Daily Gospel Reflection

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July 15, 2023

Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Mt 10:24-33
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Jesus said to his Apostles:
“No disciple is above his teacher,
no slave above his master.
It is enough for the disciple that he become like his teacher,
for the slave that he become like his master.
If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul,
how much more those of his household!
“Therefore do not be afraid of them.
Nothing is concealed that will not be revealed,
nor secret that will not be known.
What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light;
what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul;
rather, be afraid of the one who can destroy
both soul and body in Gehenna.
Are not two sparrows sold for a small coin?
Yet not one of them falls to the ground without your Father’s knowledge.
Even all the hairs of your head are counted.
So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
Everyone who acknowledges me before others
I will acknowledge before my heavenly Father.
But whoever denies me before others,
I will deny before my heavenly Father.”

Reflection

Larry Buckley ’82
ND Parent
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Today’s gospel reminds us that the king is coming, and with his coming is persecution. A spiritual war goes on in the heavens and plays out in our lives here on Earth, creating adversity in our lives and inviting us to draw closer to God. We glorify God when we offer ourselves up and allow God to work through us as we walk through these adversities.

My third son turns 30 in a few weeks and is saddened by that approaching milestone. We have mortal bodies subject to time, and time stops for none. He wonders what he has accomplished in his 30 years? What will he accomplish in the future? It is easy to get caught up in the people, priorities, and things of this world, bombarded every day with carnal yardsticks for success and failure.

But Jesus tells us not to chase the finite idols of this world nor fear the things that can and will kill our bodies. The things of this world will pass away. Focus instead on the only eternal thing—our souls. Revere Jesus, who controls the destiny of our souls. Let us remember that we are spiritual beings having a human experience.

Today’s gospel message reminds us whether we are 30 or 70, this life has a beginning and an end. Let us make good use of the time we have here to focus on the spiritual truths—the primary one being that Jesus came to suffer, die and rise again for the remission of our sins.

Let us accept that gift and rejoice that the world cannot take that from us. In response to that gift, let us boldly confess the name of Jesus and pray that others in this world will receive him too. For the Father knows and loves all of us and longs for us to be one just as he and Jesus are one.

Prayer

​​Rev. Bob Loughery, C.S.C.

Almighty God, we are humbled as we ponder the mystery of your love for us. Open our eyes and our hearts to see you in the childlike and the wise, to know you in the stranger and the outcast, to love you in the poor and the needy. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Saint of the Day

St. Bonaventure

St. Bonaventure is one of the greatest minds the Church ever produced, and he seamlessly combined a love for truth with love for God.

He was born in Italy in 1221 and became a Franciscan. He was educated at the University of Paris, and went on to teach Scripture and theology there for nearly a decade before taking on leadership of his own order.

Bonaventure dedicated even more time to prayer than he did to his study, and people could feel a deep, inward peace about him. He was always cheerful, and once said, “A spiritual joy is the greatest sign of the divine grace dwelling in a soul.”

He was ordained a priest, and wrote a number of mystical works about prayer, poverty, and the path to holiness. Bonaventure wrote with such devotion and love that his works “warmed the heart” said one scholar of his time. “Whoever would be both learned and devout, let him read the works of Bonaventure.”

He was a concise thinker who could strike to the heart of the matter. He frequently meditated on the joy of heaven, and his writing awoke in readers a desire for union with God. “God, all the glorious souls, and the whole family of the eternal King wait for us and desire that we should be with them,” Bonaventure wrote. “Shall not we desire above all things to be admitted into their happy company?”

He wrote of the perfection of Christian life—not by renouncing the world like a monk, but by simply doing ordinary things of our daily life very well. “The perfection of a religious person is to do common things in a perfect manner,” he wrote. “A constant fidelity in small things is a great and heroic virtue.”

Bonaventure is called the second founder of the Franciscans because he was able to guide the community through important matters of interpretation about the way of life they should lead. He wrote an authoritative biography of Francis.

The pope named Bonaventure a cardinal and when the saint received news of the appointment, he was washing dishes in a convent where he was staying. The messengers were carrying the red hat of a cardinal (shown in this image from a Basilica mural), but his hands were greasy from the dishes. He had them hang it in a tree outside until he was finished, then he went and put it on, accepting the office.

When the pope called a council to discuss the unity of the Church with Greek faithful who had split from Rome, he asked Bonaventure to lead it. Bonaventure led a successful council, but died during the celebrations.

The pope preached at his funeral and said, “No one ever met Bonaventure who did not find a great regard and affection for him. Even strangers wanted to follow his advice, just from hearing him speak. He was gentle, courteous, humble, pleasing to everyone, compassionate, prudent, chaste, and adorned with all virtues.”

Bonaventure has been declared a doctor of the Church, a title given to 37 saints who are known for elucidating the faith by their words or example. He is known as the "Seraphic Doctor" after the angels who are called the “burning ones” in Scripture—his works communicated his burning love of God.

The relics of St. Bonaventure rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica, and this statue of him in his Franciscan habit stands on Alumni Hall.

St. Bonaventure, you awoke in people a desire for the joy of heaven—pray for us!