marcello mastrilli
mastrilli, marcello f. : r. p. marcelli mastrilli... et xxxii sociorum ac 16 aliorum... - 1637
his companions gone, father mastrilli accompanied governor hurtado de corcuera on an expedition against the mindanao pirates. the spanish forces flew two standards: an image of saint francis xavier and an image of christ crucified that had been rescued from the pirates’ hands. during the battle father marcello was struck on the flank by a cannonball; it bounced off him, leaving him unharmed. in the end the spaniards achieved a resounding victory—which they attributed to the power of saint francis xavier and father mastrilli’s intercession. [ 7 ]
marcello mastrilli was born in naples on 14 september 1603, the son of the marquis of san marzano. although born into a life of aristocratic privilege, at age 14 marcello recognized his calling to religious vocation and announced this to his parents. meeting his father’s opposition, the determined marcello nevertheless left home in 1618 and entered the jesuit novitiate at naples. soon thereafter he had a vision of heaven opening and instantaneously understood his life’s purpose: a mission to the indies. in that same instant, he was infused with a love for christ that he knew he must live out by suffering for him. [ 1 ] during his years of novitiate, he was often visited by apparitions of saint francis xavier, the apostle of the indies, in the form of a horseman dressed in white .
history: the novena of grace, which begins march 4th and ends on the 12th, the day of the canonization of st. francis xavier, owes its origin to the saint himself. at naples, in december, 1633, father marcello mastrilli, s. j. was at the point of death. the saint appeared to him and, bidding him renew a vow he had made to labor in japan, said :
, known as the
novena of grace
, originated as follows: in 1633 father mastrilli, s. j. , was at the point of death as a result of an
with that victory sealed, father mastrilli joined the japanese exile community in the philippines and devoted himself to learning their language. he also procured their services in building him a boat of japanese design in which he planned to slip into japan in japanese guise; many of the japanese exiles insisted on going with him. a chinese ship carried father mastrilli, his companions, and their boat to macau, where the governor became their secret ally: he pardoned a certain ship’s pilot condemned to death for transporting a dominican friar to japan on condition that he carry father mastrilli’s mission to japan. embarking on a spanish ship that would carry them and their landing craft to japanese waters, they met with numerous vicissitudes along the way, including a fierce storm off formosa. father mastrilli is reported to have calmed the storm by making the sign of the cross over the sea with his reliquary containing saint francis xavier’s relics. [ 8 ]
at eleven o’clock on the morning of wednesday, 14 october 1637, father mastrilli was led from his prison to the execution - ground atop the slope called nishi - zaka that overlooked nagasaki bay. the jesuits’ report on his martyrdom reads :
having been unshaken by the water torture, father mastrilli was returned to his prison cell, where he discovered that all his companions but one had apostatized; andrew koteda had died in the pit, holding out to the glorious end. [ 15 ] while interrogating the others, the magistrates gleaned information that mastrilli had withheld from them; they interrogated him again, threatening direr torments. he told them to do their worst, adding, “my god will give me the strength to bear it. ” [ 16 ]
father marcello mastrilli s. j. is a martyr credited in his lifetime with countless miracles, an intrepid warrior for christ whose dream was to convert the emperor of japan to the faith or die martyred as a testimony to its absolute truth. twice he testified to that truth with his lifeblood, first on a parchment signed in his own blood and placed in the hand of saint francis xavier’s corpse in its sepulchre at goa, india. his second and final blood testament was his voluntary death by torture in nagasaki, the fulfillment of his longing to atone for the apostasy of a fellow jesuit who had preceded him to japan .
the novena of grace is a catholic devotion addressed to saint francis xavier, which is usually performed from march 4 to 12. it was instigated in 1633 by an italian jesuit, fr marcello mastrilli sj, who saw a vision of st francis xavier after he had received a life - threatening head injury. fr mastrilli was on the verge of travelling to japan to work as a missionary at the time and, in the vision, st francis urged him to recommit himself to the mission and told him :
all those who implore my help daily for nine consecutive days, from the fourth to the twelfth of march inclusive and worthily receive the sacraments of penance and holy communion on one of the nine days will experience my protection and may hope with entire assurance to obtain from god any grace they ask that is for the good of their souls and the glory of god .
