Daily Reading and Reflection for June 5, 2014 June 5, 2014 ------------------------------------------------------- Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr Now, Master, you may let your servant go in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation, which you prepared in sight of all the peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and glory for your people Israel. -- Simeon at the presentation of Jesus (Lk 2:29-32) A SAINT A DAY ------------------------------ ST. BONIFACE Bishop, Martyr Information: Feast Day: June 5 Born: 673-680 at Crediton, Devonshire, England Died: 5 June 754 at Dokkum, Freisland Patron of: brewers; file cutters; tailors Isolated missionary groups had penetrated central Germany in earlier times, but not until the eighth century was there a systematic effort to Christianize the vast pagan wilderness. To the English monk Boniface belongs the honor of opening up this region and creating a hierarchy under direct commission from the Holy See. Thirty-six years of missionary labor under difficult and dangerous conditions, ending at last in martyrdom, entitle this good and courageous man to the designation, Apostle of Germany. Boniface, or Winfrid, to give him his baptismal name, was born into a Christian family of noble rank, probably at Crediton in Devonshire, about the year 680. The reorganized English Church, still under the inspiration brought to it from Rome two generations earlier by Augustine of Canterbury, was full of fervor and vitality. Winfrid was a very small boy when he found himself listening to the conversation of some monks who were visiting his home. He resolved then to enter the Church, and this resolution never weakened. Winfrids father had other plans for his clever son, but a serious illness altered his attitude, and he sent the boy to the neighboring abbey of Exeter to be educated. Some years later, Winfrid went to the abbey of Bursling, in the diocese of Winchester. After completing his studies there, he was appointed head of the school. His teaching skill attracted many students, and for their use he wrote a grammar which is still extant. The pupils diligently took notes at his classes, and these were copied and circulated in other monasteries, where they were eagerly studied. At the age of thirty he was ordained priest, and now added preaching to teaching and administrative work. Winfrid was assured of rapid advancement in the English Church, but God revealed to him that his work was to be in foreign lands, where need was greater. Northern Europe and most of Central Europe were still in pagan darkness. In Friesland, which then included modern Netherlands and lands to the east, the Northumbrian missionary Willibrord had long been striving to bring the Gospel to the people. It was to this region that Winfrid felt himself called. Having obtained the consent of his abbot, he and two companions set out in the spring of 716. Soon after landing at Doerstadt they learned that Duke Radbold of Friesland, an enemy of Christianity, was warring with Charles Martel, the Frankish duke, and that Willibrord had been obliged to retire to his monastery at Echternacht. Realizing that the time was inauspicious, the missionaries prudently returned to England in the autumn. Winfrids monks at Bursling tried to keep him there, and wished to elect him abbot, but he was not to be turned from his purpose. This first attempt had shown him that to be effective as a missionary he must have a direct commission from the Pope, so in 718, with commendatory letters from the bishop of Winchester, he presented himself in Rome before Gregory II. The Pope welcomed him warmly, kept him in Rome until spring of the following year, when traveling conditions were favorable, and then sent him forth with a general commission to preach the word of God to the heathen. At this time Winfrids name was changed to Boniface (from the Latin, , fortunate). Crossing the lower Alps, the missionary traveled through Bavaria into Hesse. Duke Radbold had died and his successor was more friendly. Going into Friesland, Boniface labored for three years under Willibrord, who was now very old. Boniface declined to become Willibrords coadjutor and successor as bishop of Utrecht, saying that his commission had been general, to the heathen, and he could not be limited to any one diocese. He now returned to work in Hesse. Boniface had little difficulty in making himself understood as a preacher, since the dialects of the various Teutonic tribes closely resembled his native Anglo-Saxon. He won the interest of two powerful local chieftains, Dettic and Deorulf, who at some previous time had been baptized. For lack of instruction they had remained little better than pagans; now they became zealous Christians and influenced many others to be baptized. They also gave Boniface a grant of land on which he later founded the monastery of Amoeneburg. Boniface was able to report such remarkable gains that the Pope summoned him back to Rome to be ordained bishop. In Rome on St. Andrews Day, November 30, 722, Pope Gregory II consecrated him as regionary bishop with a general jurisdiction over the races in the parts of Germany and east of the Rhine who live in error, in the shadow of death. The Pope also gave him a letter to the powerful Charles Martel, The Hammer. When Boniface delivered it to the Frankish duke on his way back to Germany, he received the valuable gift of a sealed pledge of Frankish protection. Armed thus with authority from both the Church and the civil power, the prestige of Boniface was vastly enhanced. On his return to Hesse, he decided to try to root out the pagan superstitions which seriously affected the stability of his