Francis Xavier 		December 3
Missionary
Francis Xavier was one of the original seven who formed the Society of Jesus with Ignatius Loyola in 1534. Francis became one of the great missionaries to the east, especially Japan. He was born in 1506 into an aristocratic family in Xavier, Navarre, Spain, and was educated in Paris. There he met Ignatius Loyola and became one of the original Jesuits. They took vows to follow Christ in poverty and chastity and to evangelise the heathen. It is as an evangelist that Francis is remembered. He was a brave, passionate and completely single-minded man, whose duty and delight it was to preach the gospel in season and out of season. 
Francis went to Lisbon, and then, at the invitation of King John III of Portugal, he and two companions went to Goa on the west coast of India and landed there in May 1542. Francis Xavier travelled light, eating as the poorest of the people did and sleeping on the ground in a hut. He regarded the cruel way in which Europeans treated the Indians as “a permanent bruise on my soul”. He was continually calling Europeans to the love of Christ, as well as preaching Christ to the Indians, who had not heard the gospel before. He reformed the somewhat lax church in Goa, but spent much of his time in missionary travels despite suffering from chronic seasickness. Low caste Indians heard him gladly, but he had less success among the higher castes. Wherever he went, he organised Christian communities to carry on the work. His journeys took him from Goa to Travancore, Malacca, Ceylon and in 1549 to Japan. 
Francis thought that his mission to Japan had not been successful, but in fact it laid great foundations, which bore fruit in the next generation. He carried out his mission successively in Kagoshima, Hirado and Yamaguchi. He learned Japanese and translated a brief statement of Christian beliefs into Japanese. Eventually he went to the capital, Miyako, and attempted to see the mikado. When not at first admitted to the presence of the mikado because of his unprepossessing poverty, he dressed in finery as a representative of the king of Portugal, and was admitted. He was granted a disused Buddhist monastery for his work. Half a century later, the church in Japan came under severe persecution. After establishing the church in Japan and leaving about 2,000 converts, Francis returned to Goa. He then set out for China, but died on the way there in December 1552.
For Liturgical Use
Francis Xavier was one of the most effective and devoted missionaries who ever lived. He was born in 1506 in Spain, and in 1534 became one of the seven original Jesuits. In 1541 he went to the East Indies to preach the gospel and establish the church. He converted many in the eleven years in which he was actively evangelising in India, Ceylon, Malacca, Malaya, and especially Japan. He died on board ship on his way to China in December 1552.
Sentence
Proclaim God’s glory to the nations, God’s marvellous deeds to all the peoples.	Psalm 96:3
Collects
Merciful and gracious God,
you raise up men and women
to proclaim the good news 
to those who have not heard it;
we praise you for Francis Xavier
and the work he did in the east;
give us wisdom and love 
to commend the faith to others;
through Jesus Christ our Redeemer.

All glory to you, Jesus, for Francis,
your brave, unbending missionary to Goa and Japan,
who gave without counting the cost;
help us also to respect other people’s beliefs.
Psalms	134	138
Readings
Isaiah 43:5-7		From the ends of the earth
2 Timothy 4:1-2		In season, out of season
Matthew 7:13-23		Take the gate to life
Post Communion Sentence
“I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth,” says the Lord.		Isaiah 49:6