Day LOrd God of the Archangels whom thou dost intrust in the most weighty Concerns of thy Glory and the Benefit of Men I offer up to thee the Merits of these most diligent Spirits and those of thy great Servant St. Francis Xaverius whom thou madest the Minister of thy Glory and to whom thou recommendedst the Spiritual Welfare of innumerable Souls I beseech thee grant that I may perform those Duties which thy most Holy and Divine Will has imposed upon me and also that I may obtain that particular Grace which I beg of thee in this Novena to thy greater Honour and Glory Amen The Third Day LOrd God of the Principalities who according to the Disposition of the Divine Will by means of Angels and Archangels takes care of the Welfare of Mankind enlightning instructing and governing them I offer up to thee the Merits of these most zealous Spirits and those of thy Servant St. Francis Xaverius who enlightned and converted many Kingdoms and Provinces and in them innumerable Souls not only by himself but by his Disciples and Followers Instructing Teaching and Commanding I beseech thee grant me the zeal of this Holy Apostle and the particular Petition I tender in this Novena to thy greater Honour and Glory Amen The Fourth Day LOrd God of the Powers who have a special Prerogative to curb the Infernal Spirits I offer up to thee the Merits of these most potent Spirits and those of thy Servant St. Francis Xaverius to whom thou gavest singular Power of expelling Devils from Bodies and Souls I beseech thee grant me the Grace to overcome all the Temptations of the Devil and that which I beg of thee in this Novena to thy greater Honour and Glory Amen The Fifth Day LOrd God of the Virtues by whose means thou workest Miracles and Prodigies peculiar to thy Sovereign Power I offer up to thee the Merits of these most Stupendious Spirits and those of thy Servant St. Francis Xaverius whom thou madest a new Thaumaturgus or Worker of new and prodigious Miracles renewing in him the Signs and Wonders of thy Blessed Apostles that he might discover the Gospel to new Nations I beseech thee grant me that profound Humility wherewith St. Francis Xaverius amidst so many Miracles sought thy Glory and not his own Honour as also that which I beg in this Novena to thy greater Honour and Glory Amen The Sixth Day LOrd God of the Dominations which preside over all inferior Spirits as Ministers of thy Providence and submit themselves to thy Will being ever ready to fulfil it I offer up to thee the Merits of these excellent Spirits and those of St. Francis Xaverius who tho' Superior to many yet humbly submitted himself to all Superiors in them acknowledging thy Majesty and readily fulfilling their Commands I beseech thee grant me a ready and perfect Obedience to all my Superiors and that special Petition which I make in this Novena to thy greater Honour and Glory Amen The Seventh Day LOrd God of the Thrones on whom thou reposest as on the Seat of thy Glory and Chair of thy Majesty I offer up to thee the Merits of these supream Spirits and those of St. Francis Xaverius that Throne of thy Glory that Vessel of Election to convey thy Name to new Nations who denyed himself to himself and to all worldly things casting them out of his Heart that thou alone mightest possess it I beseech thee grant that I may despise all worldly things and rest in thee alone grant me also the Petition I make in this Novena to thy greater Honour and Glory Amen The Eighth Day LOrd God of the Cherubins who are adorned with most perfect Wisdom I offer up to thee the Merits of these most knowing Spirits and those of thy Servant St. Francis Xaverius whom thou didst grace with supereminent Wisdom and to whom thou didst reveal most profound Secrets that he might teach thy Law to many People and Nations I beseech thee grant that I may learn to fear and please thee which is true Wisdom and that by Word and Example I may teach others to keep thy Commandments and that thou wilt also grant me the Favour I beg in this Novena to thy greater Honour and Glory Amen The Ninth Day LOrd God of the Seraphins who are inflam'd with most ardent Love of thee I offer up to thee the Merits of these most fervent Spirits and those or thy Servant St Francis Xaverius who like a Seraphin was enflamed with thy Love conquering innumerable Hardships and Dangers of his Life to please thee and to make those know and love thee who before offended thee and knew thee not I beseech thee grant that I may love thee my only God and my Lord and endeavour to bring all Men to the Knowledge and Love of thee and also that thou wilt grant me that which I ask in this Novena to thy greater Honour and Glory Amen The Rapture of an affectionate Soul before a Crucifix Compos'd in Latin by St. Francis Xaverius O God I love thee not that thou Shouldst love me for 't nor love I do ' Cause Hell for those that love thee not Will be their Everlasting Lot Thou thou my Jesus didst embrace Me wholly on thy Cross of Grace Thou bor'st for me in thy last Trance The Thorns the Nails the Gall the Lance Pains Anguishes and bloody Sweats Much Ignominy and more evil Treats And Death and all for sake of me For me a Sinner O Love's Prodigy Why then most loving Jesus why Should I not love thee till I die Not to avoid the Pains of Hell Nor yet in Heaven for e'er to dwell But meerly ' cause thou lovedst me Not for Reward will I love thee Will I love thee with all my Heart Because my God my Lord thou art Amen This Prayer may be said at the End of both Devotions MOst Glorious St. Francis Xaverius Apostle of the Indies and mighty in thy Works for the great Compassion thou showest to all Men and for that most ardent Zeal with which during the Term of ten Years thou didst labour in the East for the Salvation of Souls I beseech thee that thou wilt efficaciously interceed with God for the Conversion of Infidels and of all Sinners that thou wilt pray for the afflicted Souls in Purgatory and for the true Peace and Prosperity of Christians especially of those that are devoted to thee and that thou wilt obtain for me of our Lord this Grace and Favour which I N. beg of thee with the most sincere Affection I am able Holy Saint as thou art favourable and loving to all Persons be so also to me tho' an unworthy Sinner Grant me this Request to the Glory of God and to thy own Honour Amen FINIS AN INSTRUCTION TO Perform with Fruit THE DEVOTION OF Ten FRIDAYS In Honour of St. Francis Xaverius APOSTLE of the INDIES Much practised in Rome and augmented particularly of late by some Authentick Miracles wrought by the
