The Heel of Our Lady of Guadalupe upon the Global Serpent

 Our Lady of Guadalupe being carried by St Francis while being glorified by the Holy Trinity

Guest Post by David Martin

The first and perhaps greatest prophecy given after the fall of our first parents is contained in Genesis 3:15, where God speaks to the serpent: "She shall crush thy head, and thou shalt lie in wait for her heel." This verse of scripture references the Virgin Mary's Immaculate Conception and the great power she would exert over the devil, especially in the latter times.

The Virgin's appearance at Guadalupe is certainly no exception to this. The word "Guadalupe," derived from the Aztecan word quatlasupe, providentially means "to crush the head of the serpent," which was precisely the work of the Blessed Virgin in her apparition to St. Juan Diego on December 9, 1531. She appeared on the hill called Tepeyac outside of Mexico City, which formerly was the site of the Aztec temple dedicated to the idol Tonotzin. Her mission was to dispel the magic and indigenous practice that had bewitched that part of the world, and bring the One True Universal Faith to the people. Some 9,000,000 Mexican Indians were converted to the Catholic Faith through her intercession, assisted by the clergy of Mexico. She truly stood upon the hill and conquered the serpent!

The clergy of our time are also called to assist Our Lady in this mission to convert the masses and put down the dark forces that presently bewitch the faithful. Unfortunately, these dark forces today are operating under the guises of reform and renewal, evidenced especially by today's ecumenical escapades and the so-called Charismatic Renewal. As with the ancient sorcerers, these false prophets boast of their work in the spirit, but their spirit is the devil, and what they bring is a new religion not connected with the religion of the Apostles. (so-called renewal)

The problem today is that this false spirit is being promoted through the channels of the Church, which gives it credibility in the eyes of the people, so Our Lady's intercession is needed all the more to squelch this revolt and revive the Church in a true renewal where the faithful can glory in their Catholicity, and not in things indigenous or pseudo.

Yea, the Church stands in dire need of a universal renewal of the Traditional Latin Mass, of which Mary is Queen. She is the Mother of the Church and Tabernacle of the Most High!  The rays of eternity streaming from her sacred hands are needed to dispel the darkness of the global serpent, which today is tempting the faithful with a new-found ecological precept that we cleave to "our common home," and not to things eternal.

The argument that it is the clergy and not Our Lady who have the key role in Christianizing the people holds little water when we consider that it was Our Lady who had the key role in converting Mexico, and this being at a time when the Church was in good shape. How much more should this "Queen of Christians" take the lead when the Church is in the worst crisis of its history! The ancient serpent is paganizing the faithful anew, so the same Virgin Mary who nursed the early Church in its infancy is ready to revive the Church in its final battle. Her day has truly come for the final crushing of the serpent's head.

Let us call upon her then and pray that the Americas be united, not under a godless North American Union, but under her protective mantle, that the people of this hemisphere might cut the pagan dancing and Marxist theology, and learn to be truly Christian in the Apostolic sense, fearing God, and reverencing the Queen in the spirit of St. Juan Diego. What the Blessed Virgin wants is consecrated soldiers who can dismiss the pettiness of ethnicity and culture and embrace that which is universal, so that they can rise above themselves and assist the Queen in dispelling the present-day "operation of error to believe lying" (2 Thess 2:10), as it is being advanced by today's Vatican hierarchy.

Yes, the Blessed Virgin is all about restoration, and returning the Church to its former position of honor as it stood before Vatican II. She calls upon the inhabitants of the Americas to assist her in vanquishing the head of the global serpent, that globalism might finally die, and the true Apostolic Faith may persevere.

Note: The Aztec Nahuatl word of coatlaxopeuh which is pronounced "quatlasupe" sounds remarkably like the Spanish word Guadalupe. Coa meaning serpent, tla being the noun ending which can be interpreted as "the", while xopeuh means to crush or stamp out. It is believed Our Lady wanted to be called the one "who crushes the serpent."

Read more >>

Advent Ember Fast Begins Tomorrow

Ember Days are set aside to pray and/or offer thanksgiving for a good harvest and God's blessings. If you are in good health, please at least fast during these three days and pray additional prayers. Remember the words from the Gospel: "Unless you do penance, you shall likewise perish" (Luke 13:5).  Ember Days are days of fasting and abstinence.

