values, religious people, and
there are people who don’t… But how many wars, and not only wars of religion, have we Christians waged? The Muslims were not responsible for the sack of Rome! They have values, they have values. (In-Flight Press Conference from the Central African Republic to Rome.)
What kind of “values” do the Mohammedans have?
Polygamy.
Blasphemy.
Idolatry.
The cutting off of the hands of thieves and the stoning of other criminals.
A history of the killing of Christians and of the destruction of Christian churches and shrines.
Various attempts to invade Europe in the Second Millennium.
Some values.
orge
the Historian was, no doubt, referring to the sack of Rome of Alaric
the Visigoth, which took place on August 24, 410. A.D., some one hundred
ninety years before Mohammed invented his false religion, thus leaving
Mohammedans, of course, blameless for one of the most famous sacks of
Rome as they did not exist at the time. Living in the same delusional
world inhabited by George Walker Bush and Barack Hussein Obama/Barry
Soetoro, Jorge the Historian is completely ignorant of the facts
presented in the book edited by Dr. Andrew G. Bostom, including the
Mohammedan sack of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul in the year
846 A.D., or the constant terrorism to which Catholics in France, Italy
and elsewhere were subject until the Battle of Lepanto on October 7,
1571, and the Battle at the Gates of Vienna a little less than one
hundred twelve years later, that is, on September 12, 1683:
In
order to get rid of them, Pope John VIII decided in 878 to promise them
an annual payment of several thousand gold pieces; but this tribute of
the Holy See to Islam seems to have been paid for only two years; and
from time to time until the beginning of the tenth century, the Muslims
reappeared at the mouth of the Tiber or along the coast nearby.
Marseilles,
for its part, was also hit; in 838 the Arabs landed there and
devastated it; Saint Victor’s Abbey, outside the walls was destroyed,
and many inhabitants of the city were carried off in captivity; ten
years later a new raid occurred, the Old Port was again sacked. And this
perhaps was repeated more around the year 920.
The
whole Italian peninsula was similarly exposed: around 840 Muslim ships
followed the Adriatic coasts as far as the Dalmatian archipelago and the
mouth of the Po River. Then returning south, they dared to attack a
city, Ancona, some two hundred kilometers northwest of Rome; a sort of
commando dashed ashore; the city was devastated and set on fire.
During
this conquest of Sicily, when they took Syracuse in 878, after a deadly
attack, they were exasperated by the resistance that they met with.
When they rushed into the city, they found along their way the Church of
the Holy Savior, filled with women and children, and they massacred
them all. Then, spreading out through the city, they continued the
slaughter and the pillage, had the treasure of the cathedral handed over
to them; they also took many prisoners and gathered separately those
who were armed. One week later all of the captives who had dared to
fight against them were butchered (four thousand in number, according to
the chronicle of Bayyan).
In
934 or 935, they landed at the other end of Italy, at Genoa, killed
“all the men they found there, and then left again, loading onto their
ships “the treasures of the city and of its churches.” A few years later
they settled for a time, it seems, in Nice, Frejus, Toulon.
One
could list many other similar facts. Generally speaking, in these Arab
raids carried out by cavalcade or after a landing, the churches were
especially targeted, because the assailants knew that they would find
there articles used in worship that were made of gold or silver,
sometimes studded with precious stones, as well as costly fabrics. And
because the churches were considered to be an offense God, the One God,
given that they were consecrated to the “polytheistic” belief in the
Trinity, they were burned down. The bells were the object of particular
animosity, because they dared to amplify the call to infidel prayer by
resounding through the skies, toward heaven; therefore they were always
broken. (Andrew G. Bostom, M.D., “Prefect to the Paperback Edition,” The Legacy of Jihad: Islamic Holy War and the Fate of Non-Muslims, Prometheus Books, Amherst, New York, 2008, p. 421-422.)
The
likes of Jorge Mario Bergoglio would have us believe that Mohammedans
who blow up churches, desecrate Christian shrines, and who kidnap,
assault, torture and massacre innocent human beings are “perverting” a
“religion of peace.” This is a lie from men who are steeped in
delusions, which they keep reassuring themselves over and over again as
they call for “dialogue” and “encounter” as “respect” is shown to a
false, blasphemous religion that is based on a rejection of the doctrine
of the Most Holy Trinity.
Remembere
also that the Saracens got very close to Rome again when they raided
Assisi in the year 1239, being repelled when Saint Clare of Assisi
displayed a monstrance in which reposed Our Blessed Lord and Saviour
Jesus Christ in His Real Presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament,
throwing the followers of the false prophet Mohammed into confusion as
they fled in fear:
When the Saracens (attached to the army of Frederick II.) attacked Assisi, in the year 1239, and
were fain to break into Clare's monastery, she being sick, caused
herself to be carried to the door, and likewise the vessel in which was
held the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist, and there she prayed,
saying O Lord, deliver not unto beasts the souls of them that praise
thee, but preserve thine handmaids whom Thou hast redeemed with thy
Precious Blood. Whereupon a voice was heard which said I will always
preserve you. Some of the Saracens took to flight, and others who had
mounted the wall became blind, and fell down headlong. (The Divine Offie, Matins, Feast of Saint Clare of Assisi.)
The
Mohammedans also attacked Venice, Italy, one hundred eighty-four years
later as the Ottoman leader Murad II laid siege to Venice in 1423. A
true Successor of Saint Peter, Pope Saint Martin V, inveighed the
Christian princes of Europe to band together to come to the aid of the
Venetians.
Mohammedans
also attempted to invade Italy and then strike directly at Rome in the
Battle of Lepanto on October 7, 1571, a victory secured by Pope Saint
Pius X’s calling upon Catholics to pray Our Lady’s Most Holy Rosary.