after his recovery, fr mastrilli not only kept his vow and travelled to japan with a band of 33 jesuit missionaries where he was martyred, but he also widely publicised st francis xavier’s promise and began the devotion of the novena of grace which continues to this day .
boxer tells us, “the record for enduring [ this torture ] is still that of the seventeenth - century italian jesuit, mastrilli, who is said to have withstood it for two days, and received four hundred jars of water on the second day alone. ” [ 14 ]
in goa, father marcello spent many hours praying at st francis xavier’s tomb; he had it opened and the saint’s corpse dressed in a “magnificent chasuble” donated by the spanish crown. he also got leave from the provincial to take relics from the body—a handkerchief soaked in francis xavier’s blood and a little box containing a relic of his flesh—and left in the saint’s hand a letter signed in his own blood. [ 5 ]
once lowered onto the waves, the little vessel [ 9 ] carrying father mastrilli and his companions struck out for shore, making land at satsuma on 19 september. he entered japan with one japanese companion and was immediately discovered, but bribed his discoverer and set off inland; as their boat lay offshore, all his other japanese companions were recognized as christians and seized. eventually they confessed that they had sailed with father mastrilli, which information sparked a frenzied search of the countryside for the intrepid priest. after several days he was discovered, his captors led to him by the smoke of his campfire. when they arrived he told them, “my sons, come and seize me. ”
this was the life - defining moment: from his youth marcello mastrilli had studied and labored and yearned precisely for this great and precious hour. the very proving - ground where christovão ferreira, his unhappy predecessor, had abandoned christ, his church, and the religious order called by his name—the society of jesus—would be the stage upon which the integrity, truth, and power of that name would shine forth in all its dazzling glory. indeed, ferreira’s own given name, christovão, derived from the greek christophoros: “bearing christ. ” certainly, mastrilli the scholar would have known that etymology and wrestled in his soul with its implications: he must bear the burden, the cross, the honor and the glory of that name into the darkness and horror of the pit—bear the name unflinching, unyielding, undaunted by the pit’s dank, claustrophobic closeness, its unvented stench, its inferno of unrelenting, unendurable agonies that must be endured, that were his chosen path to paradise, with no turning back short of apostasy. for father marcello’s apostasy would declaim the falsity and the madness of his “alien religion contrary to the beliefs of buddhism and shintō”; were he to break down after having proclaimed to all of nagasaki—indeed, to all creation—that his end would redound to the glory of his god and to his unshakable faith in that god’s promise of heaven, then news of that breakdown, bruited far and wide, would gravely wound his already - brutalized religion and smear that spotless name he bore into the pit with the foul muck of cowardice, a fault unforgivable in martial - spirited japan. countless earthbound souls would indeed “learn from his punishment”—to the horror and dismay of all the onlooking souls up in heaven .