all Creatures HEre are Devout Reader two Considerations the first to be imitated the second to be admired yet both very profitable for you for whether you imitate or admire Saint Xaverius you may assure your self of his Protection and Intercession The first is his Love of God the second his Power over all Creatures As for the first what do you think Devout Client of St. Francis of the Love he bore to God His whole Life is a sufficient Proof thereof according to that great Saying Probatio dilectionis exhibitio est operis Deeds are the Marks of Love But yet to give you some more particular Signs thereof here are some few Reflections no less true than wonderful This Love of God did so enflame his Heart and set it all on fire that he was not able to suffer it's insupportable Heat nor scarce endure his Cloaths Once as he was walking in the Streets of Goa he was so totally absorped with the Love of God that he took no notice of an Elephant that broke loose and threatned Death to all it met but yet afterwards to the great Wonder of all it retired The like happened to him going from Amangucci to Meaco when he run like a Servant behind a Noblemans Horse never feeling the Thorns that continually tore his Feet so much was his Mind absorpt in the Abyss of the Love of God Every where he was out of himself and totally in God But above all in Prayer Mass and Thanksgiving after the Divine Sacrifice His Soul betrayed it self so clearly in his very Countenance that the Pope said of him that he was Vultu adco inflammatus ut Angelicam prorsus Charitatem repraesentaret Seeming rather a burning Seraphim and a blessed Spirit upon Earth than a Man What say you pious Reader you do wonder and admire him and I am comforted thereat because hereby you may frame some Conceit of the great Love St. Xaverius bore to God But why do not you endeavour also to love the same God For he is the same he was then ever deserving to be beloved above all things Created and should you not love him you would always prove the most miserable Creature in the World for not placing your Affection upon a God that is so worthy of Love seeing to Love him is the sole happiness of Man As for the second Point proposed in the beginning God even in this Life seemed to reward his Saint with an universal Power and Dominion over all Creatures The Heaven saw the Day encreased three Hours by the Prayers of this second Josue that the Christians might give a total Overthrow to the Infidels The Earth rent it self with most horrid Earthquakes to frighten the Citizens of Tolo to the Christian Faith which they had so shamefully forsaken the Air bore him up from the Ground several times both by Night and Day The Fire raging and threatning several Houses obey'd his Command and offered not to pass the Limits prescrib'd by St. Xaverius But the Water seem'd to acknowledge most of all his Power He was an Anchor to Ships in the greatest Storms a favourable Gale to carry them thro' the most dangerous Shallows and Sands of the Seas a Calm allaying Tempests and a Haven for those that suffered Shipwrack The very Idolaters called him the God of the Sea and spared no charge for themselves and their Goods to sail in the Ship Saint Xaverius went in In the Indies he often changed Salt Water into Fresh and once by only dipping his Foot into the Sea He allayed tempests sometimes by Prayer other times with Relicks he wore or with the Sign of the Cross and once by letting his Cross into the Water which God to double the Wonder permitted a Wave to snatch away and so bereft him of his oâ—â—â— Comfort when behold soon after a Lobster with open Claws above Water brought it to St. Francis again It is impossible to specifie every particular Miracle wrought in this kind by St. Francis let these few in short suffice to convince you that in this Glorious Saint you have a Patron ready to command all Creatures for your Good so that in all Occasions and Necessities you may have recourse to him with Confidence and hope in his most powerful Intercession and Assistance The COLLOQUY To St. Francis Xaverius To obtain the Holy love of God WHat did you aim at throughout the whole course of your life O Holy Apostle but to bring all the World to the love of God And now will you not O great lover of God! obtain for me a poor helpless creature an ardent desire of loving him above all things Ah! I doubt not of your help and intercession but I apprehend my own Weakness least permitting my self to be deceived by the foolish Love of Creatures I may swerve from the true love of my Creator Help me then O Holy St. Francis That I may not be so deluded but yielding up my will to God I may by a holy necessity always love him both in this life and in the next Amen The CONSIDERATION For the Eighth FRIDAY Upon the Love of St. Francis Xaverius towards his Neighbour HE that truly loveth God does extend his Affection also to his Neighbour as being dear to God and his lively Image So that Saint Xaverius loving God as you have seen ought consequently to love his Neighbor which he did in the perfectest manner he could fulfilling those Words of St. Paul * Omnibus omnia 1 Cor. 9.22 factus to all men becoming all things that he might save all * 2 Cor. 6.6 In Charitate non ficta sed verà In true not feigned Charity He never spared any Labours Troubles Difficulties nor even Life it self to benefit him either in his Temporal or Spiritual Necessities tho' he laboured most to succour the Soul as being the more noble Part. The only Aim and Design of his Apostolical Missions and hard Enterprizes was the Salvation of Souls and where he proposed to himself any Hopes of converting any to God he let slip nothing that might any way promote or further his Intentions With Children he was one always so concerned for their Spiritual Profit that tho' he was a Man of that Authority and Esteem yet he disdained not to go about with a little Bell exhorting Parents to send their Children to be instructed in the Christian Doctrine With Sinners he became as I may say a Sinner familiarly treating and conversing with them that so he might bring them to God for pretending to be ignorant of their Vices Blasphemies Murders Usuries and all their whole Life he changed the Hatred they bore him into Love and the Love they bore to all vicious Habits and Propensions into a detestable Hatred of Sin To Infidels as particularly recommended to him from Heaven he shew'd such Charity that no body can express it And if the Height of this according to the Oracle of Truth it self be to give his Life for his Beloved
