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New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 48, 28 November 1907, Page 3

Advent is a time of prayei and penance, which the* Chinch has appointed to dispose her children , for the worthy celebration of the birth of bur Savidur. Dur-iftjaj-'A-dvent we ought to prepare ourselves to receive the Son of God, quitting the bosom, of His Father in oiTder to btecome man, jaind converse with us. We ought daily to steal a little time from) our affairs, that we •may medit,ate on tEe (following "questions :— Who comes 1 'Wh,y does He come ? Wha.t shall lie the fruit of Hia coming ? Let all our desires call on Him with the i just, and the Prophets of the Old Testament who longed for Him so much ; and to open a way for Him into our hearts, let us purify ourselves Dyy confession, fasting and Communion. St. Francis Xavier, Confessor The grelat Apostle of Iftie Indies, the St. Paul of modern times, was h[orn in Spain- in 1506. Having gome to the University of Paris to complete his studies, his brilliant talents gained him 'i'an applause which, unfortunately, served -as an incentive to vanity and ambition. Through the instrumentality of his countryman, St. - Ignatius, he learned to seek a higher.- ideal, and to dev*yt.e the exceptional gifts with which God had endowed him to the glory and honor of the Giver. Having been chosen hy the Vicar of Christ to preach the Gospel to nations 'of the Far EasY he sailed for India in 1541. The zeal which he displayed - for the propagation of the faith, the privations which he endured, the labors which marked his life in--India and Japan, are well nigh incredible, and have no parallel except in the labors and Sjourneyings of the Apostle of the Gentiles. His mission was signalised by many miracles, and crowned with remarkable success. He died in 1552, when on the point of 'undertaking the conversion of China. St.\ Francis Xavier is honored as one of the patrons of Australia.