The Archives Devotional Magazine August 2015 | Page 13

Taking Care of Others
In the 1500s, Francis Xavier , cofounder of the Jesuits, spent time in
India ministering to the hospitalized
and spending time with villagers to
teach them about God. He then
followed the call to Japan, becoming
the first missionary there, bringing
well over 30,000 people (Jesuits say
700,000) to Christ. In 1622, he was
sainted, and in 1927, named the
patron saint of all missions.

Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, a man who had
suffered from a dreaded skin disease. While Jesus was eating, a
woman came to him with an alabaster jar filled with an expensive
perfume, which she poured on his head. The disciples saw this
and became angry. “Why all this waste?” they asked. “This
perfume could have been sold for a large amount and the money
given to the poor!”
Jesus knew what they were saying, and so he said to them,
“Why are you bothering this woman? It is a fine and beautiful
thing that she has done for me. You will always have poor
people with you, but you will not always have me. What she did
was to pour this perfume on my body to get me ready for burial.
Now, I assure you that wherever this gospel is preached all over
the world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.”

“Last Judgement” by Jan Provoost, 1525