shall lift up his Heart to God and profoundly humbling himself in Spirit and offering up all his Prayers Thoughts and Words to his Glory in Honour of the Blessed Virgin Mary St. Francis Xaverius and to all the Angels and Saints of Heaven he shall make the Sign of the Cross and say the following Prayer O Lord Jesus Christ true God and Man my Creator and Redeemer for thy sake alone and because I love thee above all things I am sorry from the Bottom of my Heart for having offended thee and I do firmly purpose never to fall into Sin again to shun all Occasions of offending thee to Confess my Sins and perform the Penance that shall be enjoyn'd me and to make Restitution and Satisfaction wherever it shall be due from me For the Love of thee I forgive all my Enemies to thee I offer up my Life Actions and Sufferings in Satisfaction for my Sins and since I humbly beg it of thee I trust in thy Goodness and infinite Mercy that thou wilt forgive me them through the Merits of thy precious Blood and Passion and wilt give me Grace to amend my Life and to persever in thy Service unto my Death Amen MOst Glorious St. Francis Xaverius Apostle of the Indies if it be for the Glory of God and to thy Honour that I obtain what I desire and beg by performing this Novena do thou obtain me this Grace of our Lord if not do thou guide my Petition and beg of our Lord for me that which is most proper for his Glory and the benefit of my Soul O God and Lord of the Angels whom thou dost intrust with the Guardianship of Men I make thee an Offering of all the Merits of these Heavenly Spirits and of those of thy Servant St. Francis Xaverius who was call'd an Angel for his Purity and because he preserved Men from many Spiritual and Corporal Dangers I beseech thee grant me that Purity of Soul and Body which thou didst confer on this thy holy Apostle and that particular Grace which I beg in this Novena to thy greater Honour and Glory Amen Here say three Pater Nosters and three Ave Maries and then the following Prayer to St. Francis Xaverius MOst Holy Father Francis Xaverius who receivedst thy Praises from the Mouth of innocent Children I most humbly implore thy bountiful Charity for the Sake of the most precious Blood of Jesus and of the Immaculate Conception of our Blessed Lady Mother of God to the end thou may'st obtain of God's infinite Goodness that at the Approach of my last Hour my Heart may be separated and withdrawn from all wordly Thoughts and Distractions and be fixed in the most ardent Love of him and a vehement Desire of an happy Eternity so that laying aside the multiplicity of earthly things which hitherto have perplexed me I may most diligently seek and perfectly find that one thing which is necessary which is to Die and rest in Peace under the Protection of the most Holy Virgin Mary in the Wounds of Jesus her most Blessed Son in the sweet Embraces of my God and in thy Presence Holy Saint through whose Intercession I hope to obtain this Mercy But yet whilst it shall please the Divine Providence to preserve my Life I beseech thee my most loving Protector and most affectionate Father to obtain for me of his Divine Majesty that I may Live â—s one that is to Die and as I would wish to have lived at the Hour of my Death ever imitating thy Virtues and fulfilling the most Holy Will of God that so my temporal Death may be to me a Passage into Life Everlasting I also beseech thee to obtain for me that which I ask in this Novena if it be for the Glory of God and Good of my Soul Amen In the next Place you are to ask of St. Francis Xaverius the particular Favour you desire to obtain heightning as much as in you is your Confidence in him with such Words as your affectionate Thoughts shall suggest or with such Aspirations as your Devotions shall dictate Then the more to please this Holy Apostle in Imitation of him say that Prayer which he himself composed and used to say every Day for the Conversion of Infidels which is as follows ETernal God Creator of all things remember that thou alone didst create the Souls of Infidels framing them to thy own Image and Likeness Behold O Lord how to thy Dishonour Hell daily is replenished with them Remember O Lord thy only Son Jesus Christ who suffered for them most bountifully shedding his precious Blood Suffer not O Lord thy Son and our Lord to be any longer despised by the Infidels but rather being appeased by the Intreaties and Prayers of thy Elect the Saints and of the Church the most Blessed Spouse of thy Son vouchsafe to be mindful of thy Mercy and forgeting their Idolatry and Infidelity cause them also to know him thou didst send Jesus Christ thy Son and our Lord who is our Health Life and Resurrection through whom we are made free and saved to whom be all Glory forever â—â—en Then conclude with the Prayer proper to this Saint Antiph Well fare thee good and faithful Servant because thou hast been faithful over a few things I will place the over many things Enter into the Joy of thy Lord. Vers Our Lord hath guided the just Man by right Ways Resp And hath shewed him the Kingdom of God The Prayer O God who wert pleased to reduce to the Bosom of thy Church the Nations of the Indies thro' the Preaching and Miracles of S. Francis Xaverius mercifully grant us that we may imitate his Vertues whose glorious Merits we hold in Veneration Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen A Commemoration of St. Ignatius de Loyola Antiph This man despising the World and triumphing over Earthly things heaped up Riches in Heaven by Word and Work Vers Our Lord hath guided the just Man by right Ways Resp And hath shewn him the Kingdom of God The Prayer O God who for the Propagation of the greater Glory of thy Name hast by Blessed Ignatius strengthen'd the Church Militant with new Auxiliaries graciously vouchsafe that we by his Assistance and Imitation solicitously combating upon Earth may obtain with him an everlasting Crown in Heaven A Commemoration of St. Gregory the Great Apostle of England Antiph O most excellent Doctor Light of the Holy Church Blessed Gregory Lover of God's Law supplicate the Son of God for us Vers Our Lord hath as above The Prayer O God who hast bestowed the Rewards of Eternal Blessedness on the Soul of thy Servant Gregory Grant mercifully that we who are deprest with the Weight of our Sins may by his Prayers be delivered Through our Lord. The Second Day Lord Jesus Christ true God and Man c. as before on the First Day Most Glorious St. Francis Xaverius c. as the First Day and so on all the following Days A Prayer for this