Please click here for a special Ember Day Manual, including reflections for the Advent Ember Days.  It is free.

Ember Days this December: 14, 16, and 17

From New Advent:

Ember days (corruption from Lat. Quatuor Tempora, four times) are the days at the beginning of the seasons ordered by the Church as days of fast and abstinence. They were definitely arranged and prescribed for the entire Church by Pope Gregory VII (1073-1085) for the Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday after 13 December (S. Lucia), after Ash Wednesday, after Whitsunday, and after 14 September (Exaltation of the Cross). The purpose of their introduction, besides the general one intended by all prayer and fasting, was to thank God for the gifts of nature, to teach men to make use of them in moderation, and to assist the needy. The immediate occasion was the practice of the heathens of Rome. The Romans were originally given to agriculture, and their native gods belonged to the same class.

At the beginning of the time for seeding and harvesting religious ceremonies were performed to implore the help of their deities: in June for a bountiful harvest, in September for a rich vintage, and in December for the seeding; hence their feriae sementivae, feriae messis, and feri vindimiales. The Church, when converting heathen nations, has always tried to sanctify any practices which could be utilized for a good purpose. At first the Church in Rome had fasts in June, September, and December; the exact days were not fixed but were announced by the priests. The "Liber Pontificalis" ascribes to Pope Callistus (217-222) a law ordering: the fast, but probably it is older. Leo the Great (440-461) considers it an Apostolic institution. When the fourth season was added cannot be ascertained, but Gelasius (492-496) speaks of all four. This pope also permitted the conferring of priesthood and deaconship on the Saturdays of ember week--these were formerly given only at Easter.

Before Gelasius the ember days were known only in Rome, but after his time their observance spread. They were brought into England by St. Augustine; into Gaul and Germany by the Carlovingians. Spain adopted them with the Roman Liturgy in the eleventh century. They were introduced by St. Charles Borromeo into Milan. The Eastern Church does not know them. The present Roman Missal, in the formulary for the Ember days, retains in part the old practice of lessons from Scripture in addition to the ordinary two: for the Wednesdays three, for the Saturdays six, and seven for the Saturday in December. Some of these lessons contain promises of a bountiful harvest for those that serve God.

Read more >>

Holy Love Ministries - Cleveland

As a reminder and for the benefit of your souls, the "Holy Love Ministries" in Cleveland, Ohio and the associated "Missionary Servants of Holy Love" have been condemned by the local diocese.  The alleged apparitions have been deemed not of supernatural origin and the Faithful may not participate in their works or encourage them in any way or risk excommunication. 

If you see mention of this group online, share this decree by the Diocese of Cleveland.

Read more >>

2 Priests and 8 Seminarians Profess Engagements to the SSPX

The website of the SSPX reports this joyous news:

The Feast of the Immaculate Conception (December 8) is the day reserved for when the clerics of the Society of St. Pius X make their engagements to their religious family. This year was no exception, with 2 priests of the United States District making their perpetual engagements: Fr. Jonathan Loop and Fr. Gagnon. 

Additionally, one other priest, Fr. Therasian Xavier, from the District of Asia, was warmly welcomed to the seminary to make his engagement. Father was ordained in Winona in 2011.  His first assignment was Palayamkottai, India, and he has been there ever since.  He was made prior in 2015. 

Finally, we received the joyful news that 8 seminarians made their first engagements this year: Maurizio Balestra, Phillip Delallo, Patrick Dvorak, James Hewko, Joseph Horak, Michael Marcopolus, Edward Simmerer, and Jonathan Steele.

Story and Image Source

Read more >>

Blessed John of Vercelli: 6th Dominican Master

 

Blessed John of Vercelli: Dominican Friar, Priest, Master of the Order, pray for us!

Continuing my articles on the Masters of the Dominican Order, we arrive at the 6th Dominican Master: Blessed John of Vercelli.  Blessed John governed the order after Blessed Humbert of Romans resigned his position due to failing health.  Blessed John governed the Order of Preachers from 1264 - 1283 AD. 

