Francis Xavier Had the Whole World!

Only one path lets you keep your soul.

Francis Xavier had it pretty good. In fact, to some, he may have seemed to have the whole world. After all, he was an aristocrat; he was highly educated, wealthy, young, respected,...you name it, Francis really did seem to have it all.

Including a pesky little illiterate friend named Ignatius, later known as Saint Ignatius of Loyola - founder of the Jesuits.

Francis Xavier was at the university of Paris when Ignatius began hounding him to join religious life. Saint Francis wanted no part of it. He planned to pursue worldly things, to be counted among the intellectuals, the respected, the admired of the world. How could this happen if he gave up his own goals to follow Christ?

But Ignatius knew better. “What profits a man,” Ignatius repeatedly asked Francis, “if he gains the whole world and loses his soul?” (See more at: http://www.ignatianspirituality.com)

The question took a while to sink in but eventually, Saint Francis became one of the greatest missionaries of the Catholic church, traveling to India and Japan among other places and winning 30,000 souls for Christ.

But that's the end of the story,

and we often forget years upon years worth of the middles of our stories.

Today is the Feast day of Saint Francis Xavier. To read the rest and add your comments, please join me at SingleMomSmiling.com.