on 11 december 1633 marcello was gravely injured when a workman, taking down draperies hung in the cardinal’s palace at naples for the feast of the immaculate conception, dropped a hammer on his head from a great height. he fell into delirium and lingered on the edge of death for ten days. on the 21st he was visited by yet another apparition of that friend of his in heaven, who led him through a series of prayers and vows, finally declaring, “you are healed: kiss in thanksgiving the sacred wounds of the crucifix. ” [ 2 ]
father marcello, hands tied behind his back, was wrapped in coils of rope from his feet up to his chest and, hanging by his feet from a gallows, lowered head - down into the pit. then the wooden lid—made in two halves, with cut - outs in the center to clamp and pinch the victim’s body—was closed on him. this method of “persuasion, ” invented by takenaka uneme - no - shō, [ 24 ] a former magistrate of nagasaki, had proven more effective in procuring forced apostasies from christians than had any other regime of torture. this was understandable, given its effects on the victim :
father mastrilli was returned to his prison to recuperate for the final torture: he had been sentenced to die in the pit. joyfully welcoming the bearer of his death - sentence, he prophesied that he would not die in the pit, but would instead be beheaded. [ 19 ] it would prove to be his last night before the final horrors began. “he passed the rest of the night in an ecstasy accompanied by miracles, ” reports léon pagès. [ 20 ]
the magistrates ordered that the priest be beheaded at once. on hearing the news, father mastrilli was jubilant, as this was precisely the end he had predicted. after the executioners had pulled him from the pit, he knelt on the sacred earth atop nishi - zaka and, invoking his patron in heaven, “he cried out with great emotion, ‘father saint francis xavier, father saint francis xavier, ’ words that were heard by the portuguese who were present. ” [ 29 ]
father eusebio francisco kino, s. j. , thirty - three years after the miraculous cure of father mastrilli, credited his own recovery from near death to the intercession of st. francis xavier. like father marcello, kino vowed to spend his life in the missions, finally arriving in the pimería alta (sonora and arizona) in 1687. after founding mission dolores, his first visitas were dedicated in honor of saints ignatius and xavier at the close of the celebration of the canonization of the two saints. kino was a fervent promoter of devotion to st. francis xavier, his own patron saint, whom he saw as the great protector of native peoples throughout northwest mexico. the final days of kino’s own life came at the very close of the novena of grace as he was dedicating a chapel in honor of xavier in the mission pueblo of magdalena, sonora, march 15, 1711. now nearly three centuries later, throngs of devout christians flock to magdalena each year to honor st. francis xavier — a kind of continuing novena of grace. many say the pilgrimage also honors the “apostle to the pimas” just as much as the “apostle to the indies. “ whether kino or xavier, they were each men of unwavering faith wholly dedicated to the salvation of the people they had come to serve .
and learn they did. when the “iron tongue” was removed from his mouth on that mountaintop killing - ground sanctified with countless martyrs’ blood, father mastrilli thanked the magistrates, who themselves had come to nishi - zaka, and proclaimed to them, to the torturers, and in the hearing of all the crowd, the thousands of citizens of nagasaki who had come to see this spectacle, “now you shall know, sirs, how great is the god whom we adore, and how precious the paradise for which we hope. ” [ 23 ]
impressed though they were by their prisoner’s apparent sincerity and strength of character, the nagasaki magistrates had to carry out the shōgun’s law. to urge father mastrilli’s apostasy, they subjected him to the water torture for two days on end. the first day they used the funnel technique, wherein the victim has a funnel shoved into his mouth and great amounts of water poured into him so that water and blood come gushing out through the victim’s mouth, ears and nose. [ 12 ] the second day’s torture was more refined. a contemporary eyewitness, quoted by historian c. r. boxer, describes this method :
contrary to the executioners’ expectations, however, this bateren, [ 26 ] this priest, neither squirmed nor groaned, but kept perfectly still. thinking him prematurely dead, the executioners opened the lid; father mastrilli told them, “i desire nothing; i am in paradise. ” when the magistrates renewed their effort to tempt him to apostasy, he told them that the sun would reverse its course before his faith would fail. when the guards, perhaps to tempt him or perhaps out of real concern, asked him if he wanted water, he answered, “i want neither water nor anything else; only glory, glory! ” [ 27 ]
taken to nagasaki, father mastrilli appeared before the shōgun’s magistrates on 5 october 1637. when asked why he had come to japan, he answered that he had come to speak to the emperor, to restore him to health were he still alive, and to teach him the law of jesus christ. [ 10 ] (the “emperor” of whom he spoke was in fact the shōgun iemitsu, who was thought to be afflicted with leprosy. [ 11 ]) he then told them that he had been sent as an ambassador by saint francis xavier, whom the magistrates knew to have been long since dead, and he recounted to them the story of his miraculous healing by xavier’s spirit .