converts. On a day publicly announced, and in the midst of an awe-struck crowd, Boniface and one or two of his followers attacked with axes Thors sacred oak. These German tribes, along with many other primitive peoples, were tree- worshipers. Thor, god of thunder, was one of the principal Teutonic deities, and this ancient oak, which stood on the summit of Mt. Gudenberg, was sacred to him. After a few blows, the huge tree crashed to earth, splitting into four parts. The terrified tribesmen, who had expected a punishment to fall instantly on the perpetrators of such an outrage, now saw that their god was powerless to protect even his own sanctuary. To signalize the victory, Boniface built a chapel on the spot. From that time the work of evangelization in Hesse proceeded steadily. Moving east into Thuringia, Boniface continued his crusade. He found a few undisciplined Celtic and Irish priests, who tended to be a hindrance; many of them held heretical beliefs and others lived immoral lives. Boniface restored order among them, although his chief aim was to win over the pagan tribes. At Ohrdruff, near Gotha, he established a second monastery, dedicated to St. Michael, as a missionary center. Everywhere the people were ready to listen, but there was a critical lack of teachers. Boniface appealed to the English monasteries and convents, and their response was so wholehearted that for several years bands of monks, schoolmasters, and nuns came over to place themselves under his direction. The two monasteries already built were enlarged and new ones founded. Among the new English missionaries were Lullus, who was to succeed Boniface at Mainz, Eoban, who was to share his martyrdom, Burchard, and Wigbert; the nuns included Thecla, Chunitrude, and Bonifaces beautiful and learned young cousin, Lioba, later to become abbess of Bischofsheim and friend of Hildegarde, Charlemagnes wife. Pope Gregory III sent Boniface the pallium in 731, appointing him archbishop and metropolitan of all Germany beyond the Rhine, with authority to found new bishoprics. A few years later Boniface made his third trip to Rome to confer about the churches he had founded, and at this time he was appointed apostolic legate. Stopping at Monte Cassino, he enlisted more missionaries. In his capacity as legate he traveled into Bavaria to organize the Church there into the four bishoprics of Regensburg, Freising, Salzburg, and Passau. From Bavaria he returned to his own field and founded new bishoprics at Erfurt for Thuringia, Buraburg for Hesse, Wurzburg for Franconia, and Eichstadt for the Nordgau. An English monk was placed at the head of each new diocese. In 741 the great Benedictine abbey at Fulda was founded in Prussia to serve as the fountainhead of German monastic culture. Its first abbot was Bonifaces young Bavarian disciple, Sturm or Sturmio. In the early Middle Ages Fulda produced a host of scholars and teachers, and became known as the Monte Cassino of Germany. While the evangelization of Germany was proceeding steadily, the Church in Gaul, under the Merovingian kings, was disintegrating. High ecclesiastical offices were either kept vacant, sold to the highest bidder, or bestowed on unworthy favorites. Pluralism, the holding by one man of many offices, each of which should demand his full time, was common. The great mass of the clergy was ignorant and undisciplined. No synod or church council had been held for eighty-four years. Charles Martel had been conquering and consolidating the regions of western Europe, and now regarded himself as an ally of the papacy and the chief champion of the Church, yet he had persistently plundered it to obtain funds for his wars and did nothing to help the work of reform. His death, however, in 74I, and the accession of his sons, Carloman and Pepin the Short, provided an opportunity which Boniface quickly seized. Carloman, the elder, was very devout and held Boniface in great veneration; Boniface had no trouble in persuading him to call a synod to deal with errors and abuses in the Church in Austrasia, Alemannia, and Thuringia. The first assembly was followed by several others. Boniface presided over them all, and was able to carry through many important reforms. The vacant bishoprics and parishes were filled, discipline reestablished, and fresh vigor infused into the Frankish Church. A heretic who had been creating much disturbance, one Adalbert of Neustria, was condemned by the synod of Soissons in 744. In 747 another general council of the Frankish clergy drew up a profession of faith and fidelity which was sent to Rome and laid upon the altar in the crypt of St. Peters. After five years labor Boniface had succeeded in restoring the Church of Gaul to its former greatness. Now Boniface desired that Britain too should share in this reform movement. At his request and that of Pope Zacharias, the archbishop of Canterbury held a council at Clovesho, in 747, which adopted many of the resolutions passed in Gaul. This was also the year when Boniface was given a metropolitan see. Cologne was at first proposed as his cathedral city, but Mainz was finally chosen. Even when Cologne and other cities became archiepiscopal sees, Mainz retained the primacy. The Pope also made Boniface primate of Germany as well as apostolic legate for both Germany and Gaul. Carloman now retired to a monastery, but his successor, Pepin, who brought all Gaul under his control, gave Boniface his support. Without the patronage of the Frankish chiefs, Boniface wrote in a letter to England, I cannot govern the people or exercise discipline over the clergy and monks, or check the practice of paganism. As apostolic legate, Boniface crowned Pepin at Soissons in 75I, thus giving