Novena of Grace

I received an email the other day from the good people that handle alumni affairs at my high school, St. Ignatius, inviting me to participate in the nine day Novena of Grace, which are prayers for the intercession of St. Francis Xavier. The email contained a link to a site run by Irish Jesuits, whereby one can participate in these daily prayers from the convenience of one's home Internet device. The site exhorts individuals to contemplate on the life of Xavier before beginning the Novena, but I failed to see a link to any history of his life. So I did some investigative work on my own and found this interesting essay on The Miracles of St. Francis Xavier.

The gist is that apparently, the canonization of Xavier is controversial in the eyes of some and is something of a favorite for Protestants making the case against the "spurious miracles of Pagans and Papists." For example, Xavier is credited for having the gift of tongues, but in his own personal journal, Xavier frequently writes of his troubles in learning new languages. Although the Church maintains that his effort to learn new languages should be viewed as a credit, for it would be presumptuous for him to assume that crowds of listeners would be able to understand him in their own native tongue. Also, perhaps the gift of tongues is only gifted on special occasions. His contemporaries do not write or speak of his miracles, but in the Bull of Canonization, Xavier's miracles "make up the bulk of the nineteen pages, in folio, of the papal document." Also, in the biographies written after his death, the amount of miraculous works performed only grow with time. These discrepancies are explained away by the argument that finding witnesses and gathering stories of his great miracles also occurred over a long period of time.

At any rate, the miracles attributed to Xavier are quite fantastic and numerous.

• While celebrating Mass, Xavier was often so rapt in ecstasy that those in attendance could with difficulty rouse him back to normal consciousness. 
  
• At other times during the Holy Sacrifice, he was seen raised from the ground a cubit and more so that “while seeing the greatness of the miracle, the people might acknowledge the sanctity of the servant of God.” 
  
• After his arrival in the Indies, one of the "more outstanding prodigies which he wrought for the edification of the faithful," occurred when a mob of pagan Badages made a surprise attack on a Christian village, intending to kill the inhabitants. But the mob was put to flight when Francis went out to meet them, accompanied by a mysterious figure whose majesty and splendor terrified the assailants. 
  
• At Comorin, when the pagans were not moved by his words, Xavier asked that a tomb which had been sealed the day before should be opened. Then indicating that this would be a sign of God's approval of Christianity, he called to the body to rise. The dead man came to life, with hundreds of natives embracing the faith as a consequence. 
  
• In the same city on another occasion, Francis healed a beggar with ulcerous legs when in a burst of heroism he drank the putrid water in which the running sores had been washed. 
  
• Also in east India, Xavier brought back to life a young man who had died of a pestilential fever, and was being carried to the cemetery. 
  
• In the city of Combutura, a boy had fallen into a deep well and drowned. His body was later brought up to the surface. Francis prayed over the dead child and then, “taking it by the hand, ordered it in the name of Jesus Christ to rise. Immediately the boy returned to life.” 
  
• In Japan, a merchant, blind for years, was given back his sight when Francis recited the Gospels and made the sign of the cross over his head. 
  
• On one occasion, a small crucifix which the missionary had lost in the ocean was restored to him by a sea crab when he reached the shore. 
  
• Again out at sea during a storm, the landing boat of the ship on which he was sailing was torn from its mooring and lost in the waves. Three days later, in answer to Xavier's prayers, the boat floated back to the ship and rested alongside the hulk, ready for landing, as though nothing had happened. 
  
• As examples of his prophetic powers, Francis predicted the fate of two ships sailing out of port-that one would be destroyed in a storm and the other, a smaller and older vessel, would reach its destination in safety. At another time, as he arrived at the altar for Mass, he suddenly turned to the people and asked them to pray for the soul of a wine merchant who had just died, at a distance of twelve days' journey away. He also promised a generous benefactor that God would reward him by telling him the time of his death. Years later, in apparent good health, the man was suddenly forewarned and died in the peace of God.