June 05 2020 - St. Boniface - The first few swings

Today we celebrate the feast of Saint Boniface, who is known as the apostle to the Germans.  This English Benedictine monk devoted his life to the evangelization of the Germanic tribes.  He made his first missionary journey to Germany in 719 at the request of Pope Gregory II.

His is one of my favorite stories from the lives of the saints. As he engaged on his preaching mission, Boniface found the land full of Pagans; the Germanic tribes worshipped gods of Norse Mythology: Odin and Thor and the like.  They were proving resistant to conversion, resistant to giving up the old gods.

Boniface learned of a giant oak tree where the Pagans gathered to offer false worship to the God Thor.  So Boniface, took an axe, and he begins chopping down this pagan idol. The pagans cursed Boniface and waited for him to be struck dead by their gods for his sacrilege.  The story says that when Boniface had chopped just a small notch into the tree, God finished the job, the tree was blast apart from above.  And the pagans who had before cursed Boniface now began to believe.  And moreover, Boniface took the wood of the tree and built an oratory in honor of Saint Peter. 

This is why you’ll often see stained glass windows and statues with St. Boniface in his bishops attire, holding an axe, standing on a tree trunk.

Pagan oaks of error, superstition, and false teaching seem to be sprouting up like weeds these days. Even within the Church, we have prelates and clerics who have made public opinion into idols, who fail to confront the moral errors of our day.

Working for the spread of the Gospel in our nation or even among our families seems like daunting work, but remember that Boniface only needed to take those first courageous swings with the axe before God did the rest of the work. In a letter written to a Benedictine abbess, Saint Boniface wrote: “Let us stand fast in what is right and prepare our souls for trial…let us be neither dogs that do not bark, nor silent onlookers, nor paid servants who run away before the wolf.”

In his 80th year, Boniface was preparing candidates for confirmation when they were attacked by barbarians and massacred, martyred for the faith.

As we prayed in the opening prayer: “may the Martyr Saint Boniface, be our advocate that we may firmly hold the faith he taught with his lips and sealed in his blood and confidently profess it by our deeds” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That our bishops and clergy may be zealous in preaching and teaching the truth of the Gospel, and that our future bishop of the diocese of Cleveland may be a man of true faith and the Holy Spirit.

That St. Boniface, patron saint of Germany, may enliven the faith of the German people and those of Germanic descent who have made their home in this land.

For our young people beginning summer vacation, that they may be kept close to the truth and heart of Jesus.

That the love of Christ, the divine physician, may bring healing to the sick and comfort to all the suffering.

For the deceased members of our families, friends, and parish, for the deceased priests and religious of the diocese of Cleveland, for the poor souls in purgatory, and for those who have fought and died for our freedom.

O God, who know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the prayers of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our Lord.


Reading 1
ACTS 26:19-23

Paul said:
"King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision.
On the contrary, first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem
and throughout the whole country of Judea,
and then to the Gentiles,
I preached the need to repent and turn to God,
and to do works giving evidence of repentance.
That is why the Jews seized me when I was in the temple
and tried to kill me.
But I have enjoyed God's help to this very day,
and so I stand here testifying to small and great alike,
saying nothing different from what the prophets and Moses foretold,
that the Messiah must suffer and that,
as the first to rise from the dead,
he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles."

Responsorial Psalm
PS 117:1BC, 2
L  (Mark 16:15)  Go out to all the world and tell the Good News..
Praise the LORD, all you nations;
glorify him, all you peoples!
R.    Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.
For steadfast is his kindness toward us,
and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.
R.    Go out to all the world and tell the Good News.

AlleluiaJN 10:14
R.    Alleluia, alleluia.
I am the good shepherd, says the Lord,
I know my sheep, and mine know me.
R.    Alleluia, alleluia.

Gospel JN 10:11-16
Jesus said:
"I am the good shepherd.
A good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
A hired man, who is not a shepherd
and whose sheep are not his own,
sees a wolf coming and leaves the sheep and runs away,
and the wolf catches and scatters them.
This is because he works for pay and has no concern for the sheep.
I am the good shepherd,
and I know mine and mine know me,
just as the Father knows me and I know the Father;
and I will lay down my life for the sheep.
I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold.
These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice,
and there will be one flock, one shepherd."