he Xaverian Family sinks its roots into a spiritual experience, an experience of God.
It is, in fact, this experience which defines and qualifies our calling, which characterized the vocation of the Xaverian Missionaries.
Bishop Guido Maria Conforti handed down to the Xaverian Family his own experience, initially garnered as a schoolboy at the foot of a large Crucifix, and we, on our part, must pass on ours. Without this authenticity there won’t be mission and, much less, evangelization, because the call is like a stone thrown into a pond: it goes reverberating, echoing and re-echoing, up to the pond’s furthest margins and in all directions.
The same goes for the charism “ad gentes.”
What meaning does this Latin word have if not that of making the words of Jesus resound in the hearts of all human beings, in all the corners of the world? It is an overwhelming project, universal, global, all-embracing, and certainly exciting.
Yes, the desire to bring the Good News to all, without distinction of race, color and nationality, must be like a live coal that burns and gives warmth to the heart of the missionary.
It is in order to keep this flame alive that our Founder, Bishop Conforti, insists that the Xaverian missionaries “best efforts are to be directed toward this goal… Whatever in any way can divert their attention from this goal should be avoided. For the members this singular purpose should gauge the work of each new day.” (Foundation Rule, #6, 7).
Bishop Guido Maria Conforti handed down to the Xaverian Family his own experience, initially garnered as a schoolboy at the foot of a large Crucifix, and we, on our part, must pass on ours.
The specific, urgent commitment to mission “ad gentes” is, without doubt, a demanding vocation, a fundamental option, radical, exclusive, of a life dedicated to others, to the unknown, to the far-away. It is what Bishop Conforti defines as “the love of God put into practice” for us, and the prophet Jeremiah calls “like a fire burning in my heart, imprisoned in my bones; I grow weary holding it in, I cannot endure it” (Jer. 2:9). Of course, God is stronger! And it will be the contemplation and ability to “see God, seek God and love God in all” that will nourish the desire to spread God’s Reign the world over, because missionary activity springs forth from a contemplative posture.
It is in seeing the presence of God in all, “in omnibus Christus” (Christ in all), that the missionary finds the stamina, the wind and the zeal for such undertakings. It is the genius of Christian existence, caught in the repeat33ed formula that he who loses his life will find his life.
Yes, it is in Christ and in virtue of his Love that we become new creatures and his messengers: “So we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us, “ as St. Paul says…
This, no doubt, is one of the more characteristic elements of the Xaverian spirituality: the spirit of lively faith. Every tested missionary can bear witness to this. The primary agent of mission is the Spirit of the Lord. Our task is to acquire the habit of seeing things and evaluating events with a positive vision, with the prophetic and gospel outlook of Jesus. If we look at the world through this prism, it is clear that any apostolic commitment will contribute to union with God, making of us “walking tabernacles,” bearers of Christ, Way, Truth, and Life. Prayer, the primary activity of the missionary, will be the entry to this tabernacle.
A captivating project it is, a stimulating proposal, a profitable way of investing one’s life that of being a missionary.
(From Xaverian Mission Newsletter)