The
saint whose feast was celebrated two days ago, Saint Francis Xavier,
S.J., gave no quarter to false religions. Unlike the lay Jesuit named
Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Saint Francis Xavier sought to stamp out idolatry
and to convert adherents of false religions, each of which he knew to
be hateful in the sight of the true God of Divine Revelation, the Most
Blessed Trinity.
Dom
Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., admirably summarized the times that produced
the apostolic zeal of this valorous son of Spain, Saint Francis Xavier:
The
apostles being heralds of the coming of the Messias, it was fitting
that Advent should have in its calendar the name of some one among them.
Divine Providence has provided for this; for, to say something of St.
Andrew, whose feast if oftentimes past before the season of Advent has
commenced, St. Thomas’s day is unfailingly kept immediately before
Christmas. We will explain, later on, why St. Thomas hold that position
rather than any other apostle; at present, we simply assert the fitness
of there being at least one of the apostolic college, who should
announce to us, in this period of the Catholic cycle, the coming of the
Redeemer. But God has not wished that the first apostolate should be the
only one to appear on the first pages of the liturgical calendar; great
also, though in a lower degree, is the glory of that second apostolate,
whereby the bride of Jesus Christ multiplies her children, even in her
fruitful old age, as the psalmist expresses it. There are Gentiles who
have still to be evangelized; the coming of the Messias is far from
having been announced to all nations. Now of all the valiant messengers
of the divine Word who have, during the last few hundred years,
proclaimed the good tidings among infidel nations there is not one whose
glory is greater, who has worked greater wonders, or who has shown
himself a closer imitator of the first apostles, than the modern apostle
of the Indies, St. Francis Xavier.
The
life and apostolate of this wonderful man were a great triumph for our
mother the holy Catholic Church; for St. Francis came just at a period
when heresy, encouraged by false learning, by political intrigues, by
covetousness, and by all the wicked passions of the human heart, seemed
on the eve of victory. Emboldened by all these, the enemy of God spoke,
with the deepest contempt, of that ancient Church which rested on the
promises of Jesus Christ; it declared that she was unworthy of the
confidence of men, and dared even to call her the harlot of Babylon, as
though the vices of her children could taint the piety of the mother.
God’s time came at last, and He showed Himself in His power; the garden
of the Church suddenly appeared rich in the most admirable fruits of
sanctity. Heroes and heroines issued from that apparent barrenness; and
whilst the pretended reformers showed themselves to be the most wicked
of men, two countries, Italy and Spain, gave to the world the most
magnificent saints.
One
of this is brought before us to-day, claiming our love and our praise.
The calendar of the liturgical year will present to us, from time to
time, his contemporaries and his companions in divine grace and heroic
sanctity. The sixteenth century is, therefore, worthy of comparison with
any other age of the Church. The so-called reformers of those times
gave little proof of their desires to convert infidel countries, when
they only zeal was to bury Christianity beneath the ruin of her
churches. But at that very time a society of apostles was offering
itself to the Roman Pontiff, that he might send them to plant the true
faith among people who were sitting in the thickest shades of the earth.
But, we repeat, not one of these holy men so closely imitated the first
apostles as did Francis, the disciple of Ignatius. He had all the marks
and labours of an apostle: an immense world of people evangelized by
his indefatigable ministration, and miracles of every kind, which proved
him, to the infidel, to be marked with the sign which they received
who, living in the flesh, planted the Church, as the Church speaks in
her liturgy. So that, in the sixteenth century, the cast received from
the ever holy city of Rome an apostle, who, by his character and his
works, resembled those earlier ones sent her by Jesus Himself. May our
Lord Jesus be for ever praised for having vindicated the honour of the
Church. His bride, by raising up Francis Xavier, and giving to men, in
this His servant, a representation of what the first apostles were, whom
He sent to preach the Gospel when the whole world was pagan. (Dom
Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year, Advent, pp. 311-313.)
We are living at time that is nearly five hundred years distant from the beginnings of the Protestant Revolution.
Indeed,
we walk among the ruins of that revolution every day of our lives. Each
of us, I am sure, meets Protestants, many of whom are not legitimately
baptized (that is, that those who are “baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus,” not “In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost”) and thus are pagans even though they do not realize that they
are, who are clueless about First and Last Things. Moreover, each of us,
I am sure, meets baptized Catholics who are equally clueless about
First and Last Things, an ignorance that has been aided and abetted by
the conciliar revolutionaries, who are themselves walking amidst the
ruins of their own failed and failing revolution that was founded upon
the crumbled stones of the remains of Protestantism and Judeo-Masonry.
Jorge
Mario Bergoglio is just the latest conciliar “pope” to reaffirm all
non-Catholics, including infidels, in their false religions, thereby
demonstrating himself to be the antithesis of the spirit of Saint
Francis Xavier, S.J., who had the true Jesuit spirit of evangelical zeal
for the conversion of all men to the Catholic Faith, outside of which
there is no salvation and without which there can be no true social
order. The reading for Matins in today’s Divine Office make it clear
that the phony-baloney Jesuit from Argentina has nothing of the true
spirit of the Society of Jesus that infused the life and the work of
Saint Francis Xavier:
Francis
was of noble family, and was born in the castle of Xavier, in the
diocese of Pampeluna, in the year of our Lord 1506. He was a companion
of St. Ignatius at Paris, and one of his earliest disciples. Under his
teaching, he learnt to become so wrapt in the contemplation of divine
things, that he was sometimes lifted in ecstasy off the ground, which
happened to him several times when he was saying Mass in public before
large congregations. He earned these refreshments of the soul by the
sharpest punishment of the body. He gave up the use not only of meat and
wine, but also of wheaten bread; he lived on the vilest food, and ate
only once every two or three days. He used an iron scourge till his
blood ran freely; he shortened the hours of his rest, and lay only on
the ground.