For a quick recap on the previous Masters of the Order, please click here.

Concerning Blessed John, Fr. Gabriel Gillen wrote a concise yet inspiring overview of his life.  That summary is as follows:

John was a native of Vercelli and qualified at Paris as a doctor both of civil and canon law. While he was carrying out this office at Vercelli, encouraged by the Master General Jordan, he entered the Order of Preachers. Later he founded a convent there, which he also governed as prior. Afterwards, while most religiously ruling the Province of Lombardy, he was in the year 1264 elected as sixth Master General of the Order. Austere with himself, gentle towards others, he quickly visited nearly all the Order’s convents in Europe, and for almost twenty years labored fruitfully and attentively for the good of the whole Order. Furthermore, he made out an agenda for the Second Council of Lyons and at the request of Pope Gregory X zealously propagated the practice of showing reverence to the name of Jesus. John strenuously upheld the reputation and teaching of Thomas Aquinas. Averse to honors and unremitting in his work, he died peacefully at Montpellier. The devotion shown to him from time immemorial was confirmed by Pius X.

It should further be mentioned that Blessed John, when joining the Dominican Order, was received by Blessed Jordan of Saxony, the 2nd Master of the Order, early after the Order's formation.  After becoming a friar, he was transferred to Bologna, Italy where he studied History and the Theology of the Order before being ordained a priest in 1229.  He went on to be an exquisite preacher throughout Bologna.

It was upon his return to Vercelli in 1232 that he established a Dominican Priory and served as its Superior.  While in northern Italy, he fought many heresies and became the friend of King St. Louis IX of France and of St. Thomas Aquinas.  Reflecting on our Lord's words in the Beatitudes praising peacemakers, Blessed John shined as a brilliant peacemaker between Venice and the Papal States during this period.

It was then in 1264 he became the Master General of the illustrious Order founded by St. Dominic.  As Master General, he insured uniform liturgical celebrations throughout the Order and also served at the Papal Court of Pope Clement IV.  After the death of Pope Clement, and upon learning that he was being considered to fill the shoes of the Pope, Blessed John fled the city in humility.  Thus, Pope Gregory X was elected instead.

According to tradition, during the translation of the relics of Saint Dominic in 1267, when the body was exposed to view, the head was seen to turn towards Blessed John. Embarrassed, John moved to another part of the church, giving his place to a cardinal. The head of Saint Dominic was seen by all to turn again toward John.

While still Master of the Order of Preachers, in 1274, Blessed John founded what would eventually become the Confraternity of the Most Holy Name of God and Jesus (Holy Name Society).  In 1278, he was appointed the Archbishop of Jerusalem, but he was released from this responsibility after pleading for it on account of his ill health and advanced age. 

At last on November 30, 1283, Blessed John passed from this life to the next in Montpelier, France due to natural causes.  He was buried at the Dominican convent there but in 1562, the Calvinist heretics desecrated the Church and his body was lost.  It was in 1903 that Pope St. Pius X beatified him.

Prayer:    

God of power and mercy, you made Blessed John an outstanding promoter of the order of Preachers. By his remarkable zeal, his wonderful prudence and his courage, and with the help of his prayers may your family always and everywhere be governed by beneficial rule. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. – General Calendar of the Order of Preachers 

Read more >>

Pope St. Victor I

SemiDouble (1954 Calendar): July 28

Next in the continuing series of posts on the History of the Sovereign Pontiffs, we pick up after Pope St. Eleuterus and come to the 14th Sovereign Pontiff: Pope St. Victor I.

St. Victor, who reigned as the Supreme Pontiff from 189 until 199 AD, was born in Africa.  In fact, St. Victor is the first Pope to have been of African origin.  It was St. Victor who made Latin the official language of the Roman Catholic Church.