papal sanction to the assumption of royal power by the father of Charlemagne. Boniface, beginning to feel the weight of his years, made Lullus his coadjutor. Yet even now, when he was past seventy, his missionary zeal burned ardently. He wished to spend his last years laboring among those first converts in Friesland, who, since Willibrords death, were relapsing once more into paganism. Leaving all things in order for Lullus, who was to become his successor, he embarked with some fifty companions and sailed down the Rhine. At Utrecht the party was joined by Eoban, bishop of that diocese. They set to work reclaiming the relapsed Christians, and during the following months made fruitful contact with the hitherto untouched tribes to the northeast. Boniface arranged to hold a great confirmation service on Whitsun Eve on the plain of Dokkum, near the banks of the little river Borne. While awaiting the arrival of the converts, Boniface was quietly reading in his tent. Suddenly a band of armed pagans appeared in the center of the encampment. His companions would have tried to defend their leader, but Boniface would not allow them to do so. Even as he was telling them to trust in God and welcome the prospect of dying for Him, the Germans attacked. Boniface was one of the first to fall; his companions shared his fate. The pagans, expecting to carry away rich booty, were disgusted when they found, besides provisions, only a box of holy relics and a few books They did not bother to carry away these objects, which were later collected by the Christians who came to avenge the martyrs and rescue their remains. The body of Boniface was carried to Fulda for burial, and there it still rests. The book the bishop was reading and which he is said to have lifted above his head to save it when the blow fell is also one of Fuldas treasures. Boniface has been called the pro-consul of the papacy. His administrative and organizing genius left its mark on the German Church throughout the Middle Ages. Though Boniface was primarily a man of action, his literary remains are extensive. Especially interesting and important from the point of view of Church dogma and history are his letters. Among the emblems of Boniface are an oak, an axe, a sword, a book. FAVOURITE QUOTES FOR DADS ------------------------------ Before I got married I had six theories about bringing up children; now I have six children, and no theories. -- John Wilmot FAVOURITE QUOTES FOR MOMS ------------------------------ The first home was made when a woman, cradling in her loving arms a baby, crooned a lullaby. The home is a tryst-the place where we retire and shut the world out. -- Elbert Hubbard 1ST READING (Acts 22:30; 23:6-11) ------------------------------ Paul is a cunning man and knows how to play to the audience. He splits his accusers because he knows their doctrines and the inconsistencies they contain. We need to be as cunning as Paul when we seek to impress upon the world the truth of the Gospel. We need to constantly discover new ways to proclaim the Good News that will break through the barriers of materialism and secularism that pervade our age. A reading from the Acts of the Apostles 30 Wishing to determine the truth about why Paul was being accused by the Jews, the commander freed him and ordered the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin to convene. Then he brought Paul down and made him stand before them. 23: 6 Paul was aware that some were Sadducees and some Pharisees, so he called out before the Sanhedrin, “My brothers, I am a Pharisee, the son of Pharisees; I am on trial for hope in the resurrection of the dead.” 7 When he said this, a dispute broke out between the Pharisees and Sadducees, and the group became divided. 8 For the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection or angels or spirits, while the Pharisees acknowledge all three. 9 A great uproar occurred, and some scribes belonging to the Pharisee party stood up and sharply argued, “We find nothing wrong with this man. Suppose a spirit or an angel has spoken to him?” 10 The dispute was so serious that the commander, afraid that Paul would be torn to pieces by them, ordered his troops to go down and rescue Paul from their midst and take him into the compound. 11 The following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Take courage. For just as you have borne witness to my cause in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness in Rome.” Reader: The Word of the Lord. Response: Thanks be to God. RESPONSORIAL PSALM ------------------------------ Psalm 16:1-2, 5, 7-8, 9-10, 11 R: Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope. 1 Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge; 2 I say to the Lord, “My Lord are you.” 5 O Lord, my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot. R: Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope. 7 I bless the Lord who counsels me; even in the night my heart exhorts me. 8 I set the Lord ever before me; with him at my right hand I shall not be disturbed. R: Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope. 9 Therefore my heart is glad and my soul rejoices, my body, too, abides in confidence; 10 because you will not abandon my soul to the nether world, nor will you suffer your faithful one to undergo corruption. R: Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope. 11 You will show me the path to life, fullness of joys in your presence, the delights at your right hand forever. R: Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope. GOSPEL ACCLAMATION ------------------------------ May they all be one as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that the world may believe that you sent me, says the Lord. GOSPEL (John 17:20-26) ------------------------------ Proclaiming the Gospel is about revealing the truth of God’s love for everyone. The Gospel is not an obscure piece of scientific investigation that very few people can understand. The Gospel is the truth of God’s love for us and, thus, has an inherent attractive power to it. All we need to do is harness the individual’s need to know that he or she is loved by God and our work, the work of the Holy Spirit, is done. P - The Lord be with you. All - And also with you. P - A reading from the holy Gospel according to John. All - Glory to you, Lord. 20 Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed, saying: “I pray not only for these, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, 21 so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. 