The
hardness and holiness of his life had made him meet to be called to be
an Apostle, and when John III, King of Portugal, asked Pope Paul III to
send to the Indies some members of the then new Society of Jesus, the
Pontiff, by the advice of St Ignatius, sent Francis to enter on that
vast field of labour with the powers of Apostolic Nuncio. He arrived (in
India on the 6th day of May, in the year 1542.) When he began his work,
it seemed as though God Himself taught him the many and difficult
languages of the natives. It even happened that when he preached in one
language to a mixed congregation of different nationalities, each one
heard him in his own tongue wherein he was born. He travelled over
countless districts, always walking, and often bare-footed. He
introduced the faith into Japan, and six other countries. In India he
turned many hundred thousands to Christ, and regenerated many chiefs and
kings in the holy font. And notwithstanding that he was doing all these
great things for God's service, so deep was his lowliness that when he
wrote to St. Ignatius, the General of the Society, he did so on his
knees.
God
was pleased to support his zeal for spreading the Gospel with many and
great miracles. He gave sight to a blind man. On one occasion the supply
of fresh water failed when he was at sea, and five hundred sailors were
in danger of perishing by thirst, but the servant of God, by the sign
of the Cross, turned salt water into fresh, and they used it for a
considerable time. Some of this water was also carried into different
countries, and a great number of sick persons were instantaneously cured
by it. He called several dead men to life, among whom was one who had
been buried the day before, and who was disinterred by command of the
saint; and likewise two others who were being carried to the grave, and
whom he took by the hand and restored living to their parents. He had
the spirit of prophecy, and foretold many things, remote both in place
and time. Utterly worn out with his labours, he died full of good works
in the island of San-Chan in the Canton River, (upon the 2nd day of
December, in the year of our Lord 1552.) His body was buried in quick
lime, and, being again taken up, was again buried in the same, but at
the end of many months it was found entirely incorrupt, and sweet, and,
when cut, blood flowed freely from it. From China it was carried to
Malacca, and, as soon as it reached that place, a plague, which was
raging there, ceased. At length, when he had become famous throughout
the whole world for new and wonderful miracles, Gregory XV added his
name to the list of the Saints. (Matins, The Divine Office, Feast of
Saint Francis Xavier, S.J.)
Yes,
the saint whose feast we celebrate today, Saturday, December 3, 2016,
Saint Francis Xavier, S.J., gave no quarter to false religions. Unlike
the lay Jesuit named Jorge Mario Bergoglio, Saint Francis Xavier sought
to stamp out idolatry and to convert adherents of false religions, each
of which he knew to be hateful in the sight of the true God of Divine
Revelation, the Most Blessed Trinity.
Saint
Francis Xavier had great zeal to seek the unconditional conversion of
the souls of non-Catholics to the maternal bosom of the true Church,
outside of which there is no salvation, no matter the obstacles he faced
and no matter the results. Although he won many converts in Goa, India,
this early companion and one of the original priests of the Society of
Jesus walked barefoot in the snow in Japan to plant the seeds for the
conversion of at least a few souls. Saint Francis Xavier wanted to be
faithful without looking for the same results in Japan as he had
realized in India by the graces won for us on Calvary by the shedding of
every single drop of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ's Most
Precious Blood and that flow into our hearts and souls through the
loving hands of Our Lady, the Mediatrix of All Graces. He would only see
the results of his wonderful labors in Japan from eternity.
Saint
Francis Xavier sought only the conversion of the Japanese people,
knowing that Our Lord had died for them as He had died for all other
men. He had true love for souls, a love that was not a mere expression
of human sentimentality but an act of his will in perfect conformity
with the very Will of God, Who loves all men in that He wills their
good, the ultimate expression of which is the salvation of their
immortal souls as members of the Catholic Church.
Consider the scene as described by the late Father Albert J. Nevins, M.M., in Saint Francis of the Seven Seas:
There
is in the city of Kyoto today a painting which shows Francis Xavier
arriving in the capital of Japan. It pictures him running barefoot in
the snow behind the sedan chair of a nobleman. Behind him in the snow he
has left footprints colored red with his blood. His clothes are
tattered and he appears starving, but on his face is a look of peace and
great joy. The painting sums up what Francis went through to reach
Kyoto, and the great hopes he brought there with him.
The
first part of the journey from Yamaguchi to Kyoto had to be made over
rough roads. Francis and his friends covered forty miles to reach the
port of Iwakuni. Snow drifts came up to their knees. They had to cross
freezing mountain torrents that were waist deep. The region was full of
unfriendly samurai who at any moment might wish to test their swords on
the missioners.
Children
chased them, throwing stones. Their clothes became so tattered that
innkeepers refused them shelter. Often they could obtain no food and had
to munch a bit of dry rice which they carried with them. At Sakai, no
inn would accept them, and they had to build a crude hut on a
mountainside to escape the cold driving rain and snow.
The
travelers had to remain some time at Sakai, because a small war was
being fought between there and Kyoto. While at Sakai children tormented
them, and they were unable to preach. Adults too poked fun at the ragged
strangers. One young man called Francis a fool and a stupid beast.
"Why
do you speak to me in this way?" Francis asked. "I love you very much
and I would greatly like to teach you the way of salvation."
But the young man laughed at Francis' kindness, and kept on mocking him.
Finally
the travelers were permitted to join a nobleman who was going to the
capital. This man allowed them to follow his part as his servants did.
He also insisted that Francis, Brother Fernandez and Bernard carry some
of his baggage on their backs. It was a hard journey because the
servants who carried the sedan chair in which the nobleman rode moved at
a brisk trot. Francis and his friends had to run to keep up with the
nobleman. The painting in Kyoto shows the end of this part of the
journey.
It
was with a happy heart that Francis entered Kyoto. Here was the end of
his trail. Here he would see the emperor of all Japan and get permission
to preach over the whole country. Then came the great disappointment.
Once
in the city, Francis saw that great areas had been burnt out and
destroyed in the war that was going on. The temples were badly in need
of repair. Every attempt to see the emperor failed, and after Francis
learned that even the Emperor's own people did not obey him, he stopped
trying to see the man.