and wrought many Miracles His very Hand-writing cured the Sick and his Pictures stopped and quenched a great Fire The Oil that burns in the Lamps before the Saints Body at Goa has cured many infirm and sick of all Diseases A Christian Lady by means of a Cross that the Saint had erected in Amboino to be honoured obtained in time of a great Drought plentiful Rain which the Idolatrous Women were not able to obtain from their Idols with their enchanted Witchcraft The Saint appeared to a Merchant that had recommended himself to him and had a pair of Beads of the Saints with him five Days after he had suffered Shipwrack and brought him safe to Shore and stayed with another three Days upon the same Plank and at last landed him safe God blessed several barren Women with Issue at this Saint's Intercession An Indian in Punicale that had three Daughtets prayed to the Saint to beg of God the Blessing of three Sons which she obtained We shall weary our selves in rehearsing all the Wonders wrought by this great Saint as the Vicar General of God owned of himself after he had reckoned up eight hundred We read of an hundred authentically approved of in the Process of his Canonization The Miracles that have been wrought at Potami in the Kingdom of Naples by a Picture of his are sufficient to fill a whole Volume The Church therefore with good reason says of him on his Feast This Saint so bountiful so gracious and so loving shines over all the World by his most resplendent Miracles Who will be no less ready and willing to assist you in all your Necessities if you amend your Life and reform your Manners the Saint aiming by these temporal Favours he bestoweth at nothing else than the Salvation of every ones Soul which God of his infinite Mercy grant to all by the Intercession of St. Francis Xaverius To the Devout Clients of the Glorious Apostle of the Indies St. Francis Xaverius HEre is laid before you Clients of this Great Xaverius a little parcel of the innumerable Actions and most Heroick Enterprizes of St. Francis which he took in hand only to the greater Honour of God and for the Good of his Neighbour If you like this small Compendium and find your Heart enflamed with a desire of more betake your self to the History of his Life copiously written by many but yet far short of what he did Those that desire to honour this Saint by imitating him and to profit themselves thereby must reflect upon that Saying of St. Augustin That Non pigeat imitari quod delectat celebrare that is They must not be ashamed to imitate what they delight to honour The Saints are willing to find in us some Similitude of their Vertues which they have practised before us in this world to the end they may be the easier stirred up to obtain our Petitions For which Reason here are Ten Vertues of this Saint allotted for Ten Fridays And although this Glorious Saint was admirable in all the Vertues of a most sublime Christian Perfection yet these seem more particularly necessary and also in some sort fitter to be imitated which we shall here set down You shall every Friday read one with Reflection and purpose to imitate him therein and beg it of God by the Merits of this Saint for your self not forgetting me whereunto it will help very much to resolve from one Friday to another to practise more or less the Vertue proposed in the former Consideration according to the Necessity you find thereof in your Soul By which frequent Acts you will greatly facilitate and advance your Spiritual Profit General Advertisements For those that desire to honour St. Xaverius by imitating these his Vertues 1. BE Devout to the Holy Crucifix 2. Pray for the Conversion of Infidels 3. Pray for the Souls in Purgatory 4. Be a Lover of Chastity 5. According to your Condition endeavour to help your Neighbour as well in Spirituals by teaching the Christian Doctrine to Children and ignorant People hindering their Sins exhorting them to do well and giving good Example as in Temporals by giving Alms visiting the Sick and Hospitals defending the Poor and helping them in Necessity 6. Confess often 7. Examine your Conscience daily 8. Reflect often upon those Words Quid prodest Homini si universum Mundum lucretur Animae vero suae Detrimentum patiatur That is What doth it avail a Man to gain the whole World with the loss of his own Soul 9. Return Good to him that has displeas'd or injured you 10. Promote the Devotion to the Saint Antiph Well fare thee c. with Vers And Resp as before p. 13. The Prayer LOrd God who hast vouchsafed by the Preaching and Miracles of St. Francis Xaverius to joyn unto thy Church the Countries or the Indies Grant propitiously we beseech thee that reverencing his Glorious Merits we may also imitate his Example Through Christ our Lord. Amen A Prayer to the five Wounds of our Saviour much used by St. Francis O Lord Jesus Christ by the five Wounds thou wast pleased to receive upon the Cross for Love of us Help thy Servants N. N. whom thou hast redeemed with thy precious Blood To the greater Glory of God and Salvation of Souls Amen Through the Intercession of St. Francis Xaverivs O God I love thee c. p. 23. Ten Motives To excite all to a Devotion to St. Francis Xaverius 1. HIS indefatigable Zeal accompanied with an undaunted Courage in undertaking suffering and overcoming all Difficulties for the Good of Souls 2. His singular Affability wherewith he accomodated himself to all sorts of Persons to gain them to God 3. His total Contempt and Abstraction from all things of this World 4. That great Fire of Divine Love which betraying it self so often even in his very Countenance shewed how full his Soul was of God 5. His living and dying a pure Virgin 6. His extraordinary excelling in all kind of Vertues and Gifts of God 7. The great Number of Souls he converted which were above two hundred thousand 8. His Facility in working Miracles alive and dead 9. The extraordinary Favours he sheweth to those that are devoted to him 10. The common Experience whereby we see that whosoever seriously recommends himself to St. Francis either obtains his Request or Comfort and Strength to conform to God's Will if he has not his Petition granted because not expedient for the Good of his Soul An Explication of the Devotion of Ten Fridays in Honour of St. Francis Xaverius and what is to be done therein THis Devotion is instituted to obtain some singular Favour of this Saint who as heretofore on Earth so now in Heaven is all Bowels of Mercy towards those that invoke him and does most graciously and abundantly favour his Devout Clients Ten Fridays are ordained and if conveniently without Intermission in each of which he that will perform this Devotion must Confess and Communicate and before some
