Feast of Francis Xavier, Thursday – 3rd December 2020 — Gospel: Mt 7,21.24-27
Thought of one’s Foundation
Saint Francis Xavier, an apostle mad with Saint Paul’s madness, is a marvelous example of a great missionary, visionary and a prophet. The zeal he displayed, the novel methods he used, the wonderful miracles he performed, and the great number of souls he brought to the light of true faith, entitle him to this distinction. In a short span of ten years (1542-1552), he visited so many countries in South Asian region (India, Sri Lanka, Malacca and the Maluku Islands, Japan and China), traversed so many seas, preached the Gospel to so many nations, and converted so many peoples. He stands unique in his apostolic zeal since the time of the Apostles.
In Jesus’ illustration of the two builders, each house looked the same from the outside. The wise and the foolish man were both engaged precisely in the same pursuits, and to an extent achieved the same design; both of them undertook to build houses, both of them persevered in building, both of them finished their houses. Jesus must have had in mind: “When the whirlwind passes by, the wicked is no more, but the righteous has an everlasting foundation” (Prov 10:25). The real foundation of our life is usually hidden and is only proven in the storm, and we could say that the storms come from both heaven (rain) and earth (floods, wind). Wherein lay the second builder’s foolishness? Not in deliberately seeking a bad foundation, but in taking no thought of foundation. His fault was not an error in judgment, but inattentiveness. It is not a question of two foundations, but of looking to, and neglecting to look to, the foundation. Jesus warns us that the foundations of our lives will be shaken at some time or another, both now (in trials) and in the ultimate judgment before God. It is better that we test the foundation of our life now rather than later, at our judgment before God when it is too late to change our destiny.
