My Family Prayer Book

 Dec-3: Feast of St Francis Xavier SJ December 3rd is the feast day of Saint Francis Xavier (San Francisco Javier). Known as the  " Goencho Saib or Lord of Goa " ,  "Apostle of the Indies" and "Apostle of Japan", he is considered to be one of the greatest missionaries since Paul the Apostle. He is the patron saint of foreign missions (along with  St. Thérèse of Lisieux)   and co-founder of the Society of Jesus (Jesuit Order) along  with Saint Ignatius de Loyola and 5 others. Francis Xavier (christened Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta) was born on April 7th 1506 in the town of Javier (then known as Xavier, which became part of his name) in the Kingdom of Navarre, a Basque area in the Pyrenees (present-day Spain).  At age 19, St. Francis Xavier went to study at the College of Sainte-Barbe in the University of Paris and it was here that he encountered St. Ignatius of Loyola (christened  Iñigo Lopez de Oñaz y Loyola ), who told him of his desire...

  July 31: Feast of St Ignatius Loyola Iñigo Lopez de Oñaz y Loyola, or St. Ignatius Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits, was on his way to military fame and fortune when a cannon ball shattered his leg. Because there were no books of chivalry and romance to read during his convalescence, he read the only ones available on the lives of Christ, St Francis of Assisi and St Dominic. His conscience was deeply touched, and a long, painful turning to Christ began, making him give up his earthly ways.  He traveled through the town of Montserrat, Spain where he gave away his fine clothes to a poor man. Then, in an all-night vigil before the Black Madonna in the local church of the Benedictine abbey, he hung up his sword and dagger. Effectively, his old life was over and his new life as a pilgrim had begun. Enroute to Barcelona he spent ten months serving the poor in a hospital beyond the walls of a town called Manresa. There he prayed deeply on what it truly meant to live a life as...