5 Simple Ways to Build a Missionary Heart in Your Kids This Advent (Feast of St. Francis Xavier)

It is December 3rd. The first purple candle on the Advent wreath has been lit, the calendar squares are slowly opening, and if you are anything like most parents, the "December Chaos" is already threatening to overshadow the peace of the season.

It can feel strange, liturgically speaking, to pause our focus on the road to Bethlehem to celebrate a saint like St. Francis Xavier today. He was a 16th-century Jesuit priest who traveled thousands of miles to India and Japan. What does a globe-trotting missionary have to do with cozy Advent nights and preparing for the Baby Jesus?

Actually, he has everything to do with it.

Advent is, at its core, a journey. It is a spiritual migration from darkness to light, from the wilderness to the Manger. St. Francis Xavier reminds us that we are all travelers. He teaches us that a heart on fire for Christ doesn’t sit still, it moves, it seeks, and it shares.

As we look for meaningful Catholic family Advent traditions to ground our children this year, we can use the Feast of St. Francis Xavier to transform our waiting into active preparation. We can teach our children that, just like this great saint, we are on a mission to bring Jesus into the world.

Here are five simple ways to cultivate a missionary heart in your children this Advent, right amidst the laundry, the school runs, and the cookie baking.

1. The 'Domestic Mission': Reframing the Mundane
St. Francis Xavier is famous for baptizing tens of thousands of people and enduring shipwreck and starvation. As parents, our "shipwrecks" look more like toddler tantrums in the checkout aisle, and our "starvation" is often just forgetting to eat lunch because we were feeding everyone else.

However, the domestic church is a mission field. To build a missionary heart in your kids, start by reframing the "have-to-do" tasks as "get-to-do" acts of love.

The Activity:
Challenge your family to do "Secret Mission" chores today. St. Francis served the sick and washed his own clothes despite being a brilliant scholar. Tell your children that a missionary does small things with great love.

• **For Toddlers:** "Let’s put these toys away so Baby Jesus has a clean floor to play on!"
• **For Older Kids:** Challenge them to do one chore without being asked, offering it up for someone who doesn't know Jesus yet.

By sanctifying the mundane, we teach them that the mission field isn't just overseas, it’s right here in the kitchen.

2. The 'Wandering Wisemen' (and Holy Family!)
One of the most beloved Catholic family Advent traditions is the slowly moving Nativity scene. This is a visual, tactile way to teach children that faith is a journey.

However, many of us have ceramic or porcelain Nativity sets that are strictly "look, don't touch." It is hard to teach a child to love the Holy Family when they are terrified of breaking them. To build a missionary heart, children need to get their hands on the story.

The Activity:
Instead of setting up the manger scene all at once, turn it into a daily migration.
*   Place the empty manger in the center of the living room.
*   Place the shepherds in another room (the "fields").
*   Place the Wise Men at the furthest point in the house (the front door or a bedroom).
*   Place Mary and Joseph somewhere in between.

Each day, let the children move the figures a few inches closer to the stable. This builds anticipation and gives them a physical sense of the journey.

Recommendation: To make this stress-free, we recommend the Journey to Bethlehem" Wooden Play Nativity Set. It is durable, chunky, and specifically built for little hands. You won't have to gasp if a toddler drops St. Joseph; these figures are made to travel the rugged terrain of your living room rug!

3. Storytime: Explaining Evangelization through the Shepherds
"Evangelization" is a big word for a preschooler. But St. Francis Xavier’s burning desire was simply to tell people the Good News. You can explain this concept using the figures from your Nativity set.

The Activity:
Sit down with your Wooden Play Nativity and act out the scene of the Shepherds.

• **Ask:** "When the angels told the shepherds about Jesus, did they keep it a secret?"
• **Explain:** "No! The Bible says they went 'with haste' and then told everyone what they had seen. St. Francis Xavier was just like a shepherd. He ran across the world to tell people, 'The Savior is here!'"

Encourage your children to be like the shepherds. Who can they tell about Christmas? Maybe they can make a Christmas card for a neighbor or a lonely relative. That is missionary work!

4. Map Prayers for the World
St. Francis Xavier is the patron saint of foreign missions. While we are cozy in our homes preparing for Christmas, many people around the world are still waiting for the light of Christ, or are living in difficult circumstances.

Advent is the perfect time to widen your family's worldview.

The Activity:
*   Print out a simple map of the world or use a globe if you have one.
*   Mark "India" and "Japan" to show where St. Francis traveled.
*   Each night during Advent prayers, let your child place a sticker or their finger on a different country.
*   Pray a simple "Jesus, please bless the children in [Country Name]" together.

This connects the waiting of Advent with the needs of the wider world, fostering a heart of compassion and intercession.

5. Radical Hospitality: Making Room in the Inn
The final way to build a missionary heart is to teach your children to be the opposite of the Innkeeper. A missionary heart is an *open* heart.

St. Francis Xavier slept in huts, on ships, and on the ground. He relied on the hospitality of others, and he welcomed everyone who came to him for prayer.

The Activity:
Create an "Open Inn" atmosphere this Advent.
*   Bake an extra batch of cookies specifically to give away to a delivery driver or mail carrier.
*   Have your children draw a picture of a door standing wide open.
*   Ask them: "How can we open the door of our hearts to Jesus today?" (Answers might include: Sharing a toy, not fighting with a sibling, listening to Mom right away).

A Prayer for Missionary Zeal in the Home

Finish your St. Francis Xavier feast day (or any night this Advent) by gathering around your Advent wreath or your Journey to Bethlehem set and praying this simple prayer:

> *Lord Jesus,*
> *We are traveling to Bethlehem, just like the Wise Men, the Shepherds, and St. Francis Xavier.*
> *Help our family be missionaries right here at home.*
> *Make our hands helpful,*
> *Make our feet ready to serve,*
> *And make our hearts an open manger for You.*
> *St. Francis Xavier, pray for us!*
> *Amen.*

Ready to bring the story of Christmas to life?

Don't let the fear of broken porcelain stop your children from engaging with the Holy Family. Transform your Advent traditions with a set that is meant to be held, moved, and loved.

You can also listen to todays story about St. Francis Xavier in our Catholic stories app everydaycatholic.family, its free and its super engaging for our kids.

Download todays coloring image for free