Earth Will Know the Lord

Memorial of Saint Francis Xavier, Priest

By Beth DeCristofaro

Then the wolf shall be a guest of the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; the calf and the young lion shall browse together, with a little child to guide them. … There shall be no harm or ruin on all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be filled with knowledge of the LORD, as water covers the sea. (Isaiah 11:6, 9)

Turning to the disciples in private (Jesus) said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see. For I say to you, many prophets and kings desired to see what you see, but did not see it, and to hear what you hear, but did not hear it.” (Luke 10:23-24)

Piety

Creator God
Inspired by the example of St. Francis,
We pray to you for the courage to be missionaries,
Reaching out and leading others to Jesus.
Like St. Francis
May we help those in need,
May we live a life rooted in prayer and
May we bring Christ to all those we meet.
This we ask through your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.

Amen.  (http://www.liturgies.net/saints/francisxavier/prayers.htm)

Study

Thanks to the internet, we’ve all seen wonders such as dogs playing with deer, mother cats adopting orphaned ducklings, and a gorilla in a zoo standing guard over an injured human boy.  There are many, and more, instances of what might be considered marvels of peace, love and compassion which do happen every day.  But of course, we also see scenes of people setting themselves on fire, stealing, hurting others and promulgating lies.  Perhaps I’m cynical but if there were a tally, probably more dreadfulness than marvel would be counted.  

Can we imagine other hopeful signs of God’s kingdom?  An Israeli will dine with a Palestinian.  Janjaweed and militant Islamists will pound their guns into the useful metal from which they are made and build houses for children.  Democrats and Republicans shall browse together.  Societies will welcome immigrants into their homes and make them fellow citizens.

God became man and walked among us.  Jesus chose death and was raised to vanquish our death.  We have seen.  We have heard.  St. Francis Xavier most certainly saw and heard which propelled him to bring God’s Word to so many people. 

Action

Have we seen, heard and acted as if Jesus did all this for us – each of us and all of us?  Read the passage from Isaiah 11:1-10.  Let Isaiah’s images speak to you of the wonder of God’s immense love and plans for His Creation.  How can you bring that love to someone today?