Novena of Grace - Day 7

They landed at the city of Kagoshima in Japan, 15 Aug., 1549. The entire first year was devoted to learning the Japanese language and translating into Japanese, with the help of Pablo de Santa Fe, the principal articles of faith and short treatises which were to be employed in preaching and catechizing. When he was able to express himself, Xavier began preaching and made some converts, but these aroused the ill will of the bonzes, who had him banished from the city. Leaving Kagoshima about August, 1550, he penetrated to the centre of Japan, and preached the Gospel in some of the cities of southern Japan. Towards the end of that year he reached Meaco, then the principal city of Japan, but he was unable to make any headway here because of the dissensions the rending the country. He retraced his steps to the centre of Japan, and during 1551 preached in some important cities, forming the nucleus of several Christian communities, which in time increased with extraordinary rapidity.

Novena of Grace Prayer
O most amiable and loving St. Francis Xavier, in union with thee I adore the Divine Majesty. While joyfully giving thanks to God for great graces which He conferred upon thee in life and for the great glory with which He has gifted thee in heaven, I come to thee with heartfelt love, begging thee to secure for me, by thy powerful intercession, the inestimable blessings of living and dying in the state of grace. I also beseech thee to obtain for me the favors I ask in this Novena

Here name your petitions.

But if what I ask is not for the Glory of God, or the good of my soul, do thou obtain for me what is most conducive to both. Amen.

Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father.

V. Pray for us, St. Francis Xavier,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: O God, Who chose to bring into the bosom of the Church the nations of the Indies through the preaching and miracles of St. Francis Xavier, mercifully grant that we may imitate his virtues, whose glorious merits we hold in veneration. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Francis Xavier
Eternal God, Creator of all things, remember that the souls of infidels were created by Thee and formed to Thine own image and after thine own likeness. Behold, O Lord, how to Thy dishonor hell is being filled with these very souls. Remember that Jesus Christ, Thy Son, suffered a most cruel death for their salvation. Do not permit, I beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy divine Son be any longer despised by unbelievers, but rather, being appeased by the prayers of Thy saints and of the Church, the most holy spouse of Thy Son, deign to be mindful of Thy mercy, and forgetting their idolatry and their infidelity, bring them to know Him Whom Thou didst send, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord Who is our health, life, and resurrection, through Whom we have been redeemed and saved, to Whom be all glory forever. Amen.

Monday in Passion Week

MONDAY AFTER PASSION SUNDAY

GOSPEL. ST. JOHN vii, 32-39.

(The Last Teaching of Jesus. The Thief on the Left.)

At that time: The rulers and Pharisees sent ministers to apprehend Jesus. Jesus therefore said to them: Yet a little while I am with you: and then I go to Him that sent Me. You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me: and where I am, thither you cannot come. The Jews therefore said among themselves: Whither will He go, that we shall not find Him? Will He go unto the dispersed among the gentiles, and teach the gentiles? What is this saying that He hath said: You shall seek Me, and shall not find Me: and where I am, you cannot come? And on the last and great day of the festivity, Jesus stood and cried, saying: If any man thirst, let him come to Me, and drink. He that believeth in Me, as the Scriptures saith, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. Now this He said of the spirit which they should receive who believed in Him.

With what zeal did our divine Savior, as the hour of His passion drew nigh, endeavor to point out to men the way of the true faith, happiness and blessedness. But the people did not listen to Him, and they persecuted the eternal, divine Truth.

Christian soul, look up to the cross of Jesus on Mt. Calvary; even in the face of death, the thief on the left refuses to recognize Jesus, His divine truth and redeeming power. From the days of his youth he despised God, and now he blasphemes his divine Savior with his dying lips. From the gibbet of the cross he sees and hears how the scribes and Pharisees insult and blaspheme Jesus; instead of entering into himself and adoring the innocence, patience and humility of the God-man, he imitates their wicked example and also scoffs at Jesus in the impious language of unbelief.

Behold, O Christian soul, how the wicked man turns to his ruin the sufferings which Jesus intended for his spiritual benefit; how, instead of rejecting bad examples, he joins the company of the godless and imitates them. In the unhappy end of this impenitent thief, contemplate the ruin of all those hardened sinners, concerning whom our Lord said: "You shall seek Me, and you shall not find Me." Pray for the conversion of those who err in faith: and pray that God may grant a happy death to all those sinners who are dangerously ill or dying.

LET US PRAY.

Sanctify our fasts, we beseech Thee, O Lord, and mercifully grant us the pardon of all our faults.