although the news had not yet reached catholic europe, on october 18th of that same year, the jesuit provincial in japan had apostatized under torture at nagasaki. this man, christovão ferreira, had given in after five hours’ hanging in “the pit”—perhaps the most horrible torture ever devised by man. when the disconcerting news did finally arrive, many european jesuits came forward to volunteer themselves for an atoning mission to japan, hoping to die there as martyrs. father mastrilli was chosen as the mission’s superior, with good reason: he had earlier asked the father general of the society of jesus for permission to go to the indies to convert souls, whereupon the father general responded that he need not ask him for the permission that saint francis xavier—in apparition—had already given him .
from goa the mission sailed to macau—the portuguese base in east asia—hoping to proceed onward to japan, but found there that no japan - bound portuguese ship would take a priest aboard. for fear of cutting macao’s economic lifeline—the japan silk trade—and of putting all portuguese in nagasaki at risk of capital punishment by the shōgun’s deputies, the clerical authorities in macao had banned the smuggling of clergy into japan on pain of excommunication. [ 6 ] the jesuits sailed on to manila to try their luck there, arriving on 3 july. the governor of the philippines, don sebastián hurtado de corcuera, was enthusiastic about their intended mission to japan, but the spanish populace opposed the plan for fear of the mass slaughter of clergy that it would almost certainly entail; they dissuaded father mastrilli’s companions from accompanying him, and all but he returned to macau .
normally, when a christian had been hung upside - down in the pit for an extended time, toxic blood would collect in his head, blood that must be vented by means of incisions on the temples lest he die too soon—for, after all, the magistrates wanted apostasy through torture, not death. yet, after four days’ torture in the pit, father mastrilli showed none of the usual symptoms. reports of this phenomenon alarmed the magistrates. one can guess their fears: perhaps the paradise this dauntless bateren had spoken of was real. perhaps the people of nagasaki, the guards and executioners included, were witnessing an ongoing miracle granted this bateren by his foreign god, a sign that all others might indeed learn from—but a lesson prejudicial to “the grand shōgun, emperor of japan, ” an incontrovertible sign of the truth of that “alien religion contrary to the beliefs of buddhism and shintō. ” if so, then they must act, and fast. [ 28 ]
[ 1 ] léon pagès, histoire de la religion chrétienne au japon depuis 1598 jusqu’à 165 1. (paris: charles douniol, 1869), 828, note. [ 2 ] pagès, 829. [ 3 ] for interesting details on this apparition, see: ines g. županov, “passage to india: jesuit spiritual economy between martyrdom and profit in the seventeenth century” in journal of early modern history, vol. 16, issue 2 (2012), pp 121 - 159. [ 4 ] pagès, 830. [ 5 ] pagès, 831. [ 6 ] c. r. boxer, the christian century in japan, 1549 - 1650. (lisbon: carcanet, 1951), 369 - 370. [ 7 ] pagès, 832. [ 8 ] pagès, 833. [ 9 ] a replacement for the boat the japanese exiles had built; it had been found unsuitable. [ 10 ] pagès, 834. [ 11 ] he may in fact have had smallpox. see liam matthew brockey, the visitor: andré palmeiro and the jesuits in asia. (cambridge, mass: belknap press, 2014), 405. [ 12 ] saint magdalena of nagasaki received that torture, described here: urltoken [ 13 ] boxer, the christian century, 351. [ 14 ] ibid, 351. [ 15 ] pagès, 836. [ 16 ] willis, clive. “the martyrdom of father marcello mastrilli s. j. ” journal of the royal asiatic society hong kong bran ch 53 (2013): 220. urltoken [ 17 ] willis, 220 - 221. [ 18 ] pagès, 836. [ 19 ] pagès, 836 - 837. [ 20 ] pagès, 837. [ 21 ] willis, 222. a translation from the original portuguese. [ 22 ] ibid. [ 23 ] pagès, 838. [ 24 ] 竹中采女正, nagasaki bugyō from 1629 to 1633, when he was removed from his post for illegal trading. he was forced to commit seppuku in 1634. [ 25 ] borrowed from urltoken. the excerpt from françois caron is quoted in boxer, the christian century, 354. [ 26 ] japanese borrowing of the portuguese ‘padre. ’ [ 27 ] pagès, 838. [ 28 ] the jesuits’ report notes an additional reason: “the reason for their hurry was a forthcoming celebration in the temple the next day, a day on which acts of judicial punishment were forbidden. ” willis, 223. also noted in léon pagès, histoire, 838. [ 29 ] willis, 223 .