France Portuga India Japony and innumerable other Countries wherein he exercised this Vertue in diverse Ways and in a most perfect Degree with the poor Prisoners Children Slaves Souldiers Seamen and what not And this in a most abject and contemptible manner choosing for his Lodging the Hospitals for his Cloths course Canvas and for his Meat Dry Bread Burnt Rice and the like But God ordered it so that the more he humbled and debased himself the more he should be esteemed by others Hence it was Pope Paul the third admired him and that he was honoured and respected by the King of Portugal in an extraordinary manner and no less by the Vice Roys of India by Governours of Towns and Countries and by all Persons of Note The Portuguese even in Portugal gave him the Name of Apostle the Gentiles stuck not to give him Divine Titles the Mahometans held him for a great Prophet many Idolatrous Kings called him Great Father whole Towns and Countries came to meet him The Missioners of the Society that were designed for the Indies thought it a Paradise to be sent to never so hard Enterprizes if Saint Francis were but there so little did they think of themselves to enjoy him Gonzalo Fernandez crept upon his Knees to St. Francis who knock'd at the Door to speak with him Angero a Japonian came from the farthest part of the East to the Island of Molucche above two thousand Miles only to treat with the Saint about the Affairs of his Soul After the Saint's Death a new Convertite sailed from Goa to the Castle of Xavier in Spain above fifteen thousand Miles only to see and reverence the Chamber St. Francis was born in You see how true God's Promise is and how much it is verified in this great Saint * Luc. 18.14 He that humbleth himself shall be exalted Let every one reflect upon this and see how he behaveth himself according to his State with his Superiors with his Equals and with his Inferiors Let him see if he carries himself as a good Christian ought with Charity and Submission or rather with Pride and Haughtiness and accordingly let him purpose to persever in the good or mend what is amiss The COLLOQUY To St. Francis Xaverius To obtain Christian Humility MOst humble St. Francis I most earnestly desire you would beg of Almighty God for me Strength and Courage to overcome my Pride and imitate your Humility whereby I may offend no body either in Thought Word or Deed out of Pride or Contempt I purpose on my part to use all possible Diligence thereunto that I may glorifie God and edifie my Neighbour Amen The CONSIDERATION For the Third FRIDAY Upon the Penance and Mortification of St. Francis Xaverius PEnance here is not taken for a part of the Sacrament but it is a Vertue that embraces hard Difficulties and painful Afflictions for Satisfaction for Sins committed against God Most sharp were the Mortifications this Holy Apostle used and inflicted upon himself besides the insupportable Sufferings annexed to his Apostostolical Charge and Office His Fasts were very frequent and had not God particularly inspired him to undertake them might be called most indiscreet for he passed three four and sometimes seven Days without the least Sustenance tho' his ordinary Diet might be justly called a perpetual Fast as hath been gathered out of one of his Letters to a Friend of his wherein he confesses that he lived more like a Bird than a Man with nothing but water and Rice His Watchings were continual spending the best part of the Night in Prayer His Sleep and Rest which he even unwillingly allowed to Nature were rather to torment than ease him for at Sea he lay upon the Cables and at Land upon the hard Ground or a Bed of Cords He wore Day and Night a continual Hair-Shirt He girded himself with Chains riveted with Points of Iron He disciplin'd himself to Blood with Whips armed with Rowels of Steel His Eyes were in a perpetual Bath of Tears for the Offences he knew were committed by others against God Confessing himself always a Sinner and being both Confessor and Penitent he shared with others in their Penances and undertook to satisfie for them himself witness that Heroick Act upon the Coast of Cananor where to move a Sinner to Sorrow for his inveterate Sins he retired himself into a Grove hard by and there cruelly tore his Body with Whips till such Quantity of Blood trickled down his Back as provoked the Sinner to abundant Tears and a true Compunction and so he reconciled him to God But what Wonder he should practise these most cruel Mortifications in this his Office of Apostle seeing from the first Moment he begun a perfect Lise he accustomed himself to most rigid Austerities Who is ignorant that to satisfie God for his too great Niceness and Spruceness in Cloths and Nimbleness in Dancing he tied his Thighs so strait with little Cords that he was not able to breath so far had he let them eat into his Flesh that they could not be seen whereof he must necessarily have died had not God most miraculously cured him whom he had designed for the Apostle of the new World Every one knows that in the Hospital of Vicenza to get a total Victory over himself he lucked the Corruption and Matter of a most pestiferous and loathsome Impostume And before he said his first Mass he spent forty Days in most rigid Penance shut up in a little Grot of Mount Celso within the Confines of Padoua In fine these Austerities were so dear to him that he never left them off to his dying Day so that with good reason he might say with St. Paul * Cor. 15.31 I die daily and * for thy sake we are mortified all the Day As God is a most just Rewarder of the least thing done for his sake so he did abundantly recompence and sweeten these Pains of St. Francis with Infinite and Divine Consolations which his Heart not being able to bear they appeared even in his very Countenance seeming to be always enflamed yet always cheerful and pleasant even in the most difficult Enterprizes shewing to the World that he was really in his Heart a Citizen of Heaven This abundance of Heavenly Comfort forced him to cry out Satis est Domine Satis est Psal 43. ver 23. It is enough Lord it is enough Begging that an end might be put to those Delights his Heart of Flesh was uncapable to endure That Posture of opening his Breast which he was often seen in was only to mitigate a little that Divine Heat of the Love of God that without Intermission burnt and consumed his Heart I 'll omit those Extasies or Rapts wherein his Body was often seen lifted from the Ground and those frequent Rays of Light that so environed him that he seemed rather a Seraphim of Divine Love than a Man of Earth Thomas Fernandez found him often in Manapar of Piscaria
