Happy Birthday Francis Xavier

St. Francis Xavier, the great missionary saint of the Roman Catholic Church, was the son of Don John Giasso and Donna Maria d'Azpilqueta y Xavier; he was born at the castle Xavier, near Pamplona, Spain, on April 7, 1506, and is known to history by his mother's name.

At the age of eighteen he entered the University of Paris, where in due course he graduated, and then devoted himself to teaching. It was here that he became acquainted with Ignatius Loyola the founder of the Jesuits, who was then planning the colossal work which he afterwards accomplished. Xavier became one of the first nine of Loyola's converts, and the most enthusiastic of the little band. The date of the first vows by these early Jesuits was August 15, 1534, and the place as Montmartre near Paris. We also find Xavier at Venice with Loyola in 1537, where the visitation of a hospital for incurables was assigned to him. Here in the discharge of his duties he gave early evidence of his enthusiasm and self-devotion.

The Jesuits subsequently visited Rome, where John III of Portugal desired some of them for mission work in India.  Circumstances led to the selection of Xavier for the work. He left Rome in March 1540, and set sail on his 35th birthday April 7, 1541, for Goa, India— the chief city of the Portuguese possessions, where he arrived on May 6, 1542. From that time to the day of his death at Sancian, near Canton, on Dec. 22, 1552, he devoted himself to his work in a most heroic and devoted manner, visiting Travancore, Ceylon, Malacca, Japan, and other foreign lands with Cross in hand, and a burning zeal in his heart.

Xavier's life has been written by many hands. The roll of deeds which he is said to have done, and the miracles he is said to have wrought, even to the raising of the dead, is long  Many of the alleged facts are open to the gravest doubt, and others are beyond belief. The hymn associated with Xavier's name is, "O Deus ego amo Te, Nec amo Te ut salves me.” The hymn may possibly be his as it breathes his abnegation of self in every word, his spirit in every line.

O Deus, ego amo te,
Nec amo te, ut salves me,
Aut, quia non amantes te

Æterno punis igne.

Tu, tu, mi Jesu, totum me
Amplexus es in cruce;
Tuliste clavos, lanceam,
Multamque ignominiam,
Innumeros dolores,
Sudores, et angores,
Et mortem, et hæc propter me,
Ac pro me peccatore.
Cur igitur non amem te,
O Jesu amantissime,
Non, ut in cœlo salves me,
Aut ne æternum damnes me
Nec præmii ullius spe;
Sed sicut tu amasti me?
Sic amo et amabo te,
Solum quia Rex meus es,
Et solum, quia Deus es.

This hymn was translated by Fr. Gerard Manley Hopkins, S.J.

O GOD, I love thee, I love thee-
Not out of hope of heaven for me
Nor fearing not to love and be
In the everlasting burning.
Thou, thou, my Jesus, after me
Didst reach thine arms out dying,
For my sake sufferedst nails, and lance,
Mocked and marred countenance,
Sorrows passing number,
Sweat and care and cumber,
Yea and death, and this for me,
And thou couldst see me sinning:
Then I, why should not I love thee,
Jesu, so much in love with me?
Not for heaven's sake;
not to be out of hell by loving thee;
Not for any gains I see;
But just the way that thou didst me
I do love and I will love thee:
What must I love thee, Lord, for then?
For being my king and God. Amen.

Happy birthday Francis Xavier

P.S. I Love You

Earlier this month, I finished a five day silent retreat at the Trappist Monastery of Gethsemani, just south of Louisville.  I am still glowing in the graces.  One of the little unexpected joys from this retreat came as I was trying to fall asleep one night.  I was reading a few chapters out of Thomas Merton’s No Man Is An Island, when I came across a page that drew me in to a brief meditation of love and great memories.

Understand: the book I was reading was one I brought with me.  It was published in the 1950s or so, and had been a lying around our family home in various bookshelves for decades as I was growing up.  Someone probably gave it to my dad.  Recently, our family homestead had undergone a few renovations, and in the cleaning, some of these old volumes were sitting out.  I decided to snatch this Merton book and take it on retreat.

So there I am reading in bed when I turned the page and found a little surprise: a child’s name scribbled at the bottom.  Not just any child, but my loving sister Jane had scribbled her name in that book when she was three.  Whatever theological or metaphysical stuff I was reading at the time just drifted away.  My memories took over and conjured up an image of little Janie sitting in the living room at 501 Beal, randomly pulling books off the shelf, inscribing each one with her name.  She probably had just learned to print it and so wanted practice.