O Divine Savior hanging on the cross, for how many souls, besides that of the thief on Thy left, must Thy precious blood be shed in vain! For the sake of Thy holy passion, have mercy on us. We promise Thee that we will never permit ourselves to be guided by the wicked example of others, that we will never neglect a good work on account of the influence of the wicked and that we will never think, speak or do anything evil for the sake of gaining the applause of godless men. Grant us the grace of perseverance, the grace of a good preparation for death, and the grace of a happy death. Amen.

Passion Sunday (Fifth Sunday of Lent)

PASSION SUNDAY

GOSPEL. ST. JOHN viii, 46-59.

(The Hidden Savior. Jesus is raised on the Cross.)

At that time Jesus said to the multitude of the Jews: Which of you shall convince Me of sin? If I say the truth to you, why do you not believe Me? He that is of God heareth the words of God. Therefore you hear them not because you are not of God. The Jews therefore answered, and said to Him: Do not we say well that Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil? Jesus answered: I have not a devil: but I honor My Father, and you have dishonored Me. But I seek not My own glory: there is one that seeketh and judgeth. Amen, amen, I say to you: If any man keep My word, he shall not see death forever. The Jews therefore said: Now we know that Thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets: and Thou sayest: If any man keep My word, he shall not taste death forever. Art Thou greater than our father Abraham, who is dead? And the prophets are dead. Whom dost Thou make Thyself? Jesus answered: If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father that glorifieth Me, of Whom you say that He is your God. And you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say that I know Him not, I shall be like to you, a liar. But I do know Him, and do keep His word. Abraham, your father, rejoiced that he might see My day. He saw it and was glad. The Jews therefore said to Him: Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast Thou seen Abraham? Jesus said to them: Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham was made, I am. They took up stones therefore to cast at Him. But Jesus hid Himself, and went out of the temple.

Beginning with today the crucifixes are veiled with the violet color of penance. The holy season of Lent is approaching its end, and the Church busies herself and the hearts of her children with deeper meditation on the bitter passion and death of her divine Spouse.

Although your Savior hides Himself from the obstinate Jews, and the image of the Crucified is veiled to our bodily sight, still you should represent to your soul all the more vividly your Redeemer, Jesus Christ, as He is raised upon the cross. There hangs, O Christian soul, the High-priest and Mediator, who has reconciled the offended Deity with sinful mankind. It is the loving, pain-laden Redeemer, who freed you from the guilt and eternal punishment of sin. On the holy cross hangs the powerful God who has drawn to Himself you and the whole world, while He allows all to participate in His sufferings and also in the fruit of His bitter passion. Christian soul, in your suffering look at His bitter passion; in your poverty look at His privations; in your desolation look at His dereliction; in your persecutions, look at His cross and partake of its fruits in holy Mass and in the sacraments. Then your redeemer will not hide Himself from you, and you will not see death for all eternity.

LET US PRAY.

We beseech Thee, Almighty God, mercifully look down upon Thy family, and grant that by Thy bounty it may be ever guided and protected both in body and soul.

Crucified God and Savior, Jesus Christ, we prostrate ourselves in spirit before Thy holy cross, and adore and thank Thee; for through Thy holy cross thou hast redeemed the world. On the wood of shame, raised between heaven and earth, Thou hast reconciled God with man, Thou hast erased the hand-writing of the condemnation which was threatening us; Thou hast taken it away and attached it to the cross. Praise and thanksgiving be to Thee forever more. May Thy holy cross and passion not be lost for us poor sinners. Amen.

Novena of Grace - Day 6

By July, 1547, he was again in Malacca. Here he met a Japanese called Anger (Han-Sir), from whom he obtained much information about Japan. His zeal was at once aroused by the idea of introducing Christanity into Japan, but for the time being the affairs of the Society demanded his presence at goa, whither he went, taking Anger with him. During the six years that Xavier had been working among the infidels, other Jesuit missionaries had arrived at Goa, sent from Europe by St. Ignatius; moreover some who had been born in the country had been received into the Society. In 1548 Xavier sent these missionaries to the principal centres of India, where he had established missions, so that the work might be preserved and continued. He also established a novitiate and house of studies, and having received into the Society Father Cosme de Torres, a spanish priest whom he had met in the Maluccas, he started with him and Brother Juan Fernández for Japan towards the end of June, 1549. The Japanese Anger, who had been baptized at Goa and given the name of Pablo de Santa Fe, accompanied them.