he was always ready to do it for them which did so mollifie and win their Hearts that it is incredible how many thro' this only Motive did embrace the Christian Faith whereupon Father Melchior Nugnez then Superior of the Indies a Man of rare Prudence and no less Vertue said that converting Infidels to Christ in St. Francis Xaverius did not seem a Gift infused or a Vertue got by Habit but a natural Inclination So bent was he upon that only Work that he could not live nor take any Satisfaction in any other Employment than the Instructing and bringing Souls to the Knowledge and Love of the only true God This perpetual Motion of Charity was his only Respite this Exercise his only Repose Nothing will be better able to shew the Greatness of this his Charity and zealous Assiduity therein then the Number of those he Baptized with his own Hand which amounted to a Million and two hundred thousand Persons As for what belongs to the temporal Assistance of his Neighbour who can reckon up the Deeds of Charity he shewed to every one as well poor as rich nor was there any Work of Mercy that he did not practice either in his own Person or when he could not himself by using others Help for the succouring the poor and needy His tender Care of the sick will be a sufficient Proof of his boundless Charity He was to them a Father Mother Brother Physician and a Nurse in the meanest Offices in private Houses and in publick Hospitals if any died he washed and layed them out with his own Hands digged their Graves and buried them himself God seeming to second these Heroick Desires of St. Francis so much bent upon serving his Neighbour endowed him in a particular manner with that divine Gift of Curing the Sick For in the Deeds of his Canonization you will find the wonderful Cures of all Diseases wrought by the Power of this great Xaverius to be innumerable The Blind received the Benefit of their Eyes the Lame the use of their Limbs the Lepers were cleansed the Dumb restored to Speech the Deaf to their Hearing Possessed Persons freed from Malignant Spirits that Tormented them To be short so many were these Prodigious Cures that in and about the City of Naples only there are sufficient to fill a whole Book Yet these Cures of Diseases are nothing if compared to those he raised from Death to Life which amount according to the Authentick Transactions of the Saints Canonization to above Five and Twenty What has been here said is but an Abridgement and only helps to frame some conceit or Idea of the Saints great Charity to his Neighbour referring you to the Writers of his Life to see the innumerable other Graces and Favours through his means and Intercession confered upon all sorts of Persons as Seamen Merchants Barren Women or in Childbed Soldiers c. We may gather two Fruits from what has been said The First a Holy Confusion in our selves for helping and furthering so little the good of our Neighbour either Spiritual or Temporal Who of us is troubled or concerned to see him offend God Who is there that either hinders him from falling or gives his helping hand to raise him again from Sin Which of us grieves at his losses or suffers any thing to Promote his Good Do we Visit him in the Hospitals and Prisons Are we Charitable unto him Do we relieve his Wants with Alms Or rather do we not spend that on Beasts that only serve for Sport and Pastime which ought to be employ'd in Succouring and Assisting our Neigbour the very Image of God himself The Second Fruit is a lively confidence of being assisted by this Holy Apostle in our Necessities as well Corporal as Spiritual if we apply our selves unto him as we ought The COLLOQUY To St. Francis Xaverius To obtain a true Love of our Neighbour I Know too too well O most zealous Apostle the Coldness of my Heart towards my Neighbour I own and condemn my self for the small Charity I shew in succouring his Necessities either Temporal or Spiritual and I am ashamed and totally confounded considering your admirable Zeal and Concern for his Good Obtain for me O true Lover of your Neighbour the least Spark of that great Fire that consumed your Heart which may kindle in my Soul a true Zeal and Love of others Good that grieving at their Misfortunes and equally compassionating them in mind comforting them in Words and helping them in Deeds I may the better imitate you in this Vertue of Charity which is so properly termed yours The CONSIDERATION For the Ninth FRIDAY Upon St. Francis Xaverius's great Desire to Dye for Christ THE Consideration of this Day is far different from the former for tho' in some you have seen Devout Reader the Desire this Saint had to suffer for Christ yet we have not spoken of what belongs to the dying for him and giving testimony of his holy Faith by the Shedding of his Blood and becoming a Martyr Saint Francis had this Desire in the greatest excess imaginable that he could with reason say with St. Paul Quotidie morior I dye daily by always desiring to dye and because I never am so happy as to die and give my Life for my God And tho' Almighty God preserving him alive for his greater Honour and Glory would not grant him the Favour of a Martyrdom consummated by Death yet he tryed his Constancy by several Combats not inferior to those of Martyrs and above all permitted him to survive to that languishing desire of dying that he might at least live a Martyr tho' he could not die one He was apprehended twice in Japony sent to Sea arid delivered over to Murtherers to be dispatched who upon the point of Executing their cruel Design were so terrified and frightned by a sudden Tempest that they spared his Life He was also twice led to the common place of Execution by the furious incensed People Twice stoned by the Moors Often beaten several times shot at with Arrows and as often presented with Poyson Upon the Sea Coast of Piscaria the Idolatrous Badagi sought to kill him The Mahometans persecuted him with no less Malice and Rage And because their own Children whom the Saint had Baptized stood often Centinels to defend him from their Parents Fury and sometimes found ways for the Saint to escape their cruel Hands they set fire to the Houses where they suspected him to lye hid Whence a grave and learned Doctor Martino Navarra reflecting upon the Life of St. Francis Xaverius always exposed to Danger of Death sticks not to call it a perpetual Martyrdom All I have touched upon here and more that I omit is nothing to the real Desire he had to dye for so honourable a cause as the Faith of Christ And certainly he endured more Anguish in his Mind by always tho' in vain desiring to lose his Life then he could have suffered in his Body
