"St Francis Xavier and Matteo Ricci ... What a Pair"

“St Francis Xavier and Matteo Ricci … What a Pair”

Tomorrow is the feast day of St Francis Xavier … the patron saint of missionairies who died on the shores of China … he didn’t get to fulfill his dream of evangelizing China … though he did leave his ‘mark’ in Japan.

So few people know that Matteo Ricci was born 3 months before St Francis Xavier died … October 6,1552 and December 3, 1552 respectively.

Matteo Ricci spent most of his adult life in China and is revered as the most influential Western individual in more than 5,000 years of Chinese history … the only Western face included in the China Milleniun Monument.
chinaexhibition.com/china_tr … ument.html

… and so few Chinese people are aware of this monumental fact. What a paradox!

Another paradox … Norman Bethune … a Canadian … is known by all literate Chinese people … about one billion people today … thanks to Mao Zedong. Chinese people may only know the name “Bethune” yet they associate the name with respect and admiration for all Canadians … respect and admiration which is so undeserved. How so?

How many Canadians know Norman Bethune’s immense legacy in China? If Canadians were told of his legacy the reaction from most would be to spit on it! … label Bethune a traitor.

Why?

Because almost all Canadians have had … and continue to possess … a virulent attitude to the ideaology known as Communism. What a paradox!

The nation births a man who becomes one of the greatest heroes of the explosive growth of Communism in China and the same peoples … Canadians … loathe him.

Where am I going with this? I don’t know … I’m writing my thoughts as they come … a dangerous practice.

Let’s review what I’ve said so far:

  1. St Francis Xavier … the patron saint of missionaries died on the shores of China.

  2. Matteo Ricci … an Italian … and currently a candidate for sainthood … after a 400 year barrier suddenly collapsed … is revered by the most senior people … leadership … in China.

  3. Norman Bethune … a virtual nobody in Canada … is revered by the masses within China … has been for the past 70 years.

Let’s hope tomorrow St Francis Xavier will shed some light on the above anomalies.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Xavier
lastampa.it/2014/01/11/vatic … agina.html