St. Victor was a favorite of the mistress of the Emperor Commodus, and his good relationship with her allowed him to present to her lists of imprisoned Christians.  Through her power, she was able to secure their releases.  Yet, his reign was not without its difficulties.  As stated online:

During his reign, he excommunicated several bishops for celebrating Easter on 14 Nisan.   Prior to his elevation, a difference in dating the celebration of the Christian Passover/Easter between Rome and the bishops of Asia Minor had been tolerated by both the Roman and Eastern churches. The churches in Asia Minor celebrated it on the 14th of the Jewish month of Nisan, the day before Jewish Passover, regardless of what day of the week it fell on, as the Crucifixion had occurred on the Friday before Passover, justifying this as the custom they had learned from the apostles; for this the Latins called them Quartodecimans.

Synods were held on the subject in various parts—in Palestine under Theophilus of Caesarea and Narcissus of Jerusalem, in Pontus under Palmas, in Gaul under Irenaeus, in Corinth under its bishop, Bachillus, at Osrhoene in Mesopotamia, and elsewhere—all of which disapproved of this practice and consequently issued by synodical letters declaring that "on the Lord's Day only the mystery of the resurrection of the Lord from the dead was accomplished, and that on that day only we keep the close of the paschal fast" (Eusebius H. E. v. 23). St. Irenaeus of Lyons criticized St. Victor's severity at times. 

Accounts also show that Victor excommunicated Theodotus of Byzantium for teaching that Christ was a mere man.  Yet, St. Victor remained steadfast and stern as he faced great threats to the True Faith from both Gnosticism and Monarchianism. 

In 199, St. Victor I ultimately suffered martyrdom under Septimus Severus.  All in all, St. Victor fought for the True Faith and strongly condemned heresies strongly for the uniformity of the Church.

St. Victor, pray for us!  All You Holy Popes, pray for us!

Collect:

Defend us, O Lord, through the blessed martyrdom of Your saints Nazarius, Celsus, Victor, and Innocent, and may their merits support us in our weakness. Through our Lord . . .

Read more >>

Commemoration of St. Sabbas

Commemoration (1954 Calendar): December 5

Besides a feria day in Advent, today is the Commemoration of St. Sabbas the Abbot.

The website TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS PROPERS IN ENGLISH says of St. Sabbas: "When Sabbas (439-532), a native of Cappadocia, was twenty years old, he became a disciple of the great solitary, St. Euthymius, in the Judean wilderness. On the death of Euthymius, Sabbas was made leader of the solitaries by the appointment of the patriarch of Jerusalem. Several times he left his loved solitude to intervene with the Emperors of the East for the liberty and welfare of the Church. Venerated for his holiness, Sabbas died on December 5, 532 A.D., at the age of 93."

Collect:

Let the Blessed abbot Sabbas intercede for us, O Lord. May his prayers win us Your help, since our own actions cannot merit it. Through Our Lord . . .

Read more >>

Spiritual Communion for the Divorced & Remarried: Is it Possible?

This relevant and timely article is taken from the website of the Society of St. Pius X:

Teaching of Trent

We begin with the Council of Trent, which explains the tri-fold distinction concerning reception of Holy Communion:

One may receive only sacramentally because they are sinners. Others receive it only spiritually; they are the ones who, receiving in desire the heavenly bread put before them, with a living faith ‘working through love’ (Gal. 5:6), experience its fruit and benefit from it. The third group receive it both sacramentally and spiritually (can. 8); they are the ones who examine and prepare themselves beforehand to approach this divine table, clothed in the wedding garment (cf. Matt. 22:11f ).”

The State of Grace is Needed for Communion

Like all Christians, the divorced and remarried must imperatively be in the state of grace in order to receive Communion both sacramentally and spiritually. If this is not the case, they must first recover the state of grace by going to confession with true contrition.

State of Mortal Sin

By establishing a life together and having intimate relations although at least one of them is bound by a valid sacramental marriage, the divorced and remarried enter into a counterfeit marriage. Not satisfied with sinning by adultery in act – which was already reproved by the Old Law (Ex. 20:14) – and in thought – which Jesus Christ sternly blamed (Matt. 5:28) –, they turn this sin into a stable and permanent condition of life. The state of mortal sin that results from this is the consequence that makes it impossible for them to receive the Eucharist worthily, unless they first purify their conscience through the sacrament of Penance.

