REFLECTIONS

He is not Here!

Michael P. delos Reyes

Posted Wednesday, 28-Mar-2007 9:48 AM

     As the Xavier pilgrims entered the Chapel of St. Francis Xavier in Shangchuan, the message of the angel to the Holy Women, who visited the tomb of the Lord early morning of the First Easter Sunday, echoed in my heart.  In reality, the chapel houses an empty tomb which serves as a memorial of Francis Xavier’s first burial place.  His incorrupt body is now in the Church of Bom Jesus in Goa, India.  A tombstone, a couple of statues of Francis Xavier serve as other reminders of this great missionary in the chapel and its vicinity.

     When the pilgrims went around the churches of Macau on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning, we saw other reminders of Francis Xavier.  A significant piece of Xavier’s bone relic is enshrined in the Church of St. Joseph’s Seminary.  In the Chapel of the Jesuit Residence beside St. Augustine’s Church, there is a small reliquary containing a very small piece of his bone perhaps.  In the Cathedral of Macau, a beautiful statue of Xavier is enshrined in one of the side chapels.

     He is not here!  The empty tomb of Christ tells us that he is not to be found among the dead, and that it is now possible to meet him in various and more significant ways.  By the same token, the empty tomb of Xavier tells us that he is not among the dead, but is with Christ in His Kingdom interceding for all of us.  Yes, his relics and images are in various places to remind us how he is valued by the people in these localities.  But more than this, Francis Xavier invites us to be his living relics by following his example of being a missionary of Christ through our own and simple ways, wherever we are, whatever we do.  May our devotion to Francis Xavier make us more and more to be like Christ.    

Go back to the top ^