Mark Dohle
Well-Known Member
Memories of one of our Monastery founders
Fr. Francis Xavier (Written in 2016)
When I read the part of scripture where Jesus talks about the importance of being childlike as opposed to childish; I always think of Fr. Francis Xavier. When I first met him in 1968 I was taken by his child-like simplicity. He was open, joyful, filled with energy and he had a deep abiding love of all things sugary/chocolaty/candy-bar-ey/cakey. Which I found amazing; since he was ‘like’ very old when I first met him and he broke all of the molds I had of older people.
This was a great gift he bestowed on me in my early months in the Monastery, a priceless bequest for me. Though he was younger than I am now…yeah once I thought of old people as other; ‘now I am one’…and truth be told, happy about that.
At meals he would get a bit of this and smattering of that, then a lot of deserts, or ice cream, which we had every Sunday. Yet in his late 60’s when I met him, he was full of energy and health and good humor. He was always laughing at/about life, but in a loving way. Back then, we used to have tours of the Monastery proper and he was one of the main tour guides, which he enjoyed. He simply loved people and would spend a lot of time answering questions with great patience. In the mid-70’s I was the community food buyer for a while. I went to a couple of food shows in Atlanta and was always amazed at how many people knew him. They would see my name tag and where I was from and start telling me stories of Fr. Francis. Many of them were racing stories. Though he was small, and even in his older years, he could outrun many of the youngsters who foolishly thought they might be able to best him.
In the early ’90s a woman brought out her daughter who had cancer in her knee. I guess it was bone cancer. Fr. Francis prayed over the child and blest her. A short time later the woman came back excited about her daughter’s recovery. She wanted to thank Fr. Francis for his prayers and the ‘miracle’ he did. He looked at her and in a stern voice (though not unkind) said, “If it was a miracle it was God who did it and not me” and walked away. The lady just smiled and shook my hand and left. He did have his feet firmly placed on the ground. I am still happy for that mother.
One thing I learned early on, he was also very deep; there was no naiveté in him. He understood people probably because he has a great deal of self-knowledge. His child-likeness was rooted in his deep trust in God and unwavering faith. He also loved prayer and his prayer was deep and very childlike. He always had his rosary in hand or saying the name of Jesus over and over again in a reverent tone. He would sometimes whisper louder than he thought so others could hear him. I never heard him speed through the saying of the blessed name of Jesus.
He was in the infirmary for a short time and he was no trouble at all to care for. I made sure he was well stocked with candy etc. He would spend many hours in his room, just sitting and praying his rosary. He always had a smile on his face. He did tell me one day that he suffered from scrupulosity. I asked him how bad they were. He responded “sometimes bad, but you know I never really believed any of it….so I just prayed and trusted God anyway”. He died like a beloved child of God, gently, sweetly, and with no fuss……..I do miss him…..God Bless you Fr. Francis Xavier.
I truly feel blessed that I entered the Monastery at a time when most of the founders were still alive. We have their picture hanging on the wall in the room next to our Sacristy. I love to stop and look at it, and to ask them to pray for us who are still here and to help us to love those who come here, to be able to truly see Christ Jesus in all who come here.-Br.MD