Because
of the war, the people were not interested in listening to the
teachings of Christ. There were a few attempts at preaching, but they
were not successful. Only a handful of converts were made.
Francis
remained only eleven days in Kyoto--eleven days of bitter
disappointment. Then realizing that because of the war nothing could be
done in the city, he decided to return to Yamaguchi. On the face of
things, it would appear that Francis Xavier had failed. But he had not.
The seed of religion which he had planted in Kyoto in his brief visit
there would blossom into a rich harvest. Only a dozen years later, Kyoto
would boast many, many Christians. From this city came some of the
greatest martyrs the Church has ever produced.
In
order not to travel overland and risk the many dangers, the part left
Kyoto by boat. The journey in a small boat in freezing weather was from
from pleasant. When they reached Osaka, they took passage on another
boat to Sakai. Finally they were back to Hirado, their starting point
four or five months later.
Their
hardships were greatest on their return journey. It was February, the
time of snow, sleet, and wind. The missioners had neither rest nor
shelter. Francis would buy dry fruits at the inns and carry them in his
sleeves. Then when he came across children by the roadside, he would
give them some of the fruit and his blessing.
Once
safe in Hirado, Francis thought over the whole unhappy journey he had
just finished. He felt that it had been a failure. He had been hooted at
and stoned. He had not been well received by the daimyos or the
emperor. No one had been impressed with the missioners. Perhaps it was
because they looked so shabby. Perhaps if they were dressed as
ambassadors--ambassadors of God--they would be better received.
Once
again Francis' high spirits came back to him. At once he began making
plans to return to Yamaguchi and visit the powerful daimyo there. This
time he would impress the ruler.
Francis
ordered a new kimono for himself and one for Brother Fernandez. He had
them made of the best silk. He and Brother Fernandez had once been
dandies, dressing in the best style. He would show the daimyo that he
knew how to dress! Kimonos were also ordered for Bernard and another
Japanese Christian. They were given swords and daggers to wear, as was
the custom among the rich people. The Indian boy, Amador, was dressed in
the finest silks, which made his dark skin shine even brighter.
Even
then Francis was not finished. Opening the many presents he had brought
from India and which had rested all this time in the care of Father
Torres, he chose the ones he thought would make the best impression.
Then he finally wrapped up in silk two letters he had never used--one
from the governor of India; the other from the Bishop of Goa.
This
time Francis traveled in the style that befit an ambassador. He hired
horses for his friends, and for himself a sedan chair. He entered
Yamaguchi with great pomp. The daimyo, who heard of his impressive
approach, at once invited him to his palace.
Francis
greeted the daimyo, never mentioning the reprimand he had Brother
Fernandez deliver on his last visit. He presented his friends to the
Japanese ruler. Then he gave the daimyo his gifts. They included a music
box, a glass mirror, a three-barreled rifle, yards of the best cloth,
books, vases, paintings, barrels of port wine, and a grandfather clock.
The daimyo was thrilled by the gifts, particularly by the lock which
sounded chimes whenever it reached the hour.
The
daimyo wanted to give Francis a large gift of money in return, but the
missioner wisely refused the present. He asked only that he and his
friends be allowed to preach and baptize. The daimyo agreed at once. He
ordered his assistants to prepare a large empty monastery which he
turned over to Francis to use as long as he remained in Yamaguchi. He
also ordered a notice to be written and put up around the city.
It
said: "I am pleased to allow that the Law of God may be taught and
preached throughout my lands and that those who wish to convert may do
so freely. My servants are all forbidden to hinder any of the Fathers
who preach this Law."
Francis' plan had proved a great success. If Japan was not to be won one way, another would do!
At
first the work in Yamaguchi went slowly. One day when Brother Fernandez
was preaching in the street, surrounded by a large crowd, a rough
looking fellow began to make fun of him. When Brother Fernandez did not
notice him, the man spat in Brother's face, the worse insult that could
be offered to a Spanish gentleman.
Brother
Fernandez did not pause in his sermon, nor did he show any anger. He
simply wiped the spittle off as he went on talking. A man in the crowd,
hostile to the Christians, watched what had happened. When he saw how
Brother Fernandez acted, he suddenly realized that here was a man who
practiced what he preached. As soon as the sermon ended, he followed
Francis and Brother to their monastery and asked to be prepared for
baptism. He was the first convert in Yamaguchi.
From
that time on converts came in dozens. In the first two months after the
incident five hundred people were taught and baptized. All of the
missioners were busy every day teaching. Twice a day large crowds came
to the monastery to hear Brother Fernandez explain the Law of God, and
among the visitors were many Buddhist monks and nuns, some of whom
became converts.
On
another day, when the missioners were preaching in the street, a
minstrel, who went from house to house among the rich, entertaining with
song and story, was in the crowd. Impressed with what he heard, he
approached Francis and said that he wanted to leave behind his stories
and songs and violin, and work only to serve God. Francis taught this
minstrel, who was blind in one eye and nearly so in the other, and
baptized him with the name Lawrence.
Lawrence
became the first Brother in Japan of the Society of Jesus. This poor,
misshapen man was the greatest convert Francis Xavier ever made.
Lawrence debated with the most learned Buddhist monks, and he always
defeated them. The power of his teaching was so great that even the most
learned men in Japan humbled themselves at his feet. He made thousands
of converts, and he was the missioner who went to Kyoto and began the
movement there towards the Church.
Once
when Brother Lawrence was preaching in a Buddhist monastery to three
hundred samurai, he badly defeated a monk who tried to debate with him.
The man grabbed a sword, and rushed at Brother shouting, "I'll show you
how immortal your soul is!" The maddened monk was held back by others.
Brother Lawrence faced many such dangers, but he never weakened in his
work. He lived a very holy life, and died at an old age in Nagasaki.