22 And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, 23 I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me. 24 Father, they are your gift to me. I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world. 25 Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me. 26 I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.” Priest: This is the gospel of the Lord. Response: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ. -------------------------------------------------------- Lectionary for Mass, Copyright ¬© 1970, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2001 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine; Psalm refrain ¬®¬© 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc. All rights reserved. -------------------------------------------------------- REFLECTION ------------------------------ Wednesday (June 4): Consecrated in Gods truth Meditation: Do you know why God created you - what purpose and mission he has entrusted to you? Jesus aim and mission was to glorify his heavenly Father. All he said and did gave glory to his Father. On the eve of his sacrifice on the cross and in the presence of his disciples, Jesus made his high priestly prayer: Holy Father, keep them in your name that they may be one as we are one. Jesus prayed for the unity of his disciples and for all who would believe in him. Jesus prayer for his people is that we be united with God the Father in his Son and through his Holy Spirit and be joined together, in unity with all who are members of Christs body. What motivated Jesus to lay down his life on the cross as the atoning sacrifice for the sin of the world? It was love - love for his Father in heaven and love for each and everyone of us who are made in the image and likeness of God. Jesus was sent into the world by his Father for a purpose and that purpose was a mission of love to free us from slavery to sin, Satan, fear, death, and hopelessness. Jesus saw glory in the cross rather than shame. Obedience to his Fathers will was his glory. Jesus kept his Fathers word even when tempted to forgo the cross. Jesus did not rely on his own human resources and strength to accomplish his Fathers will. He trusted in his Father to give him strength, courage, and perseverance in the face of opposition, trials, and temptation. We also must take up our cross and follow the Lord Jesus wherever he may call us. He will give us the strength and power of the Holy Spirit to live as his disciples. John Henry Newman (1801-1890) wrote: God has created me to do him some definite service; he has committed some work to me which he has not committed to another. I have my mission - I may never know it in this life, but I shall be told it in the next. I am a link in a chain, a bond of connection between persons. He has not created me for nothing. Therefore, I will trust him. Whatever, wherever I am. I cannot be thrown away. Do you trust in God and in his call and purpose for your life? Jesus prayed that his disciples would be sanctified and consecrated in Gods truth and holiness. The scriptural word for consecration comes from the same Hebrew word which means holy or set apart for God. This word also means to be equipped with the qualities of mind and heart and character for such a task or service. Just as Jesus was called by the Father to serve in holiness and truth, so we, too, are called and equipped for the task of serving God in the world as his ambassadors. Gods truth frees us from ignorance and the deception of sin. It reveals to us Gods goodness, love, and wisdom. And it gives us a thirst for Gods holiness. The Holy Spirit is the source and giver of all holiness. As we allow the Holy Spirit to work in our lives, he transforms us by his purifying fire and changes us into the likeness of Christ. Is your life consecrated toGod? PRAYER ------------------------------ Lord Jesus, take my life and make it wholly pleasing to you. Sanctify me in your truth and guide me by your Holy Spirit that I may follow you faithfully wherever you lead. -------------------------------------------------------- Lectionary for Mass is from the USCCB website located at: usccb.org/bible/readings/ -------------------------------------------------------- This reflection is courtesy of Don Schwager, whose website is located at: rc.net/wcc/readings/ -------------------------------------------------------- You can also visit mobilegabriel/ for the complete readings and reflections for the whole month. -------------------------------------------------------- A Saint A Day courtesy of EWTN Global Catholic Network at: ewtn/saintsHoly/ -------------------------------------------------------- Inspirational message courtesy of EWTN Global Catholic Network at: ewtn/Devotionals/ Daily Readings Daily Readings USCCB.ORG
Posted on: Thu, 05 Jun 2014 11:24:30 +0000
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