Memorial of St. Boniface, bishop and martyr
(Tobit 3:1-11a.16-17a; Mark 12:18-27)
An incident in the life of St. Boniface is reminiscent of
the first reading today. Boniface was an
eighth century English monk who became a missionary to what is now northern
Holland and Germany. In evangelizing the
native tribes, he came across an ancient oak tree that was sacred to their god
Thor. Boniface cut down the oak tree,
and when the people saw that Thor was not going to punish the deed, they
abandoned their pagan beliefs.
The story recalls the supposed curse on the maiden Sarah
in the Book of Tobit. The obviously
pedagogical tale speaks of the distressed woman whose seven husbands die before
consummating their marriage. She is said
to be cursed by the demon Asmodeus whose influence will be expelled by the
angel Raphael’s fish oil.
The stories taken together advises us on the grip superstition
often has on people. It should never
deter us from doing what is right. The question
of the occult gives some pause here, but it is true that most of the time where
demons are supposedly involved the root of the difficulty is superstitious
belief. Superstition, a sin against the First
Commandment, must be resisted. If it continues
to bother us, we should pray for courage to confront it squarely.