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on the ninth day after the death or burial of relatives and friends. they held the number seven more sacred than any other. on the contrary, we find among the ancient romans an official nine days' religious celebration whose origin is related in livy (i, xxxi). after a shower of stones on the alban mount, an official sacrifice, whether because of a warning from above or of the augurs' advice, was held on nine days to appease the gods and avert
was made whenever the like wonder was announced (cf. livy, xxi, lxii; xxv, vii; xxvi, xxiii etc .) .
on the ninth day after death or burial. this, however, was rather of a private or
character (cf. homer, iliad, xxiv, 664, 784; virgil, aeneid, v, 64; tacitus, annals, vi, v .). the romans also celebrated their
, a yearly novena (13 to 22 feb .) of commemoration of all the departed members of their
( cf. mommsen ,
corp. inscript. latin .
, i, 386 sq .). the celebration ended on the ninth day with a sacrifice and a joyful banquet. there is a reference to these customs in the
(
corp. jur. civil. justinian .
, ii, turin, 1757, 696, tit. xix ,
de sepulchro violato
), where creditors are forbidden to trouble the heirs of their debtor for nine days after his death. st. augustine (p. l. , xxxiv, 596) warns
. later on, the same was done by the pseudo - alcuin (p. l. , ci, 1278), invoking the authority of
, and still more sharply by john beleth (p. l. , ccii, 160) in the twelfth century. even durandus in his
rationale
( naples, 1478), writing on the
mortuary celebrations, one finds that of the ninth day with those of the third and seventh. the
constitutiones apostolicae
( viii, xlii; p. g. , i, 1147) already speak of it. the
and anglo - saxons. even if it was connected with an earlier practice of the
. a nine days' mourning with daily mass was a distinction, naturally, which could be shared by none but the higher classes. princes and the
the nine days' mourning was retained, and so came to be called simply the
pope' s novena
( cf .
,
museum italicum
, ii, paris, 1689, 530 sqq. ,
ordo roman. xv
; p. l. , lxxviii, 1353; const .
in eligendis
of
, 9 oct. , 1562). the usage still continues and consists chiefly in a novena of masses for the departed. a
of the sacred congregation of rites (22 apr. , 1633) informs us that such novenas of mourning ,
and allowed in the churches of religious (decr. auth. s. r. c. , 604). they are no longer in common use, though they have never been forbidden, and indeed, on the contrary ,
was transferred for the whole country by the tenth council of toledo in 656 (cap. i ;
,
coll. conc .
, xi, 34) to 18 dec. , as the most fitting
. and this usage, because of the people who took part in the celebration, was permitted to continue (28 sept. , 1658; decr. auth. , 1093). a french
( martene ,
de antiq. eccles. ritib .
, iii, venice, 1783, 30). in
the novena seems to have spread only in the seventeenth century. still, the
praxis caeremoniarum seu sacrorum romanae ecclesiae rituum accurata tractatio
of the
piscara castaldo, a book approved in 1525 by the author' s father general (naples, 1645, p. 386 sqq .), gives complete directions for the celebration of the
were also (2 sept. , 1690) declared permissible (decr. auth. , 1843). in general, in the seventeenth century, numerous novenas were held especially in the churches of religious and to the saints of the various orders (cf. prola ,
de novendialibus supplicationibus
, romae 1724 ,
in the celebration of novenas, special permission was granted (decr. auth. , 3728), and in the
with a novena, especially to recover health. the original home of this novena must have been
, and the neighbourhood of the lower rhine. specially noteworthy up to the year 1000 are the novenas to
, st. marcolf, and st. mommolus. st. mommolus (or mummolus) was considered the special
, 1733, 645 sqq. ;
acta ss .