The
Christian Faith was growing well in Yamaguchi, when one day a letter
reached Francis from the daimyo of Bungo, inviting the missioner to come
there to preach Christianity. It was a wonderful chance to win more
souls. Francis took with him three of his Japanese converts--Bernard,
John and Matthew--and left at once for Bungo. Father Torres was placed
in charge of the work at Yamaguchi, and Brother Fernandez was left
behind to help him.
When
Francis reached a port on the seacoast, he found a Portuguese ship
riding at anchor. It was a pleasure for him to see and talk with men
from Europe. He was soon busy hearing confessions and saying Mass for
the Portuguese sailors. The captain of the ship, Duarte de Gama, was an
old friend of Francis, and this man offered to take Francis to the city
where the daimyo of Bungo lived.
Francis
arrived in Bungo in great style. He saw the daimyo and was received
kindly. The daimyo told him that he cold preach Christianity to the
people. Francis was happy at this permission, but he was worried because
the Portuguese ship had brought no mail or news of the Jesuits in
Europe. Francis had written shortly after arriving in Japan, asking for
more helpers, and so far not a single word had come about them.
Francis
decided that he must travel back to India and learn what had happened.
The presence of the Portuguese boat was heaven-sent, because the boat
could take him part way back to India. Once he he had settled he is
business there, he would return to Japan. The whole trip should take
less than a year. He sent Father Torres money to carry on the work in
Yamaguchi. Then he boarded the Portuguese vessel.
It
was November, 1551, when Francis saw the islands of Japan disappear
over the horizon behind his ship. (Father Albert J. Nevins, M.M., Saint Francis of the Seven Seas, Vision Books, Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1955, pp. 143-155.)
Saint
Francis Xavier, who had been born to a noble family in Navarre, Spain,
on April 7, 1506, was not to return to Japan again after he left in
1551. He was welcomed back in Goa, India, with great enthusiasm by the
Catholic converts he had made there before his journey to Japan. Saint
Francis, who meet Saint Ignatius of Loyola when they were students at
the University of Paris and was convinced by his future Father-General
to give up his life of partying and pretense, had distinguished himself
in Goa for seeking the unconditional conversion of souls there--and for
his unstinting zeal for the honor and glory and majesty of God in
smashing to smithereens the symbols of false religions that have been
esteemed by Jorge Mario Bergoglio and his predecessr, Joseph
Ratzinger/Benedict XVI and, of course, by Karol Wojtyla/John Paul II.
Saint
Francis described his work in Goa--and the effects of paganism on the
people there--in letters he sent to his superiors in Rome:
As
to the numbers who become Christians, you may understand them from
this, that it often happens to me to be hardly able to use my hands from
the fatigue of baptizing: often in a single day I have baptized whole
villages. Sometimes I have lost my voice
and strength altogether with repeating again and again the Credo and
the other forms. The fruit that is reaped by the baptism of infants, as
well as by the instruction of children and others, is quite incredible.
These children, I trust heartily, by the grace of God, will be much
better than their fathers. They show an ardent love for the Divine law,
and an extraordinary zeal for learning our holy religion and imparting
it to others. Their hatred for idolatry is marvellous. They get into
feuds with the heathen about it, and whenever their own parents practise
it, they reproach them and come off to tell me at once. Whenever I hear
of any act of idolatrous worship, I go to the place with a large band
of these children, who very soon load the devil with a greater amount of
insult and abuse than he has lately received of honor and worship from
their parents, relations, and acquaintances. The children run at the
idols, upset them, dash them down, break them to pieces, spit on them,
trample on them, kick them about, and in short heap on them every
possible outrage. (St. Francis Xavier: Letter from India, to the Society of Jesus at Rome, 1543.)
We
have in these parts a class of men among the pagans who are called
Brahmins. They keep up the worship of the gods, the superstitious rites
of religion, frequenting the temples and taking care of the idols. They
are as perverse and wicked a set as can anywhere be found, and I always
apply to them the words of holy David, "from an unholy race and a wicked
and crafty man deliver me, O Lord." They are liars and cheats to the
very backbone. Their whole study is, how to deceive most cunningly the
simplicity and ignorance of the people. They give out publicly that the
gods command certain offerings to be made to their temples, which
offerings are simply the things that the Brahmins themselves wish for,
for their own maintenance and that of their wives, children, and
servants. Thus they make the poor folk believe that the images of their
gods eat and drink, dine and sup like men, and some devout persons are
found who really offer to the idol twice a day, before dinner and
supper, a certain sum of money. The Brahmins eat sumptuous meals to the
sound of drums, and make the ignorant believe that the gods are
banqueting. When they are in need of any supplies, and even before, they
give out to the people that the gods are angry because the things they
have asked for have not been sent, and that if the people do not take
care, the gods will punish them by slaughter, disease, and the assaults
of the devils. And the poor ignorant creatures, with the fear of the
gods before them, obey them implicitly. These Brahmins have barely a
tincture of literature, but they make up for their poverty in learning
by cunning and malice. Those who belong to these parts are very
indignant with me for exposing their tricks. Whenever they talk to me
with no one by to hear them they acknowledge that they have no other
patrimony but the idols, by their lies about which they procure their
support from the people. They say that I, poor creature as I am, know
more than all of them put together.
They
often send me a civil message and presents, and make a great complaint
when I send them all back again. Their object is to bribe me to connive
at their evil deeds. So they declare that they are convinced that there
is only one God, and that they will pray to Him for me. And I, to return
the favor, answer whatever occurs to me, and then lay bare, as far as I
can, to the ignorant people whose blind superstitions have made them
their slaves, their imposture and tricks, and this has induced many to
leave the worship of the false gods, and eagerly become Christians. If
it were not for the opposition of the Brahmins, we should have them all
embracing the religion of Jesus Christ. (St. Francis Xavier: Letter from India, to the Society of Jesus at Rome, 1543.)
