From: [email protected] To: St Francis Xavier - Daring, Cheerful, courageous missionary http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9641&boxid=54257343&uid=&dat=12%2f3%2f2014 =========== http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9641&boxid=54257343&uid=&dat=12%2f3%2f2014 Francis Xavier - Daring, cheerful, courageous missionaryFrancis Xavier was aBasque. Born on april 7, 1506, in the castle of Javier of St Francis Xavier’s life and his contribution to the church Fr Cosme Jose CostaFrancis Xavier was a Basque. Born on april 7, 1506, in the castle of Javier in Navarre, Northern spain, he had great ambitions in life. at the age of nineteen, he went to the University of paris. in 1530 he obtained the Master’s degree in philosophy and was officially known as Magister Franciscus ( Master Francis). From then on, he began the life of a young professor of philosophy full of dreams to climb up the ladder of fame and glory. ignatius, who had come to paris to study in 1528, sought to bring about a change in Xavier. Francis did not give in easily. ignatius himself confessed later that Francis was “ the toughest dough he had ever handled”. Towards the middle of 1533, Xavier finally decided to follow ignatius. a year later he made a thirty days retreat ( spiritual exercises) under the direction of ignatius and joined him in laying the foundation of the society of Jesus.The first choice of ignatius for india was Nicholas Bobadilla. since Bobadilla fell ill, the eye of ignatius fell on Xavier, who then was in rome as his secretary. The portuguese ambassador to rome, who had requested the Jesuit help, could not wait. Francis was the only one available at hand. even though ignatius assigned the new task to him as second thought, and at the last minute, Xavier accepted it immediately.He was a man ready to shift suddenly from secretarial work to that of a missionary in far distant and unknown lands.Ten years of hectic missionary labour a missionary par excellence, st Francis Xavier laboured incessantly for ten years, always a zealous missionary but in a hurry. He landed in Goa he returned to Goa about four times, each time just for a month or a fortnight, for his spiritual exercises, to post his letters to europe and for other diligences. His total stay in Goa territory, in ten years, does not exceed eight months.Xavier made the presence of the catholic church felt in lands that hitherto had not heard or were believed to have not heard, the message of the Gospel of christ, such as in some parts in Kerala, in the Fishery coast of south india and Mylapore ( Tamilnadu), probably in ceylon ( sri lanka), in Bassein ( Vasai, Bombay), in Malacca ( Malay archipelago), in the islands of Moluccas ( indonesia) and in Japan, until he breathed his last awaiting his visa for entry in china, on the bordering island of sancian ( sangchewan), at the beginning of december 1552.Misconceptions about Xavier’s work patron of Goa? May to september are months of heavy rainfall, people are busy in the fields during the whole day, and so meeting the people at home would be quite difficult for a new comer like Xavier during his first visit to ilhas, language barrier being his biggest hurdle. His other four intermittent visits to Goa did not cover, in all, more than three months spent in letters and other diligences, as said above.When he died in 1552, there was not one christian convert made by the portuguese in Bardez or salcete. in ilhas there were some, including the Tanadar, loku ( christened lucas sa in 1548, convert, not of st Francis Xavier, but of other Jesuits, namely antonio Gomes and Gaspar Berze), some converts from higher classes mentioned by albuquerque in 1512, others from the poorer classes, mentioned by antonio louro and their children.it is astonishing that the people of Goa have taken Xavier so much as their patron for the past hundreds of years, and do still sing with but of st Francis Xavier). it was only because Goa was the capital of the portuguese possessions in the east, that after his death his body came to rest in Goa, and lies enshrined in the Bom Jesus Basilica at Old Goa.in 1555, that is, three years after the death of Xavier the Viceroy, d.pedro Mascarenhas, divided the whole enclave, except the city ( present Old Goa), among the religious orders, giving Bardez to the Franciscans as their field of work, and salcete to the Jesuits. The thirty villages of Tiswaddi were parceled out between the dominicans and the Jesuits giving 15 villages in the north- western sector to the former and the remaining in the south- eastern sector to the latter. it was only from 1560 that mass conversions began in Goa.Seminal influences of Xavier’s Apostolate in Goa during the five months he was in Goa, Xavier worked in the hospital caring for the sick, bandaging their wounds and doing menial work and even begging food for them; he also visited the prisoners, mostly poor europeans. He would gather the children and slaves in the corner of the streets, with a small bell in hand, and teach them christian doctrine and morals.during his visit in 1546, Xavier was in the Jesuit residence at chorao. His fellow Jesuits had started a school and children from the village were frequenting it. He advised his confreres to teach the children to sing in Konkani, the native