, august, ii, 351 sqq. ;
the power to cure scrofula by a touch of their hand. for this purpose, shortly after their
of st. marcolf at corbeny and make a novena there. those who were to be healed had to make a similar novena. but the best known is the novena to
, which continues even to our day. this is made against madness by people bitten by a mad dog or wolf (acta ss. , november, i, 871 sqq .) .
( cf .
acta ss .
, loc. cit. , where the attack is met and the novena justified). before this ,
abuse of this novena. but he does not reject novenas in general and we see from his works that in his time they were already widespread (opera, paris, 1606, ii, 328; iii, 386, 389). but notwithstanding
. not, of course, that every single variation or addition made in whatever private novena must be justified or defended. the holiest custom can be abused, but the use of the number nine cannot only be justified but even interpreted in the best sense .
; the number nine, which is lacking of ten, is the number of imperfection, which is fitting for mortal kind. in some such way the
, philosophized on the meaning of the number nine. for this reason it was adapted for use where
; pseudo - ambrosius, p. l. , xvii, 10 sq. , 633 ;
, p. l. , cix, 948 sq. , cxi, 491; angelomus monach. , in lib. reg. iv, p. l. , cxv, 346 ;
at the ninth hour, as in the penitential books (cf. schmitz ,
die bussbucher und die bussdisciplin
, ii, 1898, 539, 570, 673), or remarked that, by means of holy mass on the ninth day, the departed were to be raised to the ranks of the nine choirs of
from the beginning, so that it was reckoned among the
apostolic hours
( cf .
him in nine lessons, while from ancient times the kyrie has been heard nine times in every mass (cf. durandus ,
rationale, de nona
;
novena is the nine months of christ in the womb. but for every novena of preparation, as also for every novena of
to make this preparation. and when the young church had faithfully persevered for nine full days in it, the
to blessed margaret mary alacoque recommended the special celebration of nine successive first fridays of the month (cf. vermeersch ,
pratique et doctrine de la dévotion au sacré coeur de jésus
,
waited so long before positively approving and recommending novenas rather than that she finally took this step (cf .
collection de précis historiques
,
, and even there for only one church, was the novena in preparation for the feast of st. joseph in the church of st. ignatius. this was done by the
, 10 feb. , and 4 march, 1713 (cf. prola, loc. cit. ;
for it on 10 apr. , 1764 (resc. auth. s. c. indulg. , 215). not until later, especially from the beginning of the nineteenth century, were various novenas enriched with
in common for the whole church. they number in all thirty - two, intended for the most part as novenas of preparation for definite
, prior to the feast of st. joseph (19 march) and one at any time during the year; one novena each in
implored his assistance in a novena with such success that it came to be called the
novena of grace
. this novena is now made publicly in many countries from 4 to 12 march, the latter being the date of the
by doing so as soon as possible. all of these novenas without exception are to be made, in private or in public, with
novenas, to a certain extent official, have but contributed to increase the confidence of the faithful in novenas. hence, even the private novena of
flourishes in our day. through the novena to our lady of lourdes, through that to
or some other saint, the faithful seek and find help and relief. the history of novenas is not yet written, but it is doubtless a good part of the history of childlike
nihil obstat. february 1, 1911. remy lafort, s. t. d. , censor .
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the mission left lisbon on holy saturday, 7 april 1635. forty religious were originally to have left for japan, but, “due to the parsimony of the royal treasury” of philip iv, only 33 embarked. [ 4 ] on 8 december, the feast of the immaculate conception, they reached goa, the capital of portuguese india. there they learned of the martyrdom in japan of twenty - four jesuits the preceding year .