My
own and only Father in the Heart of Christ, I think that the many
letters from this place which have lately been sent to Rome will inform
you how prosperously the affairs of religion go on in these parts,
through your prayers and the good bounty of God. But there seem to be
certain things which I ought myself to speak about to you; so I will
just touch on a few points relating to these parts of the world which
are so distant from Rome. In the first
place, the whole race of the Indians, as far as I have been able to see,
is very barbarous; and it does not like to listen to anything that is
not agreeable to its own manners and customs, which, as I say, are
barbarous. It troubles itself very little to learn anything about divine
things and things which concern salvation. Most of the Indians are of
vicious disposition, and are adverse to virtue. Their instability,
levity, and inconstancy of mind are incredible; they have hardly any
honesty, so inveterate are their habits of sin and cheating. We have
hard work here, both in keeping the Christians up to the mark and in
converting the heathen. And, as we are your children, it is fair that on
this account you should take great care of us and help us continually
by your prayers to God. You know very well what a hard business it is to
teach people who neither have any knowledge of God nor follow reason,
but think it a strange and intolerable thing to be told to give up their
habits of sin, which have now gained all the force of nature by long
possession. Saint Francis Xavier, Letter on the Missions, to St. Ignatius de Loyola, 1549.)
May
the grace and love of Christ our Lord always help and favor us ! Amen. .
. . Now to speak of what I know you are most anxious to hear about the
state of religion in India. In this region of Travancore, where I now
am, God has drawn very many to the faith of His Son Jesus Christ. In the
space of one month I made Christians of more than ten thousand. This is
the method I followed. As soon as I arrived in any heathen village
where they had sent for me to give them baptism, I gave orders for all,
men, women, and children, to be collected in one place. Then, beginning
with the first elements of the Christian faith, I taught them there is
one God, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost; and at the same time, calling on
the three divine Persons and one God, I made them each make three times
the sign of the Cross; then, putting on a surplice, I began to recite in
a loud voice and in their own language the form of the general
Confession, the Apostle's Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Lord's
Prayer, the Ave Maria, and the Salve Regina. Two years
ago I translated all these prayers into the language of the country,
and learned them by heart. I recited them slowly so that all of every
age and condition followed me in them.
Then
I began to explain shortly the articles of the Creed and the Ten
Commandments in the language of the country. Where the people appeared
to me sufficiently instructed to receive baptism, I ordered them all to
ask God's pardon publicly for the sins of their past life, and to do
this with a loud voice and in the presence of their neighbors still
hostile to the Christian religion, in order to touch the hearts of the
heathen and confirm the faith of the good. All the heathen are filled
with admiration at the holiness of the law of God, and express the
greatest shame at having lived so long in ignorance of the true God. They
willingly hear about the mysteries and rules of the Christian religion,
and treat me, poor sinner as I am, with the greatest respect. Many,
however, put away from them with hardness of heart the truth which they
well know.
When
I have done my instruction, I ask one by one all those who desire
baptism if they believe without hesitation each of the articles of the
faith. All immediately, holding their arms in the form of the Cross,
declare with one voice that they believe all entirely. Then at last I
baptize them in due form, and I give to each his name written on a
ticket. After their baptism the new Christians go back to their houses
and bring me their wives and families for baptism. When
all are baptized I order all the temples of their false gods to be
destroyed and all the idols to be broken in pieces. I can give you no
idea of the joy I feel in seeing this done, witnessing the destruction
of the idols by the very people who but lately adored them. In all the
towns and villages I leave the Christian doctrine in writing in the
language of the country, and I prescribe at the same time the manner in
which it is to be taught in the morning and evening schools. When I have
done all this in one place, I pass to another, and so on successively
to the rest. In this way I go all round the country, bringing the
natives into the fold of Jesus Christ, and the joy that I feel in this
is far too great to be expressed in a letter, or even by word of mouth....
You
may judge from this alone, my very dear brothers, what great and
fertile harvests this uncultivated field promises to produce. This part
of the world is so ready, so teeming with shooting corn, as I may say,
that I hope within this very year to make as many as a hundred thousand
Christians....
And
now what ought you to do when you see the minds of these people so well
prepared to receive the seed of the Gospel? May God make known to you
His most holy will, and give you at the same time strength and courage
to carry it out; and may He in His Providence send as many as possible
of you into this country!
The least and most lonely of your brothers, Francis
From Cochin, January 27th, 1545.
May the grace and love of Jesus Christ our Lord always help and favor us! Amen. . . .
.
. . Nearly two hundred miles beyond Molucca there is a region which is
called Maurica. Here, many years ago, a great number of the inhabitants
became Christians, but having been totally neglected and left, as it
were, orphans by the death of the priests who taught them, they have
returned to their former barbarous and savage state. It is in every way a
land full of perils, and especially to be dreaded by strangers on
account of the great ferocity of the natives and the many kinds of
poison which it is there common to give in what is eaten and drunk. The
fear of this has deterred priests from abroad from going there to help
the islanders.
I
have considered in what great necessity they are, with no one to
instruct them or give them the sacraments, and I have come to think that
I ought to provide for their salvation even at the risk of my life. I
have resolved to go thither as soon as possible, and to offer my life to
the risk. Truly I have put all my trust in God, and I wish as much as
is in me to obey the precept of our Lord Jesus Christ: "He that will
save his life shall lose it; and he that shall lose his life for My sake
shall find it."[4] Words easy in thought but not easy in practice. When
the hour comes when life must be lost that you may find it in God, when
danger of death is on you, and you see plainly that to obey God you
must sacrifice life, then, I know not how, it comes to pass that what
before seemed a very clear precept is involved in incredible
darkness.... It is in such circumstances that we see clearly how great
after all our weakness is, how frail and unstable is our human nature
here.