by once dying a Martyr Through the excess of these ardent Wishes he was forced to cry out Amplius Domine Amplius More Lord more when in his Sleep he seemed to carry upon his Back a heavy Moor and in him the new World of the Indies Out of the same inflamed Desire he bore a holy Envy to the Fathers of the Society who were in future Ages to convert all the Islands of Moro hoping withal as he said that those Islands would come to change their Names and be called the Islands of Martyrs To one that endeavour'd to dissuade him with the Apprehensions of Death from those his heroick Enterprizes he answered with no less Humility than Generosity that it was what he so much desired but he knew himself unworthy of such a signal Favour What he writ to a Friend of his sheweth most clearly what were the Desires of his Great and Noble Soul I says he sometimes do abhor even Life it self and covet rather to die than to see God so much offended without being able to hinder it as I desire So that the Acts of his Canonization say with reason of this Glorious Apostle Varia infidelium loca peragravit non minus ut pro Christi fide sanguinem profunderet quam ut fidei lucem gentibus inferret That he travalled over so many Countries of the Infidels with no less desire to shed his Blood for the Faith of Christ than to enlighten the Gentils with the Light of the true Faith Reflect weak Soul upon what has been said and be ashamed of your Carriage so little resembling this great Pattern and Example and ask your self this Question Was not Xaverius of Flesh and Blood as I am Was not he a Man a Son and Child of Adam as my self and yet how comes it to pass that he is so much enflamed with the Divine Love and I so little And you 'll find the Origin of his so singular Perfection to have been a total Abnegation of him self and Alienation from all Self love whereby being transformed into God he desired to dye to the World that he might live to him alone Ah! if you could but once resolve to dye to Self Love then assure your self the Holy Love of God would abundantly encrease in your Soul The COLLOQUY To St. Francis Xaverius To beg the Grace to dye to Self-love YOU bad reason to say Holy Xaverius with St. Paul * Gal. 2.20 I live now not I but Christ liveth in me who kindled in your Soul those great Desires of dying once to Flesh and Blood that so by Death you might be united to your Spirit which was Christ But I unhappy Wretch live still to my self I live to my own Flesh to my Body and to self-Self-love And what wonder if I desire not to dye for Christ thereby to be united to him What Wonder if I love him not as my Life Beg of Almighty God for me Dear Saint that I may dye to Self-love to the end that every day so dying I may become wholly dead thereunto and begin to live to Christ that then I may likewise with truth say with St. Paul and you Glorious Saint I desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ Amen The CONSIDERATION For the Tenth FRIDAY Upon the perfections of St. Francis Xaverius ST Francis Xaverius was an Apostle sent by Jesus Christ by command of his Vicar Paul the third with the title of Nuncius Apostolicus to Preach the Gospel to the Indians and Convert them to our Holy Faith Whereof he Converted many hundred Thousands amongst whom were several Kings Queens Princes and Great Men. His Sister a Holy Woman Abbess of the Poor Clares at Gandia foretold he should be such an one for desiring her Father to let him Study Divinity she said he should prove a Great Apostle of the Indies He was a Prophet and in such a manner that a most Vertuous and Wise Man sticked not to say that in some the Spirit of Prophecy was by fits but in St. Xaverius it seemed a constant Habit. He was not only Master of Human Philosophy at Paris but of the Divine also in the East where to all sorts of People he Preached the Gospel and Instructed them in what belonged to our Holy Faith He Confuted many Masters of the Idolaters in several Disputes the Brachmans of the Indians and Carizi of the Moors and the Bonzi of the Japonians He was endowed with all manner of Vertues whether you mean Power of Working Miracles as you have seen in the former Considerations or Vertuous Habits that adorn the Soul as Humility Chastity Patience Charity c. He had the Gift of Curing Diseases as we have shewn you by several wonderful examples He had the Gift of Helping the Needy in so much that he never refused his Aid to any if conducing to their Eternal Salvation He governed all with rare Prudence as well Seculars as Religious which Talent made him esteemed by the greatest Princes The King of Portugal Reverenced him as an Oracle receiving and following his Directions as Commands The King of Travancor called the Great King published an Edict commanding every one to obey the Great Father St. Xaverius as the Great King St. Ignatious resolved to make him General of the Society of Jesus Lastly he had the Gift of Tongues In those Countries they speak above a Hundred several Languages Thirty whereof are quite different yet St. Francis when he entered those parts did not only understand the Natives but spoke the very same Languages most Elegantly yet with these two privileges first of being understood tho' Preaching to an Auditory of different Nations by every one in their Mother Tongue secondly of Satisfying with one only answer the demands of several proposed to him at the same time tho' relating to different matters Hereby we see that God by a special Favour seems to have Endowed St. Francis with all those Gifts St. Paul speakes of to have been divided amongst several in the Primitive Church * 1 Cor. 12.28 Some God hath placed in the Church first Apostles secondly Prophets thirdly Doctors next Miracles then the graces of Curing Diseases Helps Governing kinds of Tongues All these gifts and graces were requisite for that great Enterprise of Converting the New World to the Faith of Christ for which God had Designed his great Servant St. Francis Xaverius These things mentioned in short ought Devout Reader to stir up in you a lively Confidence and Devotion to this great Saint so much beloved by God and for his Extraordinary Sanctity enriched with such singular and rare Graces and Favours by the hand of his so Bountiful Creator Seeing therefore the nature of love is to change him that loves into him that is beloved and to create such a likeness in their Lives and Actions that they seem to live in one another you ought to endeavour to liken your self according to your state and condition in all your Actions to St. Xaverius that