For my money, back then in … oh, 1962… she was directed by her Guardian Angel to plant a little surprise for her big bro Pat.  The angel told Janie that the surprise wouldn’t be found for another half a century.  But Janie didn’t care.  She just wanted to write her name and see how cute it looked amidst all the other high-brow talk about God.  Little did Janie know that her message meant more to her big brother than anything Merton could write.

I laid the book down, and for the rest of the evening last night, I enjoyed so many other memories about my little sister, her hand-made doll house, Barbara Pengy First-Step and several other Christmas scenes from the past.  God knows how to get through to us, even in print.  Happy New Year to all.

PS: I Love you Jane!

The Two Of Us

In Catholic news reports lately, I have been reading about the Vatican's critical "doctrinal assessment" of women religious groups in the U.S.  Seems like American nuns and sisters are being under-appreciated.  You can get an update here.

This leads me to say a few words of appreciation about two women religious who have had a great influence on my life.  These are my two aunts:  Aunt Therese and Aunt Peggy.

Aunt Therese is my father's sister.  She is now Sr. Mary Joseph, O.P., a Dominican cloistered nun who lives in a contemplative community in North Guilford, CT

The charism and mission of her community is to serve the Lord in perpetual adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.

Aunt Peggy is my mother's sister: Sr. Margaret Sehlstedt, M.M., a Maryknoll missionary sister who spent may years working and teaching in Japan.  Her current mission is to care for my mother in Hamilton, OH.  Her community has sent her to care for the elderly in a very specific way.

Both these women have been models of faith and religious commitment for me ever since I was a boy.  I certainly owe much of my Jesuit vocation to them.  I tell people I fall right in between their theological trends:  Therese on the right, and Peg on the left.  Can there be a Jesuit firmly planted in the middle?  Hard to say.

Thank you, lord, for the example and service of these two great women.  May the seeds they planted grow deep and bring to harvest the greatest of shrubs and trees for birds and other singing voices to give God praise.
_________________________

“I am not sure exactly what heaven will be like, but I know that when we die and it comes time for God to judge us, he will not ask, 'How many good things have you done in your life?' rather he will ask, 'How much love did you put into what you did?”
― Mother Teresa

Real Love

June 15, 2012:  The Church and loving believers recognize the upcoming Feast of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus.  What does that mean?  Basically, that the love you feel for those you've met thus far, is all a part of God's loving plan to take you for His own.  We are here for His honor and glory, and he brings us together for His Father.  Simple.

See you in Church!

In the words of Fr. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J.:

The world-zest
The essence of all energy
The cosmic curve
The heart of God
The issue of cosmogenesis
The tide of cosmic convergence
The God of evolution
The universal Jesus. . .
Focus of ultimate and universal energy Center of the
cosmic sphere of cosmogenesis Heart of Jesus,
heart of evolution,
unite me to yourself.

In Gratitude for Priesthood and Family

A Prayer for Priests

May God bless you
in your priesthood.
Thank you for your ministry;
You are in our prayers.

There were seven children
and then seven more,
and it was given to the seventh
child to hold them all in all.

Seven times a day he'd pray,
and seven times a week.

He'd care and call and play and all,
just to keep us all in all.

He is the middle child,
whose call is to keep us all
on the middle path.

To keep us moving slow or fast
towards the goal we all aim at,
his name is Pat.

Thank you for all you do,
you are a blessing.

Love, Dan

Deo Gratias

Hey everybody ...
I wanted to express a note of thanks for all the great messages I have been receiving this day.

Certainly there is no way to express my true gratitude, as the messages of love have come from so many different folks from a zillion points of my life: through email, phone calls (thanks Mom), cards, and Facebook. I just want to acknowledge that these simple and faithful greetings and wishes are sources of life for me. Each one gives me pause to thank God for you and for the times when our paths have intersected.

Many of you may not know that July 17 is also the day my Dad was called to the Lord in 2008. Above is a photo of him and me, and of course my mother the living saint! I was happy to celebrate Mass in my community this morning and offer the Mass for the memory of my Dad.

So, on behalf of my father and the angels who attend to him, I send a sincere prayer of gratitude for those who contacted me today. Never underestimate the power of one message to wish someone a happy birthday. These are blessings for me, and I use them to give me strength and "Spiritus" for the work ahead this year.

I mean ... how do you think it makes a guy feel when over 80 messages come from friends and family all day long. It's like love overload. Which is kinda what heaven is like. Check out this reminder I get from Facebook, like every 10 minutes or so.

Please keep me in prayer as I do my best to serve the Church and her mission. And say a prayer that my upcoming vacation gives me the rest and recharging of batteries I need for 2011-2012.
Peace to you all.

Patrick Alexis Fairbanks

PS: Check out this past site for a little insight to St. Alexis: St Alexis, July 17

Good Friday

Crux Christi salus mea