Many
friends of mine have prayed me earnestly not to go amongst so barbarous
a people. Afterwards, when they saw they gained nothing by prayers or
tears, they brought me each what he thought the best possible antidote
against poison of all sorts; but I have unrelentingly sent them all
back, lest after burdening myself with medicines, I should have another
burden which before I was without, that of fear. I had put all my hope
in the protection of Divine Providence, and I thought I ought to be on
my guard, lest relying on human aid I should lose something of my trust
in God. So I thanked them all and earnestly entreated them to pray God
for me, for that no more certain remedy could possibly be found....
From Amboyna (May, 1546)
Saint
Francis worked as a Catholic, not as a conciliar revolutionary who
believes that the Catholic Church and false religions that worship the
devil must "peacefully coexist."
Saint
Francis worked as a Catholic, not as a conciliar revolutionary who
believes that the Catholic Church and false religions that worship the
devil must "peacefully coexist." He was the sort of Catholic
"fundamentalist" who was disparaged by Jorge Mario Bergoglio in his
interview five daysa go now. I stand with the "fundamentalism" of Saint
Francis of Assisi. What about you?
Although
Saint Francis Xavier died on December 3, 1552, during his sea journey
to reach China to start his missionary work there, the mourning in Goa,
India, was profound upon the return of his incorrupt body there over a
year after his death:
Not
until December [of 1553] did a ship sail for India, so Saint Francis
was well over a year dead when his perfectly preserved body reached Goa.
Once
again an entire city turned out to honor the memory of the missioner.
Never before or since was there anything like the sadness which swept
over Goa. The Dominican priest who preached at the funeral could not be
heard for the sobbing in the huge cathedral. Finally, his own tears
forced him to leave the pulpit.
A
Jesuit who had known Saint Francis Xavier has left us a description of
the body as it appeared a year and half after death. This is what he
wrote: "He looked exactly as we remembered him, lying there in his
priestly robes as if he had died only a half hour ago. Under the
vestments, next to the skin, the body was clothed in a rich robe which
the Father had taken with him to Goa to wear for his meeting with the
emperor of China. Though it had been more than a year under the earth,
it was so clean and fresh that Father Nunes was able to wear it later
when he paid visits to the kings of Japan."
Doctors
were called to examine the body of the saint and to find out whether or
not it had been embalmed. The doctors examined the body very carefully
and declared that it had not been preserved by "any natural or
artificial means." There was no other conclusion but that God had worked
a great miracle in behalf of Saint Francis Xavier.
For
four days, from dawn until midnight, crowds passed through the
cathedral to see the body and kiss the feet of the saint who had
journeyed so far for God. Then the body was placed in a special shrine
especially built for it. From time to time the shrine was opened, and
the body shown to the people. But each time the appearance of the body
caused so much excitement among the people that the officials thought it
best that the tomb be closed again.
One
hundred and forty years after the body was placed in the tomb, it was
brought out so that an important bishop might see it. Present on that
day was a French Jesuit. He writes that the body was in a perfect state,
and he also gives a good description of Saint Francis Xavier.
"The
Saint's hair is black and slightly curling," he wrote. "The forehead is
broad and high, with two rather large veins, soft and of a purple tint,
running down the middle, as is often seem in talented persons who spend
much time in deep thought. The eyes are black, lively, and sweet, with
so keen a glance that he would seem to be alive and breathing. The lips
are of a warm reddish color and the beard is thick.
"In
the cheeks there is a pale purple tint. The tongue is quite flexible,
red, and moist, and the chin is beautifully shaped. In a world the body
has all the appearances of a living man. It is so great a marvel, that
on seeing it, while I was present, the Commissioner of the Dutch East
India Company became at once a convert to the Catholic Faith."
Not only after this, the body began to darken and dry up. When it was photographed in 1932, it had become mummified.
The
fact that the body is now mummified does not lessen the miracle of its
preservation for a hundred and fifty years. A miracle does not have to
last forever to be a miracle. When Our Lord brought to life the dead son
of the widow of Naim, that young man died again some years later. But
that does not make the miracle any less important. (Father Albert J.
Nevins, M.M., Saint Francis of the Seven Seas, Vision Books, Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1955, pp.179-182.)
Only
a very hard-hearted Catholic could refrain from getting a little
misty-eyed over the story of the Dutch Calvinist's conversion to the
Catholic Faith as a result of seeing the then incorrupt body of Saint
Francis Xavier one hundred forty years after the Saint's death. And the
great esteem shown this true Catholic missionary by the people of Goa
demonstrates that souls liberated by Baptism from their captivity to the
devil by means of Original Sin and their participation in false
religions remain supremely grateful to the priest responsible for giving
new birth to their soul and giving them access to the Sacred Tribunal
of Penance and to the worthy reception of the God-Man, Our Blessed Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, in Holy Communion.
Saint
Francis Xavier, who was canonized by Pope Gregory XV on March 12, 1622,
along with Saint Ignatius of Loyola, Saint Teresa of Avila and Saint
Philip Neri, mirrored his mentor and companion Saint Ignatius Loyola's
great love for Our Lady. It was to the Mother of God that Saint Francis
Xavier entrusted all of his missionary work to effect the conversion of
pagan peoples to the true Faith as he prayed Our Lady's Most Holy Rosary
on a daily basis.
We
may never get to travel to distant lands to serve as missionaries. Each
of us, however, can be a spiritual missionary, if you will, by praying
as many Rosaries each day as the duties of our states-in-life permit,
attempting also to distribute blessed Green Scapulars and blessed
Miraculous Medals to those whom God's Holy Providence places in our
paths each day. We desire the possession of Heaven for ourselves. We
desire it also for all others on the face of this earth as each person
is made in the image and likeness of the Most Blessed Trinity and has
been redeemed by the shedding of the Most Precious Blood of the Second
Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ, made Incarnate by the power of the Third Person of the Most
Blessed Trinity, God the Holy Ghost, in the Virginal and Immaculate Womb
of Our Lady.