Firm Purpose Not to Sin

Contrition – the necessary preliminary to a valid absolution – requires of the divorced and remarried not only sorrow for their past sins, but also the firm purpose to sin no more. Concretely, this means that they must, without delay, put an end to their life together and to their intimate relations, which ordinarily constitute near and free occasions of sin. If they do not accomplish these necessary changes, their contrition is only apparent, the absolution invalid, and the confession sacrilegious. Obviously, partaking of Holy Communion in such a condition would only make their situation worse.

Which Separation?

Per se, the divorced and remarried have an obligation to separate, for living together places them in a near and free occasion of sin.

Per accidens, their life together can and must be tolerated when they have grave obligations in justice towards the children born of their union. Although in a near and necessary occasion of sin due to the fact that they live together, they must nonetheless without delay put an end to all intimate relations. Separate bedrooms, which will allow them to live as brother and sister, are an indispensible condition for the absolution of their sins. Making this requirement concrete will appear to them as an unequivocal sign of their return to God and their effective ability to receive His pardon.

If their condition as divorced and remarried is unknown to the community to which they belong, there is nothing to hinder them from receiving Communion publicly. That is to say, their reception of the Eucharist will not cause a public scandal or appear as an affront to faith and morals. However, If this is not the case, the fact that the couple have children together may lead others to believe the couple continues to have intimate relations. In such circumstances, their public reception of Communion may cause scandal and they should therefore be encouraged to make frequent acts of Spiritual Communion. It should be up to the discretion of the couple's priest when and if they should be given Communion privately.

Same Requirements for Sacramental and Spiritual Communion

However, this counsel is not suitable for those who are not in the state of grace, either because they continue to live together when they can and must separate, or because they continue to have intimate relations when their life together is tolerated for serious reasons. Indeed, the dispositions of soul required to draw profit from Communion – faith and charity - are identical whether the Communion be spiritual or sacramental. This is confirmed by Fr. Felix Capello, S.J. in his Tractatus Canonico-Moralis: “[H]e who is in mortal sin” must at least “repent in his heart if he wishes to spiritually communicate profitably." This is further supported by Fr. Francis D. Costa, S.S.S., in his study, "Nature and Effects of Spiritual Communion," from the Proceedings of the Catholic Theological Society of America in 1958: "The person [making an act of Spiritual Communion] must be in the state of grace, since this is a necessary condition for Holy Communion, and also because this desire is essentially an act of love of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament."

Conclusion

Even though divorced and remarried couples who have not repented would find no merit in acts of Spiritual Communion, it is still praiseworthy to instill in them an ardent desire for receiving the sacraments of Penance and the Eucharist. Such persons should be reminded in charity that they place their immortal souls in grave danger by continuing to live in sin. So long as they persist in their sin, they cannot properly partake of Communion; to do so would place their Salvation in even greater peril.

Read more >>

St. Peter Chrysologus

Double (1954 Calendar): December 4

St. Peter Chrysologus (which means "The Man of Golden Speech) is an illustrious Doctor of the Church known for his eloquent sermons.  Two hundred of his sermons still remain.  St. Peter was the Archbishop of Ravenna, meaning made such after a miraculous intervention.  He worked to eradicate all remaining traces of paganism in his land as well as all abuses among the Christians.  He is famous for his phrase: "He who wants to laugh with the devil cannot rejoice with Christ."

The St. Benedict Center writes of him: "Saint Peter Chrysologus was only forty-four years old when he died. Yet he has been declared one of the thirty-two Doctors of the Catholic Church. His name Chrysologus means golden speech. All his sermons are in the clear, simple, authoritative style of Our Lord when He preached to the Apostles and told them how to preach to others. Saint Peter Chrysologus was the Archbishop of Ravenna in Italy. He was one of the great crusaders for frequent Holy Communion among the faithful."

Today is also the Commemoration of St. Barbara, the glorious virgin and martyr.