language, stretches of the catechism of christian doctrine in question and answer form in two batches, while going to school and returning home. The singing attracted the attention of the parents and elders and later on was a powerful means to draw them to the faith in chorao, as well as in all the missions wherever the Jesuits went.in 1548, Xavier decided to go to Japan after he had met a Japanese, He was distressed that the portuguese despised the outcasts who were becoming christians and confusing the issue by insisting that conversion meant adopting portuguese dress and manners. Francis did all he could for these outcasts and encouraged his people to support the confraternity of Mercy which some portuguese officials had established to care for the most destitute of indigenous persons wherever they had colonies. Of this project Xavier approved wholeheartedly.Xavier then went with anjiro and two more Jesuits to Japan, leaving from cochin in January 1549 and arriving at Kagoshima after 8 months of tempestuous voyage. He worked in Japan for two years and three months. On November 20, 1551, Xavier had to leave Japan in haste as urgent matters connected with the seminary ( the future st paul’s college) demanded his presence in Goa.Before Xavier landed in Goa, Friar diogo Borba, a Franciscan, had in ( June?) 1541, started a small seminary with about 20 students, who were from different nationalities and had to be taught to read and write portuguese and latin. a few more boys might have joined the seminary in June 1542. as soon as Xavier landed in Goa, he was appointed rector of this seminary, and worked there till september.Meanwhile, Micer paulo, another Jesuit who had accompanied Xavier upto Mozambique and had been left there to take care of the portuguese soldiers and officers, had now just landed in Goa. leaving him to help in the seminary management, Xavier left for the Fishery coast of south india. More Jesuits came to the east, including Goa, after he had left.of St Francis Xavier’s life and his contribution to the church Fr Cosme Jose Costa (continued)=======http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9642&boxid=54730718&uid=&dat=12%2f3%2f2014
Continued from page 1the missions, the Seminary had grown with European, mestizzos and indigenous candidates. Xavier’s successor, Micer Paulo, was succeeded in the Rectorship by Antonio Gomes. Gomes had different ideas and that the priesthood was meant only for the white skin and persecuted indigenous candidates so much that, by 1550, 200 of them had run jumping over the walls.On hearing this, burning with anger, Xavier hastened to Goa. On reaching Cochin, he got a letter, sent two years earlier, from Ignatius appointing him the first Provincial of the Jesuits in India. In this capacity, he mercilessly dismissed Antonio Gomes and some others from the Jesuit order on his arrival in Goa in February 1552. He ordered the re- admission of native candidates to the Seminary and then left for histhat in and succeeded and felt persecuted the away On capacity, his from Carambolim, who was one of those dismissed by Antonio Gomes, and subsequently re- admitted at Xavier’s orders, was ordained in 1558.Care of the sick, hospital and prison ministry, pioneering education, identification with the poor and downtrodden, concern for indigenous clergy, commitment and passion for souls were the seminal influences the presence of Xavier in Goa.Other lights in Xavier’s Life Simplicity and Austerity: Frugality and poverty were values Xavier cherished and lived by. After his retreat and commitment to God’s ways marked by Ignatius, Xavier was a man of simplicity and led an austere life, having the basic necessities and adjusting himself to the localVaz Gomes, 1558.education, indigenous influences of ways connected to his office, even when they were offered to him on his arrival in Goa, but went to stay in a poor cottage next to the main building of the city hospital. His priestly cassock was tattered and patched up in many places. But he was not blindly attached to these things. When the success of a particular mission demanded a change of dress and a show of respectability to the Japanese standards, he could readily adopt himself to that, and so in Miyako, Japan, with the use of his powers, he gained acceptance of the Japanese Daimyo ( feudal lord) and was eventually allowed to preach Christianity in that land. Out of deference to the Buddhists, Francis would not eat fish in Japan.A Daring Person of Deep prayer life: Xavier worked strenuously and prayed intensely. Apostolic work and prayer formed an unbreakable unit in him. When he was in Tamil Nadu, Xavier spent hours in prayer in a solitary grotto hewn from a rock near the seashore, in Manapad. One of the eyewitnesses in Xavier’s canonization process, Thomas Fernandes, from Manapad, testified that Xavier spent a great part of the night and of the day in prayer; and that he had frequently seen him raised a little above the floor, his face and eyes glowing with light, especially during the celebration of Mass.Xavier was also blessed with tears of consolation and ecstasy.Because of his trust in God, his prayer and fasting, he was so daring in life to undertake such dangerous voyages through seas and oceans infested by pirates, when facilities for navigation were so poor. Horrifying