finding in your Soul some of his Vertues he may love you the more and loving you recommend you to our Lord and obtain for you the Favours you ask of him To which end you shall finish your Ten Fridays with this following Colloquy The COLLOQUY To St. Francis Xaverius To obtain Grace to Imitate his Vertues IF I love you O most Holy Apostle I have just reason for it finding in you a Thousand Motives to wit your many perfections that render you worthy of all love But if you love me as I am sure you do it is purely your Goodness and only upon the account of my being a Sinner I am ashamed O Holy Xaverius that I have nothing that can win your Love but the deformity of my Soul nor any other Title that may any way seem to challenge your Affection then what in reality deserves your hatred wherefore I most earnestly beseech you to obtain for me the grace to Imitate your Vertues and those chiefly that did particularly render you so dear and pleasing to the Divine Goodness That being so adorned I may both please you and be acceptable in this life to the most pure Eyes of the all-seeing God and have an assurence of enjoying him with you in the next for an Eternity Amen THE LITANIES OF St. Francis Xaverius Compos'd by the most Illustrious Francis Gaspar de Villarouel Lord Bishop of St. James 's in the Kingdom of Chile in Honour of this Saint by whose Assistance after having been buried in the Ruins of an Earthquake he was miraculously deliver'd and in Performance of a Vow he had made said them upon set Days and imparted them to the publick to awaken and stir up the Piety of the Devout And have been approv'd and publish'd by the Order of several Prelates in the Low Countries and lower Germany LOrd have mercy on us Christ have mercy on us Lord have mercy on us Christ hear us Christ graciously hear us God the Father of Heaven Have mercy on us God the Son Redeemer of the World Have mercy on us God the Holy Ghost Have mercy on us Holy Trinity One God Have mercy on us Holy Mary Pray for us Holy Father Ignatius Pray for us St. Francis Xaverius most worthy Son of St. Ignatius Pray for us St. Francis Xaverius Apostle of the Indies Pray for us St. Francis Xaverius evangelizing Peace Pray for us St. Francis Xaverius evangelizing all Good Pray for us Vessel of Election carrying the Name of Jesus before Gentiles Pray for us Vessel full of Divine Grace Pray for us Firmament of the Oriental Church Pray for us Defender of the Faith Pray for us Enemy of Infidelity Pray for us Preacher of Evangelical Truth Pray for us Destroyer of Idols Pray for us Chosen Instrument of the Eternal Father for the Propagation of Divine Glory Pray for us Faithful Follower and Companion of Jesus Christ Pray for us Trumpet of the Holy Ghost Pray for us Pillar of the Church of God Pray for us Light of Infidels Pray for us Master of the Faithful Pray for us Mirror of true Piety Pray for us Guide in the Way of Virtue and Perfection Pray for us Pattern of Apostolical Spirit and Sanctity Pray for us Light of the Blind Pray for us Curer of the Lame Pray for us Helper of those who suffer Shipwrack Pray for us Health of the Sick Pray for us Protector in time of Plague Famine and War Pray for us From whom the Devils fly Pray for us Life of the Dead Pray for us Whose Power the Sea and Tempests obey Pray for us Whose Command the Sea and all Elements reverence Pray for us Wonderful Worker of Miracles Pray for us Refuge of the Miserable Pray for us Comfort of the Afflicted Pray for us Splendor of the East Pray for us Tabernacle of Incorruption Pray for us Treasury of Divine Love Pray for us Glory of the Society of Jesus Pray for us Xaverius most poor Pray for us Xaverius most chast Pray for us Xaverius most obedient Pray for us Xaverius most humble Pray for us Xaverius most desirous of the Cross and Labours of Christ Pray for us Xaverius most vigilant in the Safety of your Neighbour Pray for us Xaverius most zealous of God's Glory and the Good of Souls Pray for us Angel in Life and Manners Pray for us Patriarch in Affections and Care of God's People Pray for us Prophet in Gift and Spirit Pray for us Apostle in Dignity and Merit Pray for us Doctor of Gentiles in all sorts of Languages Pray for us Martyr in desiring to dye for Christ Pray for us Confessor in Vertue and Profession of Life Pray for us Virgin in Body and Mind Pray for us In whom alone we reverence thro' the Divine Goodness the Merits of all the Saints Pray for us Lamb of God who takest away the Sins of the World Spare us O Lord. Lamb of God who takest away the Sins of the World Hear us graciously O Lord. Lamb of God who takest away the Sins of the World Have mercy on us Christ hear us Christ graciously hear us Lord have mercy on us Christ have mercy on us Our Father c. Vers Pray for us St. Francis Xaverius Resp That we may be made worthy of the Promises of Christ Let us pray LOrd God who hast vouchsafed by the Preaching and Miracles of St. Francis Xaverius to join unto thy Church the Countries of the Indies grant propitiously we beseech thee that reverencing his Glorious Merits we may also imitate his Examples Through Christ our Lord. Amen A PSALM IN TRIBULATION This Psalm was said by the Saint in time of Trouble WHen I was in Tribulation I cried to our Lord and he heard me O Lord deliver my Soul from unjust Lips and from a deceitful Tongue What may be given thee or what may be added to thee to a deceitful Tongue The sharp Arrows of the Mighty with Coals of Desolation Wo is to me that my sojourning is prolonged I have dwelt with the Inhabitants of Cedar My Soul hath been long a sojourner With them that hated Peace I was Peaceable when I spoke to them they impugned me without Cause FINIS