“For greater things you were born.” (Ven. Mother Luisita)
TUESDAY, July 6th Mt. 9: 32-38 “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.”
PART 1: Our Lady of Fatima and the Salvation of Souls.
May 13, 2017: First visitation of Our Lady of Fatima to the three shepherd children: Lucia (age 10), and her two cousins, Francisco (age 9) and Jacinto (age 7).
- Our Lady asked the children to pray the Rosary every day.
- Her next request: “Are you willing to offer yourselves to God and bear all the suffering He is willing to send you as an act of reparation for the sins by which He is offended, and supplication for the conversion of sinners?” The children answered yes!
June 13, 2017: Second visitation, Our Lady instructed the children when praying the Rosary:
- “After each one of the mysteries, my children, I want you to pray in this way: ‘O my Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fire of hell. Take all souls to heaven, especially those most in need of Thy mercy.’”
August 19, 2017: Fourth visitation, Our Lady made these two requests:
- “I want you to continue praying the Rosary every day.
- “Pray, pray very much and make sacrifices for sinners; for many souls go to hell because no one is willing to help them with sacrifices and pray for them.”
Part 2: THE SALVATION OF IMMORTAL SOULS! By Fr. Ed Broom, OMV
When he arrived at the University of Paris, Francis Xavier (1506-1552) was motivated by many worldly and vain ambitions. He was a top-notch athlete, a first class scholar, a man who loved life and loved to party, a full-blown extrovert and a friend to many. But there was something missing in his life—an ardent pursuit of God and His honor and glory.
CONVERSION EXPERIENCE. God will pursue Xavier, as in the poem of Francis Thompson, the Hound of Heaven. This pursuit becomes a reality through the providential meeting of two future saints—Francis Xavier and Ignatius of Loyola. For Ignatius, vain and in pursuit of glory as a soldier, the Battle of Pamplona was his “Damascus” experience when a cannon ball shattered his legs and nearly ended his life. It was through this excruciating pain and intense suffering that God was able to intervene and change the path of his life 180 degrees. Suffering and silence, reading and reflecting on the lives of the saints became a catalyst and transforming force in the life of Ignatius of Loyola. With Xavier, God would use a different tool. God knows how to work in each soul so as to bring about conversion, sanctification, and perfection. Xavier’s metanoia/conversion experience would occur through Ignatius and in this manner. Ignatius saw deep in the person of Xavier a great capacity for good, for holiness, for this man to give great honor and glory to God and become a bridge by which many souls could travel from earth to heaven.
TRANSFORMING WORD OF GOD. Xavier, Ignatius, and Peter Favre were roommates at the University of Paris. Ignatius was giving the Spiritual Exercises and lives were being transformed, as in the case of Peter Favre, now known as Saint Peter Favre. However, Xavier refused to do them; he would not capitulate! So Ignatius approached Xavier with these words pronounced by Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: “What would it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” (Mk. 8:36) Time and time again, Ignatius challenged the false security of Xavier with these penetrating words of Jesus. Like a sledge-hammer pounding unceasingly against a stone, Ignatius kept repeating the same Biblical challenge. Finally, Xavier accepted the challenge and agreed to go through the Spiritual Exercises, directed by Ignatius himself. Later, Ignatius admitted that Xavier was one of the hardest nuts to crack, but crack he did, and Xavier’s conversion to Christ was initiated.
SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER. Francis Xavier became a follower of Saint Ignatius and they were ordained as priests together. Ignatius founded and formed the Company of Jesus, known as the Jesuits. Upon the request of the Holy Father, Ignatius sent Francis Xavier on a mission to the Far East, starting in India, working his way through other countries to Japan. Xavier’s most ardent desire was the conversion of China to Christ. After ten years of missionary work, Xavier died on the island of Sanchen overlooking mainland China. He was only 46 years of age. His accomplishments can hardly be numbered: baptisms, so many that he could barely raise his arm at the end of the day; on-going catechism classes for converts; formation of catechists; formation of lay-missionaries to continue spreading the Word of God even further; service to the poor, the sick, and the dying; tireless work as a preacher and missionary. We are just touching the tip of the iceberg with respect to Xavier’s accomplishments, through the grace of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit.
HIS MOTIVATING FORCE. What was the motivating force behind the enormous efforts of Saint Xavier? Quite simply two ideas: to give God the greatest honor and glory, and to work with God for the salvation of as many souls as possible.
HOW CAN WE STRIVE FOR THE SALVATION OF SOULS? This being said, what can we do to imitate Xavier and the saints in this most noble pursuit of working with the Lord for the salvation of immortal souls?