tales, so common at that time, of people in distant lands being cannibals, headhunters and full of treachery did not deter him from going there. A good swimmer, he saved himself from death at the Moro Islands, when huge boulders were thrown at him, as he swam across the sea to escape to other islands.A Cheerful Loving Personality: Despite difficulties, Xavier remained always a cheerful person. His heart was filled with a profound joy, and his face radiated joy and love. During his travel from Lisbon to Goa, all the passengers suffered from sea- sickness and the ship Santiago transporting them became almost a floating hospital, with people groaning in agonies and unable to take care of their basic needs.Despite his own sea- sickness, Xavier ministered to them with affection.for the sick; from what he got he prepared the food for the sick in the overcrowded kitchen and he went about doing all this with a cheerful countenance.Conclusion Ten years of apostolate and yet so inexhaustible: many things more can be said, of Xavier, as a person and as a missionary. One factor that remained constant with him was his unassailable trust in God. He was carried in a Portuguese ship to go to China and abandoned on the neighboring island. He died, at the age of only 46, of pleurisy or some unidentified fever on 2- 3 December 1552. His last words were those from the psalm 31, 2 in Latin: “ In you, O Lord, I have hoped, let me never be confounded”. He has left a legacy behind, by overspending himself in the service of souls. He was a daring, cheerful and courageous person. For this he is fondly remembered even today, five centuries after his birth. On March 15, 1540, Francis had stepped out from Rome to Lisbon en route to India, on a day’s notice. On March 15, 1554, he returned to Goa, the place he had first stepped on in India, to be recognized as a Saint. He was beatified in 1619 and canonized on March 22, 1622. The faith he planted in Asia, lives on, and whatever else we may say, his life still continues to exert its seminal influence on the Church in Goa, India and the Far East.For this essay and more comprehensive content on everything related to St Francis Xavier, pick up your copy of ‘ St Francis Xavier - His Vision, Mission, Veneration’ , a XVII Exposition Commemorative Issue by the Herald Group=========http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9643&boxid=54756609&uid=&dat=12%2f3%2f2014 Arrangements at St Francis expositionBeing drawn to the decennial exposition of the sacred relics of Goa's patron saint, St Francis Xavier, like millions of faithful, my family and I decided to visit on 29th November, 2014. This event was very special to me as I had planned my vacation to coincide with this glorious event. I was told by my family that the arrangements had been changed as compared to the last Exposition. I intended to attend the second Holy mass at 7 am and left home to be in time for it. On arriving at the venue, I was guided to a common parking space, which was well planned and all the involved traffic police were guiding vehicles to prevent any bottlenecks. Next, I found myself boarding the Free Ring Service KTC Shuttle bus with my family, that would take us near the Basilica. As the 6 am Holy Mass was still going on, we decided to view the Holy Relics. We entered the queue and when we arrived at the manned entry point, my backpack was asked to be opened for inspection. Proceeding further to the entrance of the Se Cathedral, my backpack was checked for a second time. We finally saw the Casket of the Holy Saint and paid our respects. It was the first experience for my kids and I was very happy that they could witness this event. We finally arrived for the 8: 15 am Holy Mass and my backpack was checked again at the entry to the Basilica. The Holy Mass concluded and I felt a deep sense of satisfaction. We proceeded to the fair to buy some souvenirs and sweets. I observed that there was a continuous movement of police officers and police staff had been brought in from Maharashtra to man certain locations. On our way back, we boarded the KTC Shuttle which brought us to the parking space. I must commend the wonderful arrangement of this glorious event and the various departments involved. KTCL, traffic police, Goa Police and the volunteers for the Exposition are doing a wonderful job and I'm sure they will maintain the same level until the conclusion of this event. Personally, I was very impressed that my backpack was checked three times, which goes to show the alertness of the police who don't want to take any chances. For once, it appears that Our Patron Saint has realized a miracle to ensure various departments, putting aside their personal differences and working together for a common objective. May this peace between the Government Machinery and the people of Goa, prevail until the next Exposition. John Noronha ========== A phitelic tribute to St Francis Xavier http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9634&boxid=6246609&uid=&dat=12%2f3%2f2014 ===========No of devotees to swell on feast day http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9621&boxid=53248640&uid=&dat=12/3/2014 ========== 1200 pilgrims reach Old Goa on foot http://www.epaperoheraldo.in/Details.aspx?id=9638&boxid=53722937&uid=&dat=12/3/2014 ===========