Novena of Grace Prayer
O most amiable and loving St. Francis Xavier, in union with thee I adore the Divine Majesty. While joyfully giving thanks to God for great graces which He conferred upon thee in life and for the great glory with which He has gifted thee in heaven, I come to thee with heartfelt love, begging thee to secure for me, by thy powerful intercession, the inestimable blessings of living and dying in the state of grace. I also beseech thee to obtain for me the favors I ask in this Novena

Here name your petitions.

But if what I ask is not for the Glory of God, or the good of my soul, do thou obtain for me what is most conducive to both. Amen.

Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father.

V. Pray for us, St. Francis Xavier,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: O God, Who chose to bring into the bosom of the Church the nations of the Indies through the preaching and miracles of St. Francis Xavier, mercifully grant that we may imitate his virtues, whose glorious merits we hold in veneration. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Francis Xavier
Eternal God, Creator of all things, remember that the souls of infidels were created by Thee and formed to Thine own image and after thine own likeness. Behold, O Lord, how to Thy dishonor hell is being filled with these very souls. Remember that Jesus Christ, Thy Son, suffered a most cruel death for their salvation. Do not permit, I beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy divine Son be any longer despised by unbelievers, but rather, being appeased by the prayers of Thy saints and of the Church, the most holy spouse of Thy Son, deign to be mindful of Thy mercy, and forgetting their idolatry and their infidelity, bring them to know Him Whom Thou didst send, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord Who is our health, life, and resurrection, through Whom we have been redeemed and saved, to Whom be all glory forever. Amen.

Novena of Grace - Day 5

In the spring of 1545 Xavier started for Malacca. He labored there for the last months of that year, and although he reaped an abundant spiritual harvest, he was not able to root out certain abuses, and was conscious that many sinners had resisted his efforts to bring them back to God. About January, 1546, Xavier left Malacca and went to Molucca Islands, where the Portuguese had some settlements, and for a year and a half he preached the Gospel to the inhabitants of Amboyna, Ternate, Baranura, and other lesser islands which it has been difficult to identify. It is claimed by some that during this expedition he landed on the island of Mindanao, and for this reason St. Francis Xavier has been called the first Apostle of the Philippines. But although this statement is made by some writers of the seventeenth century, and in the Bull of canonization issued in 1623, it is said that he preached the Gospel in Mindanao, up to the present time it has not been proved absolutely that St. Francis Xavier ever landed in the Philippines.


Novena of Grace Prayer
O most amiable and loving St. Francis Xavier, in union with thee I adore the Divine Majesty. While joyfully giving thanks to God for great graces which He conferred upon thee in life and for the great glory with which He has gifted thee in heaven, I come to thee with heartfelt love, begging thee to secure for me, by thy powerful intercession, the inestimable blessings of living and dying in the state of grace. I also beseech thee to obtain for me the favors I ask in this Novena

Here name your petitions.

But if what I ask is not for the Glory of God, or the good of my soul, do thou obtain for me what is most conducive to both. Amen.

Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father.

V. Pray for us, St. Francis Xavier,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: O God, Who chose to bring into the bosom of the Church the nations of the Indies through the preaching and miracles of St. Francis Xavier, mercifully grant that we may imitate his virtues, whose glorious merits we hold in veneration. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Francis Xavier
Eternal God, Creator of all things, remember that the souls of infidels were created by Thee and formed to Thine own image and after thine own likeness. Behold, O Lord, how to Thy dishonor hell is being filled with these very souls. Remember that Jesus Christ, Thy Son, suffered a most cruel death for their salvation. Do not permit, I beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy divine Son be any longer despised by unbelievers, but rather, being appeased by the prayers of Thy saints and of the Church, the most holy spouse of Thy Son, deign to be mindful of Thy mercy, and forgetting their idolatry and their infidelity, bring them to know Him Whom Thou didst send, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord Who is our health, life, and resurrection, through Whom we have been redeemed and saved, to Whom be all glory forever. Amen.

Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent

SATURDAY AFTER THE FOURTH SUNDAY OF LENT

GOSPEL. ST. JOHN viii, 12-20.

(The Testimony of the Light. The Crucifixion of the Redeemer.)

At that time: Jesus spoke to the multitude of the Jews, saying: I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me, walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life. The Pharisees therefore said to Him: Thou givest testimony of Thyself: Thy testimony is not true. Jesus answered, and said to them: Although I give testimony of Myself, My testimony is true: for I know whence I came or whither I go. You judge according to the flesh: I judge not any man. And if I do judge, My judgment is true; because I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent Me. And in your law it is written, that the testimony of two men is true. I am one that give testimony of Myself: and the Father that sent Me, giveth testimony of Me. They said therefore to Him: Where is Thy Father? Jesus answered: Neither Me do you know, nor My Father: If you did know Me, perhaps you would know My Father also. These words Jesus spoke in the treasury, teaching in the temple: and no man laid hands on Him, because His hour was not yet come.

