Feb 4 John de Britto d. 1693 c. 1947

John and Thommy


Good morning
I love you

Saturday morning prayer with you through the feasts…. Written for us, for me, for later as well [bloggable too.]

February 4 John de Britto, S.J. d. 1693 c. 1947

I suppose I should know something about all the Jesuit saints, especially those canonized before 1967 [de Britto was canonized by Pius XII in 1947]. But I don’t. this one draws a total blank. And there are not that many.

John de Britto, from Lisbon, was dedicated at birth to St Francis Xavier. I don’t know if I were dedicated to any one when I was baptized. Your names honor your family – grandfathers and [grand]father  [as well as the family tradition of naming sons after grandfathers and [grand]father…. John took to his name with panache – in Kindergarten came home and announced that Sister Luke said that his real name was John not Jack. Then, at your confirmation, you took John again. Evangelist. Baptist. Thommy has all the William and Thomas saints. There’s only one Kenneth [Canice] saint that I know of – a saint shared with your grandfather and uncle as well as a cousin [my uncle Fran’s onldest son. Kenneth is a family name.]. Yes, it’s important to connect you to family by name. it’s also important to connect with the family of saints.

John de Britto came from a noble family and was a friend to King Pedro of Portuagal [in case you forgot where Lisbon is – the non-escape route from Casablanca.]

John de Britto became a Jesuit at age 15. I was young at 17. maybe the merry-go-round’s stopping was not meant for me to get off and go to a different fair but to stay a Jesuit but on a different ride. Oh well….

John de Britto found his vocation to be a missionary – and from Portugal, especially for a man dedicated to Francis Xavier, the mission would be India – Goa, Malabar, et al. the Jesuit missionaries have a strategy that, like St Patrick, encourages them to assimilate themselves into the lives and culture of the people they wish to covert. So the change for the missionary is as great as the to be converted. The missionary has to find God and faith and church again through the eyes of the locals.

In 1683, John de Britto left India for a while but returned in 1691. The climate had changed to hostile. John de Britto was captured and told to leave India. Live your faith, encourage others to live this faith with you, and a notuncommon response is for the people to ask you to leave – if they can’t first quash your living or proselytizing your faith. If you refuse to leave, maybe you’d end up like John de Britto - - tortured then put to death.

I love you.
dad