Traditional Matins Reading:

Peter, surnamed, for his golden eloquence, Chrysologus, was born at Forum Cornelii (Imola) in Æmilia, of respectable parents. Turning his mind to religion from his childhood, he put himself under Cornelius, the bishop of that city, who was a Roman, In a short while he made such progress in learning and holiness of life, that, in due time, the bishop ordained him deacon. Not long after, it happened that the archbishop of Ravenna having died, the inhabitants of that city sent, as usual, to Rome the successor they had elected, that this election might be confirmed by the holy Pope Sixtus III. Cornelius, who was also sent in company with the deputies of Ravenna, took with him the young deacon. Meanwhile, the apostle Saint Peter, and the holy martyr Apollinaris, appeared to the Roman Pontiff in his sleep. They stood with the young levite between them, and ordered the Pontiff to create him, and none other, archbishop of Ravenna. The Pontiff, therefore, no sooner saw Peter than he recognized him as the one chosen by God; and rejecting the one presented to him, he appointed Peter to the metropolitan Church of that city, in the year of our Lord 433. At first, the deputies from Ravenna were dissatisfied at this decision of the Pope; but, having been told of the vision, they readily acquiesced in the divine will, and received the new archbishop with the greatest reverence.

Peter, therefore, being, though reluctant, consecrated archbishop, was conducted to Ravenna, where he was received with the greatest joy by the emperor Valentinian, and Galla Placidia the emperor’s mother, and the whole people. On his part, he told them that he asked of them but this, that since he had not refused this great burden for their salvation’s sake, they would make it their study to follow his counsels, and to obey the commandments of God. He then buried in the city the bodies of two saints, after having embalmed them with the most precious perfumes; Barbatian, a priest, was one; and the other, Germanus, bishop of Auxerre, whose cowl and hair-shirt he claimed as his own inheritance. He ordained Projectus and Marcellinus bishops. In the town of Classis he erected a fountain of an incredible size, and built some magnificent churches in honour of several saints, of Saint Andrew among the rest. The people had a custom of assisting at certain games, on the first day of January, which consisted of theatrical performances and dances; the saint repressed these by the severity with which he preached against them. One of his expressions deserves to be handed down: He that would play with the devil, can never enjoy the company of Jesus. At the command of Pope St. Leo I., he wrote to the Council of Chalcedon against the heresy of Eutyches. He answered Eutyches himself by another epistle, which has been added to the acts of that same Council in the new editions, and has been inserted in the ecclesiastical annals.

In his sermons to the people he was so earnest, that at times his voice completely failed him, as in his sermon on the woman healed by our Lord, as mentioned in the ninth chapter of St. Matthew; on which occasion his people of Ravenna were so affected, and so moved to tears, that the whole church rang with their sobbings and prayers, and the saint afterwards thanked God that he had turned the failure of his speech into the gain of so much love. After having governed that Church, in a most holy manner, about eighteen years, and having received a divine warning that his labours were soon to end, he withdrew to his native town. There he visited the church of St Cassian, and presented an offering of a largo golden diadem, set with most precious stones, which he placed upon the high altar: he also gave a golden cup, and a silver paten, which imparts to water poured on it the virtue of healing the bites of mad dogs, and of assuaging fevers, as frequent instances have attested. He then took leave of those who had accompanied him from Ravenna, admonishing them to spare no pains in electing for their pastor him who was the most worthy. Immediately after this he turned in humble prayer to God, that, through the intercession of his patron St. Cassian, he would mercifully receive his soul; and calmly passed out of this life, on the third of the Nones of December (Dec. 3), about the year 450. His holy body was buried, amidst the tears and prayers of the whole city, near the body of the same St. Cassian: there it is venerated even at this day; though Ravenna possesses and venerates one of the arms, which was enshrined in gold and gems and placed in the basilica Ursicana.

Collect:

 O God, You miraculously chose the blessed and illustrious doctor Peter Chrysologus to rule and instruct Your Church. Grant that he who on earth was our guide along the way of supernatural life may be our intercessor in heaven. Through Our Lord . . .

Read more >>

St. Francis Xavier: True Jesuit Missionary

Greater Double (1954 Calendar): December 3

St. Francis Xavier is truly the modern apostle.  He was born in Spanish Navarre in 1506 and in 1528, he met St. Ignatius of Loyola.  He became one of the seven in 1534 who founded the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order).  In 1536, he left the University of Paris and joined St. Ignatius in Venice.  He was ordained in 1537, and in 1540 after the Society was recognized by the Pope, he journeyed to the Far East.  Francis Xavier first evangelized the Portuguese colony of Goa in India, then Travancore, Ceylon, Malacca, and the surrounding islands. From there he journeyed to Japan, where he gave Christianity such deep roots that it survived centuries of violent persecution. He died on Sancian Island in 1552, while he was seeking to penetrate into the great forbidden land of China.