1. RECOGNIZE THE VALUE OF THE IMMORTAL SOUL. Saint Thomas Aquinas, the Angelic Doctor, asserted: “One soul is worth more than the whole created universe.” Reflect upon this assertion! All of creation—stars, moon, oceans, mountains, all living creatures, as well as all the riches and power on earth—all of these together do not have the value of one immortal soul! How enormously sublime is the dignity and destiny of the soul that God has created in His image and likeness! Add the sublimity of this thought: Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ shed every drop of His Precious Blood for all of humanity, but also for each individual soul, for each and every one of us!
2. JESUS’ WORDS: “What would it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” (Mk. 8:36) These words converted the heart and life of Saint Francis Xavier and they can convert our life too! These powerful and penetrating words of Our Lord and Savior puts everything in proper perspective. The richest man in the world, as well as the poorest man, end up in the same place: six feet beneath the ground. In the eyes of God, the richest man in the world is the man who dies in the state of sanctifying grace, which means he will be saved for all eternity!
3. DESIRE OF JESUS AND MARY! In the Diary of Saint Faustina, Jesus constantly reminds the saint that the most important prayer, and the one that pleases Him most, is for the conversion of sinners and the salvation of immortal souls. Our Lady of Fatima reiterates the same desire of Jesus: pray and offer many sacrifices for the conversion of sinners. Many souls are lost because there is nobody to pray and offer sacrifices for them.
4. THE MOST PLEASING OF PRAYERS. The Hearts of Jesus and Mary rejoice every time you offer this prayer: Lord Jesus, through your most Precious Blood that you shed for sinners, I beg of you the conversion and salvation of sinners, especially those who are in most need of your infinite mercy.
5. OFFER IT UP. These three words have enormous meaning and impact if we understand them in the depth that they contain. Interpretation? Yes, we must learn to be like Saint Jacinta Marto, at least to a limited degree, a Little Victim Soul. By this we mean, learn the art of offering up and uniting our sufferings to Jesus who suffered His Bitter Passion for the salvation of all humanity.
6. OFFER UP WHAT??? Our Lady of Fatima told the children to offer up everything, yes everything, for the conversion of sinners and their salvation. Examples: headaches, stomachaches, toothaches, the cold, the heat, the humidity—all physical suffering. Offer up your economic struggles, family trials, sufferings at home and at work. Offer your spiritual aridity and dryness, your struggles with the faith. In other words, you can offer your whole life and your whole being to God through the Immaculate Heart of Mary for the salvation of immortal souls. What are you waiting for? Start now!
7. RESIST AND REJECT TEMPTATIONS. Most likely, we rarely reflect upon our life as a constant battle against the devil, the flesh, and the world. Temptations, whether we like it or not, are part of the human condition! Offer up your resistance and rejection of these temptations for the sake of souls who are slaves of the devil and in jeopardy of losing their salvation!
8. JESUS ON THE CROSS: CONTEMPLATE OUR SUFFERING SAVIOR. Many saints have received countless apostolic blessings and been fired up with zeal for the salvation of souls by contemplating Jesus on the cross. Fridays are the day the Church recommends we offer some form of penance and spend time contemplating Jesus hanging from the cross for our eternal salvation. Let us beg Jesus, through His Passion, death, and Precious Blood for the conversion and salvation of immortal souls. May the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, who bore the wounds of Christ in his body in the stigmata, inspire us: “We adore you, O Christ, and we praise you, because by your holy cross you have redeemed the world.”
9. SAINT FRANCIS XAVIER AND THE LIVES OF THE SAINTS. It must be said that we all need role models on whom we can pattern our lives. Of course, Jesus, Mary, and Saint Joseph are the top three. However, the lives of the saints, and especially the zeal and love of Saint Francis Xavier, can catapult us into the fire and zeal of soul saving! God gives all of us abundant graces, but we must correspond to these graces! Let us keep the lives of the Saints before our eyes to stimulate us, motivate us, and encourage us to work ardently with the Lord for the salvation of souls. Jesus stated it bluntly: “The harvest is rich, but the laborers are few. Beg the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers to work in His vineyard.” (Mt. 9:37-38)
10. OUR LADY: QUEEN OF THE APOSTLES. The first Novena culminated on the Feast of Pentecost—the descent and coming of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles with the Blessed Virgin Mary. Indeed, it was the presence, prayers, and power of the person of Mary, the Mother of God, the Mother of the Church, and the Queen of the Apostles that facilitated and hastened the coming and abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. Fearful, doubting, cowardly men were transformed into ardent, zealous lovers of God and fervent seekers of immortal souls—we call them the Apostles. So strong was their zeal that all, with the exception of Saint John the Evangelist, shed their blood for love of Jesus and the salvation of immortal souls! Therefore, we must enter into the Cenacle with Mary and beg for the coming of the Holy Spirit, this Divine-Invasion, so that we will become the modern fiery, fervent, faithful apostles of the Hearts of Jesus and Mary. May the last of words of Saint Ignatius of Loyola to Saint Francis Xavier, as he departed for India, become ours: GO SET ALL ON FIRE!!!