May
Saint Francis Xavier help us to have a holy zeal for souls and a holy
zeal for the honor and glory and majesty of God as we reject everything
to do with the false religion of conciliarism and with its spiritual
robber baron "popes" and "bishops" who do indeed esteem the devil's
religions and reaffirm people in falsehoods that could indeed wind up
sending them to Hell for all eternity.
The
following prayer to Saint Francis Xavier that was composed by Dom
Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., contains a description of life in the middle
of the Nineteenth Century that is very similar to our own decadent age
in the Twenty-first Century. Indeed, his prayer is nothing other than
prophetic in describing how the world must go mad absent the Catholic
Faith, which Saint Francis Xavier died while he attended reach China to
evangelize its peoples:
Glorious
apostle of Jesus Christ, who didst impart His divine light to the
nations that were sitting in the shadows of death ! we, though unworthy
of the name of Christians, address our prayers to thee, that by the
charity which led thee to sacrifice everything for the conversion of
souls, thou wouldst deign to prepare us for the visit of the Saviour,
whom our faith and our love desire. Thou wert the father of infidel
nations; be the protector, during this holy season, of them that believe
in Jesus Christ. Before thy eyes had contemplated the Lord Jesus, thou
didst make Him known to countless people; now that thou seest Him face
to face, obtain for us that, when He is come, we may see Him with that
simple and ardent faith of the Magi, those glorious first-fruits of the
nations to which thou didst bear the admirable light.
Remember
also, O great apostle, those nations which thou didst evangelize, and
where now, by a terrible judgement of God, the word of life has ceased
to bring forth fruit. Pray for the vast empire of China, on which thou
didst look when dying, but which was not blessed with thy preaching.
Pray for Japan, thy dear garden which has been laid waste by the savage
wild beast, of which the psalmist speaks. May the blood of the martyrs
which was poured out on that land like water, bring it the long-expected
fertility. Bless, too, all the missions which our holy mother the
Church has undertaken in those lands where the cross has not yet
triumphed. May the heart of the infidel be opened to the grand
simplicity and light of faith; may the seed bring forth fruit a
hundred-fold; may the number of thy successors in the new apostolate
ever increase; may their zeal and charity fail not; may their toil
receive its reward of abundant fruit; and may the crown of martyrdom,
which they receive, be not only the recompense but the perfection and
the triumph of their apostolic ministry. Recommend to our Lord the
innumerable members of that Association, which is the means of the faith
being propagated through the world, and which has thee for its patron.
Pray, with a filial affection and earnestness, for that holy Society, of
which thou art so bright an ornament, and which reposes on thee its
firmest confidence. May it more and more flourish under the storm of
trial which never leaves it at rest; may it be multiplied, that so the
children of God may be multiplied by its labours; may it ever have
ready, for the service of the Christian world, zealous apostles and
doctors; may it not be in vain that it bears the name of Jesus.
Let
us consider the wretched condition of the human race, at the time of
Christ’s coming into the world. The diminution of truths is emphatically
expressed by the little light which the earth enjoys at this season of
the year. The ancient traditions are gradually becoming extinct; the
Creator is not acknowledged, even in the very work of His hands;
everything has been made God, except the God who made all things. This
frightful pantheism produces the vilest immorality, both in society and
at large, and in individuals. There are no rights acknowledged, save
that of might. Lust, avarice, and theft, are honoured by men in the gods
of their altars. There is no such thing as family, for divorce and
infanticide are legalized; mankind is degraded by a general system of
slavery; nations are being exterminated by endless wars. The human race
is in the last extreme of misery; and unless the hand that created it
reform it, it must sink a prey to crime and bloodshed. There are indeed
some few just men still left upon the earth, and they struggle against
the torrent universal degradation; but they cannot save the world; the
world despises them, and God will not accept their merits as a
palliation of the hideous leprosy which covers the earth. All flesh has
corrupted its way, and is more guilty than even in the days of the
deluge; and yet, a second destruction of the universe would but manifest
anew the justice of God; it is time that a deluge of His divine mercy
should flood the universe, and that He who made man, should come down
and heal him. Come then, O eternal Son of God ! give life again to this
dread body; heal all its wounds; purify it; let grace super-abound,
where sin before abounded; and having converted the world to Thy holy
law, Thou wilt have proved to all ages that Thou, who camest, wast in
very truth the Word of the Father; for as none but a God could create
the world, so as none but a God could save it from satan and sin, and
restore it to justice and holiness. (Dom Prosper Gueranger, O.S.B., The Liturgical Year: Advent, pp. 316-318.)
Dom
Prosper Gueranger’s prayer is both an accurate description of the times
in which he lived and, of course, of the state of the world today,
including the fact that those who belong to the Society of Jesus in its
conciliar captivity at the present time do indeed bear the name of this
venerable agent of the Catholic Counter-Reformation entirely in vain.
His prayer is also an exhortation to inspire us to maintain the
Supernatural Virtue of Hope in the midst of the darkness that envelops
us at this.
Christ the Light is to break upon us in twenty-two days!
May
Saint Francis Xavier inspire us to put away our own works of darkness
by making a good Confession frequently, if possible, during this Advent,
and to offer up our daily prayers, works, suffers and tribulations as
the consecrated slaves of Our Blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ
through the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary, especially by many
as many Rosaries each day as our state-in-life permits.
Immaculate Heart of Mary, triumph soon!
Isn't it time to pray a Rosary now?
Vivat Christus Rex! Viva Cristo Rey!
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
Saints Peter and Paul, pray for us.
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.
Saint John the Evangelist, pray for us.
Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel the Archangel, pray for us.
Saint Raphael the Archangel, pray for us.
Saints Joachim and Anne, pray for us.
Saints Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, pray for us.
Saint Francis Xavier, S.J., pray for us.
Saint Ignatius Loyola, S.J., pray for us.