Despite language problems, lack of funds, resistance from the Europeans as well as the natives, he persevered.  St. Francis converted more people in his life than anyone since the Apostle St. Paul.  He baptized over 3 million people, converted the entire town of Goa in India, and he labored in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, and Japan. He is truly a missionary par excellence.

St. Francis Xavier, patron saint of missionaries, pray for our missionaries to succeed in winning souls.

Taken From THE LITURGICAL YEAR, by Dom Guéranger OSB:

The apostles being the 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;  . . . But God has not wished that the first apostolate should be the only one to appear on the first page 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. [Ps. xci. 15] 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, this 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 purity 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 these is brought before us today, 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 desire to convert infidel countries, when their 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 death. 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 zeal, hundreds of thousands of infidels Baptized 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 east 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.

Tradtional Matins Reading:

Francis was born of noble parents, at Xavier, in the diocese of Pampelona. Having gone to Paris, he there became the companion and disciple of Saint Ignatius. Under such a master, he arrived at so high a contemplation of Divine things, as to be sometimes raised above the ground: which occasionally happened to him whilst saying Mass before crowds of people. He had merited these spiritual delights by his several mortifications of the body; for he never allowed himself either flesh meat, or wine, or even wheaten bread, and ate only the coarsest food; he not infrequently abstained, for the space of two or three days, from every sort of nourishment. He scourged himself so severely with disciplines, to which were fastened pieces of iron, as to be frequently covered with blood. His sleep, which he took on the ground, was extremely short.

Such austerity and holiness of life had fitted him for the labours of an apostle; so that when John III, king of Portugal, asked of Paul III that some of the newly-founded Society might be sent to the Indies, that Pontiff, by the advice of St. Ignatius, selected Francis for so important a work, and gave him the powers of apostolic nuncio. Having reached those parts, he was found to be, on a sudden, divinely gifted with the knowledge of the exceedingly difficult and varied languages of the several countries. It sometimes even happened, that whilst he was preaching in one language to the people of several nations, each heard him speaking in their own tongue. He traveled over innumerable provinces, always on foot, and not infrequently bare-footed. He carried the faith into Japan, and six other countries. He converted to Christ many hundred thousands in the Indies, and Baptized several princes and kings. And yet, though he was doing such great things for God, he was so humble, that he never wrote to St. Ignatius, then General of the Society [the Jesuits], but on his knees.

God blessed this zeal for the diffusion of the Gospel by many and extraordinary miracles. The Saint restored sight to a blind man. By the Sign of the Cross he changed sea-water into fresh, sufficient for many days, for a crew of five hundred men, who were dying from thirst. This water was afterwards taken into several countries, and being given to sick people, they were instantly cured. He raised several dead men to life; one of these had been buried on the previous day, so that the corpse had to be taken out of the grave; two others were being carried to the grave, when the Saint took him by the hand, and, raising them from the bier, restored them to their parents. Being continually gifted with the spirit of prophecy, he foretold many future events, or such as were happening in most distant parts. At length, full of merit, and worn out by his labours, he died on the second day of December, in Sancian, an island off the coast of China. His corpse was twice buried in unslaked lime, but was found, after several months, to be incorrupt: blood flowed from it, and it exhaled a pleasing fragrance: when it was brought to Malacca, it instantly arrested a raging pestilence. At length, fresh and extraordinary miracles being everywhere wrought through the intercession of the man of God, he was enrolled among the Saints by Gregory XV; and Pope Pius X declared him heavenly patron of the Society for the Propagation of the Faith and its work.

Collect:

O God, Who wast pleased to gather into Thy Church the nations of the Indies by the preaching and miracles of blessed Francis, mercifully grant that we, who venerate his glorious merits, may also imitate the example of his virtues. Through our Lord...

Read more >>