Christian soul, Jesus declares Himself clearly and distinctly to be the Light of the world, the Witness of the Father and the just Judge. But the Jews did not believe in Him: the only effect on them of His teaching was: "No man laid hands on Him"; not because they did not wish to do so, but "because His hour was not yet come." But the hour came, that hour of horror and terror, concerning which the Scripture says: "And it was the third hour, and they crucified Him."

His right hand was pierced with a nail to expiate the sins which men commit with their hands by robbery and theft, by fraud and injustice, by blows and ill-treatment, by sinful and immodest touches.

His left hand was pierced with a nail to expiate the sins of negligence and omission, remissness in prayer, retaining of ill-gotten goods, neglect of good works.

What pain was experienced by the humble and patient Redeemer, when His right foot was penetrated by a nail and He thereby expiated all the sinful steps made by men from motives of vanity, lust, pride and disobedience, steps leading to occasions of sin, to dangerous places, to bad company.

When they pierced His left foot, how severely did He suffer for our carelessness in attending divine worship, and our indifference in helping those that are in need.

Entreat Almighty God, O Christian Soul, that He may pardon the sins of your hands and feet; that Jesus, the light of the world, may guide all your steps and actions. Pray to your crucified Savior for those who are wandering along dangerous paths, and for those who are unwilling to perform their Easter duty.

LET US PRAY.

May our devotion be made fruitful by Thy grace, we beseech Thee, O Lord, for the fasts we have undertaken will become profitable to us only if they are pleasing to Thy clemency.

O Crucified and Loving Savior, by the merits of Thy unspeakable pains in the crucifixion, pardon our sins, and direct our steps in the path of virtue and justice. Amen.

Novena of Grace - Day 4

On 7 April, 1541, he embarked in a sailing vessel for India, and after a tedious and dangerous voyage landed at Goa, 6 May, 1542. The first five months he spent in preaching and ministering to the sick in the hospitals. He would go through the streets ringing a little bell and inviting the children to hear the word of God. When he had gathered a number, he would take them to a certain church and would there explain the catechism to them. About October, 1542, he started for the pearl fisheries of the extreme southern coast of the peninsula, desirous of restoring Christanity which, although introduced years before, had almost disappeared on account of the lack of priests. He devoted almost three years to the work of preaching to the people of Western India, converting many, and reaching in his journeys even the Island of Ceylon. Many were the difficulties and hardships which Xavier had to encounter at this time, sometimes on account of the cruel persecutions which some of the petty kings of the country carried on against the neophytes, and again because the Portuguese soldiers, far from seconding the work of the saint, retarded it by their bad example and vicious habits.

Novena of Grace Prayer
O most amiable and loving St. Francis Xavier, in union with thee I adore the Divine Majesty. While joyfully giving thanks to God for great graces which He conferred upon thee in life and for the great glory with which He has gifted thee in heaven, I come to thee with heartfelt love, begging thee to secure for me, by thy powerful intercession, the inestimable blessings of living and dying in the state of grace. I also beseech thee to obtain for me the favors I ask in this Novena

Here name your petitions.

But if what I ask is not for the Glory of God, or the good of my soul, do thou obtain for me what is most conducive to both. Amen.

Our Father; Hail Mary; Glory be to the Father.

V. Pray for us, St. Francis Xavier,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.

Let us pray: O God, Who chose to bring into the bosom of the Church the nations of the Indies through the preaching and miracles of St. Francis Xavier, mercifully grant that we may imitate his virtues, whose glorious merits we hold in veneration. Through Christ Our Lord. Amen.

Prayer of Saint Francis Xavier
Eternal God, Creator of all things, remember that the souls of infidels were created by Thee and formed to Thine own image and after thine own likeness. Behold, O Lord, how to Thy dishonor hell is being filled with these very souls. Remember that Jesus Christ, Thy Son, suffered a most cruel death for their salvation. Do not permit, I beseech Thee, O Lord, that Thy divine Son be any longer despised by unbelievers, but rather, being appeased by the prayers of Thy saints and of the Church, the most holy spouse of Thy Son, deign to be mindful of Thy mercy, and forgetting their idolatry and their infidelity, bring them to know Him Whom Thou didst send, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, Our Lord Who is our health, life, and resurrection, through Whom we have been redeemed and saved, to Whom be all glory forever. Amen.