Spiritist Society Towards the Light

The Chayote Incident

Written by Ramiro Gama

January 26, 2018

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Francisco Candido Xavier is considered by many to be a contemporary Brazilian saint. His self-denial, when it comes to helping others, is almost unreal. Being a charismatic person, events that are quite unexpected take place in his presence. The following story illustrates it.

 

Xavier, who was single, lived with other members of his family who often had their doubts about his extreme Christian ways of giving.

 

One day, his widowed sister-in-law, Maria, who did not especially believe in giving without receiving anything in return, commented: “I just don’t believe in your theories of always giving, always serving and always helping with nothing in return. So far, I have not seen any result of all the good you have done for others.”

 

Xavier answered, “All that we do in sincerity will be blessed by God. And when we give, not letting the left hand know what the right hand does, sooner or later, we will receive the Father’s answer. You can be sure of one thing: a good man lives as one surrounded by his own goodness and he shall reap the good that he does.”

“Then let us try this,” she said “In the kitchen I have two chayotes. If someone comes to see me I will give them away just to see if I will receive other two in return.”

 

She had hardly finished saying it, when they hear the next door neighbor calling her from behind the fence:

“Please, Maria, could you give me or lend me a couple chayotes?” ‘Sure, my dear, here they are. I hope you will enjoy them,” she replied friendly.

 

Maria had not yet recovered from her surprise when the neighbor on the other side also called her from behind the fence offering her four of the same chayote from her garden.

 

About half hour later, the backyard neighbor comes and asks if she could have a few chayotes. So Maria gave her four chayotes! Without knowing what was going on, the front neighbor came by and offered Xavier’s sister-in-law eight chayotes.Maria started feeling uneasy with the impact of the lesson, when an old friend, who was very poor, unexpectedly paid her a visit. The woman stayed for some time telling her how poor they were to the point of sometimes going hungry. As the woman was leaving, Maria handed her over some groceries plus the eight chayotes that were given to her by the front neighbor.Then, Maria says to Xavier, “Now I want to see if I am going to receive the sixteen chayotes. Then there will be an end to this comedy.”

 

It was already late and Xavier had to leave for work. He gave her a smile as if to say, “wait and you will see,” then he left. She kept looking at him as if to say, “See, this time I win.” By six o’clock in the evening, Chico returned. Maria had waited all day for something to happen but nothing did. She kept looking at him as if to say, “See, this time I won.”

 

By 8 pm, the whole family was in the living room chatting, completely forgotten about the chayote incident. Soon, hearing a knock at the door, Maria went to open it. It was an old farmer, a friend of the family. He brought her a few presents as a token of his gratitude for the meals she used to serve him when he came to town. He then unloaded from the donkey’s back a heavy burlap bag. Maria began nervously to untie the bag, and behold! It was full of chayotes, sixty four of them! Four times the amount she had given away the last time.

That was too much for Maria. The unusual way in which she had received this lesson was a manifestation of Divine mercy. She then learned, from that day onwards, that the one who gives will always receive more in return.

 

Source: Book Lindos Casos de Chico Xavier by Ramiro Gama, pp 122-124, translated by S.J. Haddad