“they tie the martyr down on a board, leaving his left hand free so that he can place it on his breast if he wishes to give a sign that he will recant. his head is left hanging down a little, and the torturers do not stop pouring great quantities of water on his face … the victims make such frantic efforts to breath [ e ] that they usually burst a blood - vessel. ” [ 13 ]
handed over to the torturers, he was stripped naked and subjected to scorching of his private parts with red - hot tongs. his modesty offended, he shamed the torturers for stooping to such vile torments; they put away their branding - iron and subjected him to the water - torture for a third time. [ 17 ] although tortured to the edge of death, he still clung to his faith. [ 18 ]
his mouth was gagged by an iron tongue with sharp, projecting points that prevented him from proclaiming our holy faith. trussed with ropes and chains he was borne astride a horse. the right side of his head was totally shaven, while the left side was painted red, a token of extreme ignominy to the japanese. [ 21 ]
yet he was not jeered at by the crowd. behind him was carried a banner proclaiming :
the grand shōgun, emperor of japan, orders this sentence to be inflicted on the person of this madman for coming to japan to preach an alien religion contrary to the beliefs of buddhism and shintō, so that all others may learn from his punishment. [ 22 ]
it felt like his head was going to explode; his mouth, nose and ears would soon start oozing blood. françois caron, the chief of the dutch trading - post in hirado, wrote, “this extremitie hath indeed … forced many to renounce their religion; and some of them who had hung two or three days assured me that the pains they endured were wholly unsufferable, no fire nor no torture equalling their languor and violence. ” [ 25 ]
and heard, no doubt, by that friend of his in heaven and all the heavenly host .
it took three slashes of the sword to sever his venerable head. perhaps the swordsman, in the silence of his heart and in that name the bateren had borne into the pit, was shouting his own cry to heaven as he raised his sword atop nishi - zaka—whose earth, mixed with holy martyrs’ blood, overlooked christian nagasaki and its sparkling bay, japan’s door to the wider world .
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next tuesday, 4 march, we will begin our novena of grace with st francis xavier sj. a prayer booklet has been prepared by two alumnae of the chaplaincy at oxford university, under fr simon bishop sj, the director of spirituality for the jesuits in britain. the prayer booklet combines the words and example of pope francis and those of st francis xavier sj. “they are of a kindred spirit and are perfectly matched, ” says fr simon. “i hope anyone who takes part in the novena of grace will find the reflections, the prayers and the pictures both consoling and challenging .
while the traditional nine days for the novena of grace are in march, the novena can be prayed at any time of the year. the prayer booklet produced by the jesuits in britain is available from jesuit parishes throughout britain. the prayer leaflet in pdf format is attached .
rt @ frtimsj: the @ jesuitsbritain will establish a new laudato si' institute at @ campionoxf at @ uniofoxford. urltoken https: / …
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promise :
all those who implore my help daily for nine consecutive days, from the 4th to the 12th of march included, and worthily receive the sacraments of penance and the holy eucharist on one of the nine days, will experience my protection and may hope with entire assurance to obtain from god any grace they ask for the good of their souls and the glory of god .
the father arose, instantly cured. so well has the saint kept this promise that this devotion in his honor became universally known as the novena of grace. its efficacy is not restricted to the dates mentioned. it may be made very appropriately from november 25 - december 3, the feast of st. francis xavier. though any prayers can be said in honor of the saint, the foregoing are generally recommended .
o saint francis xavier, well beloved and full of charity, in union with thee, i reverently adore the majesty of god; and since i rejoice with exceeding joy in the singular gifts of grace bestowed upon thee during thy life, and thy gifts of glory after death, i give him hearty thanks therefore; i beseech thee with all my heart' s devotion to be pleased to obtain for me, by thy effectual intercession, above all things, the grace of a holy life and a happy death. moreover, i beg of thee to obtain for me... (here mention the spiritual or temporal favor to be prayed for). but if what i ask of thee so earnestly doth not tend to the glory of god and the greater good of my soul, do thou, i pray, obtain for me what is more profitable to both these ends. amen .
if, for any reason, the above prayer cannot be said, it will suffice to say five times our father, hail mary and glory be. - - - - - s. c. ind. , march 23, 1904 .
