Monday, June 5, 2023

Memorial of Saint Boniface, bishop and martyr

(Tobit 1:3.2.1a-8; Mark 12:1-12)

Tobit, like St. Joseph, obeys the law, come what may.  In today’s reading he not only buries the dead, but also waits for the holy day to end before doing it.  In doing so, he defies orders of temporal rulers and inhibitions of kinsmen.  Jews as well as Christians see such actions as meritorious.  Today’s patron, St. Boniface, provides another example of such righteousness.

Boniface, English by birth, zealously preached the gospel among German pagans.  Once he defied pagan sensibility by cutting down an oak tree thought to be divine.  The act led to a mass conversion.  Named archbishop, Boniface established multiple monasteries and dioceses.  He was eventually martyred.  He is recognized as the patron saint of Germany.

We live in a time of social upheaval.  Sexual activity outside of marriage is not considered wrong; it is even expected.  We need people to defy the new social convention.  Parents and teachers ought to tell of the beauty of intimate relations when reserved for marriage.