eternal god, creator of all things, remember that thou alone didst create the souls of infidels, framing them to thy own image and likeness; behold, o lord! how, to thy dishonor, hell is daily replenished with them. remember, o lord! thy only son, jesus christ, who suffered for them, most bountifully shedding his precious blood: suffer not, o lord thy son and our lord to be any longer despised by infidels; but rather, being appeased by the entreaties and prayers of the elect, the saints, and of the church, the most blessed spouse of thy son, vouchsafe to be mindful of thy mercy, and forgetting their idolatry and infidelity, cause them also to know him whom thou didst send, jesus christ thy son, our lord, who is our health, life, and resurrection, through whom we are freed and saved, to whom be all glory forever .
personen zu kirchengeschichte, systematischer und praktischer theologie, kirche und konfession (3. 6p )
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devotion to st. francis xavier in the southwest of the u. s. a. and in the state of sonora
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marcello francesco mastrilli ( 1603 – october 17 , 1637 ) was an italian jesuit missionary who was martyred in japan on mount unzen during the tokugawa shogunate , which had banned christianity in 1614 . after sailing for japan out to find and possibly reconvert the notorious apostate christavao ferreira , who went to japan and renounced his faith there , he was arrested as soon as he got off his ship . after three days of torture in the pit of nagasaki , he was beheaded . a painting of his death , martyrdom of saint marcello mastrilli ( 1664 ) , was made by antonio maria vassallo . susceptible to visions , he was particularly influenced by visitations by the jesuit missionary st. francis xavier , who appeared to him twice in 1633 , and foretold him his martyrdom . st. frances xavier is credited with twice miraculously restoring mastrilli 's health ( even if only to incite him to do missionary work in japan ) , and since the account reportedly spread quickly through italy , the " novena of grace , " in honor of st. francis xavier , was established . mastrilli 's initiative is supposedly to thank for the presence of a silver casket in the basilica of bom jesus in old goa , which houses relics of the body of st. francis xavier . 
marcello francesco mastrilli (1603 – october 17, 1637) was an italian jesuit missionary who was martyred in japan on mount unzen during the tokugawa shogunate, which had banned christianity in 1614. after sailing for japan out to find and possibly reconvert the notorious apostate christavao ferreira, who went to japan and renounced his faith there, he was arrested as soon as he got off his ship. after three days of torture in the pit of nagasaki, he was beheaded. a painting of his death, martyrdom of saint marcello mastrilli (1664), was made by antonio maria vassallo. susceptible to visions, he was particularly influenced by visitations by the jesuit missionary st. francis xavier, who appeared to him twice in 1633, and foretold him his martyrdom. st. frances xavier is credited with twice miraculously restoring mastrilli's health (even if only to incite him to do missionary work in japan), and since the account reportedly spread quickly through italy, the " novena of grace, " in honor of st. francis xavier, was established. mastrilli's initiative is supposedly to thank for the presence of a silver casket in the basilica of bom jesus in old goa, which houses relics of the body of st. francis xavier.
marcello francesco mastrilli (1603 – october 17, 1637) was an italian jesuit missionary who was martyred in japan on mount unzen during the tokugawa shogunate, which had banned christianity in 1614. after sailing for japan out to find and possibly reconvert the notorious apostate christavao ferreira, who went to japan and renounced his faith there, he was arrested as soon as he got off his ship. after three days of torture in the pit of nagasaki, he was beheaded. a painting of his death, martyrdom of saint marcello mastrilli (1664), was made by antonio maria vassallo. susceptible to visions, he was particularly influenced by visitations by the jesuit missionary st. francis xavier, who appeared to him twice in 1633, and foretold him his martyrdom. st. frances xavier is credited with twice miraculously restoring mastrilli's health (even if only to incite him to do missionary work in japan), and since the account reportedly spread quickly through italy, the " novena of grace, " in honor of st. francis xavier, was established. mastrilli's initiative is supposedly to thank for the presence of a silver casket in the basilica of bom jesus in old goa, which houses relics of the body of st. francis xavier.