"Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life."[John 6:68]
Wednesday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time
Saints of the day:
Saint Bonaventure
Bishop and Doctor of the Church
(1218-1274)
Bishop and Doctor of the Church
(1218-1274)
Sanctity and learning raised Bonaventure to the Church's highest honors, and from a child he was the companion of Saints. Yet at heart he was ever the poor Franciscan friar, and practised and taught humility and mortification.
St. Francis gave him his name; for, having miraculously cured him of a mortal sickness, he prophetically exclaimed of the child, "O bona ventura!"-good luck.
He is known also as the "Seraphic Doctor," from the fervor of divine love which breathes in his writings. He was the friend of St. Thomas Aquinas, who asked him one day whence he drew his great learning. He replied by pointing to his crucifix. At another time St. Thomas found him in ecstasy while writing the life of St. Francis, and exclaimed, "Let us leave a Saint to write of a Saint." They received the Doctor's cap together.
He was the guest and adviser of St. Louis, and the director of St. Isabella, the king's sister. At the age of thirty-five in 1257 he was made general of his Order; and only escaped another dignity, the Archbishopric of York, by dint of tears and entreaties. Gregory X. appointed him Cardinal Bishop of Albano.
When the Saint heard of the Pope's resolve to create him a Cardinal, he quietly made his escape from Italy. But Gregory sent him a summons to return to Rome. On his way, he stopped to rest himself at a convent of his Order near Florence; and there two Papal messengers, sent to meet him with the Cardinal's hat, found him washing the dishes. The Saint desired them to hang the hat on a bush that was near, and take a walk in the garden until he had finished what he was about. Then taking up the hat with unfeigned sorrow, he joined the messengers, and paid them the respect due to their character.
He sat at the Pontiff's right hand, and spoke first at the Council of Lyons. His piety and eloquence won over the Greeks to Catholic union, and then his strength failed.
He died while the Council was sitting, and was buried by the assembled bishops, A. D. 1274.
Lives of the Saints, by Alban Butler, Benziger Bros. ed. [1894]
All-powerful Father,
may we who celebrate the feast of Saint Bonaventure
always benefit from his wisdom and follow the example of his love.
[The Weekday Missal (1975)]
Wednesday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary TimeBook of Exodus 3:1 (iv) Now Moshe was tending the sheep of Yitro his father-in-law, the priest of Midyan. Leading the flock to the far side of the desert, he came to the mountain of God, to Horev. 2 The angel of Adonai appeared to him in a fire blazing from the middle of a bush. He looked and saw that although the bush was flaming with fire, yet the bush was not being burned up. 3 Moshe said, “I’m going to go over and see this amazing sight and find out why the bush isn’t being burned up.” 4 When Adonai saw that he had gone over to see, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moshe! Moshe!” He answered, “Here I am.” 5 He said, “Don’t come any closer! Take your sandals off your feet, because the place where you are standing is holy ground. 6 I am the God of your father,” he continued, “the God of Avraham, the God of Yitz’chak and the God of Ya‘akov.” Moshe covered his face, because he was afraid to look at God.may we who celebrate the feast of Saint Bonaventure
always benefit from his wisdom and follow the example of his love.
[The Weekday Missal (1975)]
9 Yes, the cry of the people of Isra’el has come to me, and I have seen how terribly the Egyptians oppress them. 10 Therefore, now, come; and I will send you to Pharaoh; so that you can lead my people, the descendants of Isra’el, out of Egypt.”
11 Moshe said to God, “Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and lead the people of Isra’el out of Egypt?” 12 He replied, “I will surely be with you. Your sign that I have sent you will be that when you have led the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
Psalm 103:(0) By David:
(1) Bless Adonai, my soul!
Everything in me, bless his holy name!
2 Bless Adonai, my soul,
and forget none of his benefits!
3 He forgives all your offenses,
he heals all your diseases,
4 he redeems your life from the pit,
he surrounds you with grace and compassion,
6 Adonai brings vindication and justice
to all who are oppressed.
7 He made his ways known to Moshe,
his mighty deeds to the people of Isra’el.
The Holy Gospel of Yeshua the Messiah According to Matthew 11:25 It was at that time that Yeshua said, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you concealed these things from the sophisticated and educated and revealed them to ordinary folks. 26 Yes, Father, I thank you that it pleased you to do this.
27 “My Father has handed over everything to me. Indeed, no one fully knows the Son except the Father, and no one fully knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.
Wednesday of the Fifteenth week in Ordinary Time
Commentary of the day:
Saint Hilary (c.315-367), Bishop of Poitiers, Doctor of the Church
The Trinity 2, 6-7
"No one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him"
It is the Father to whom all existence owes its origin. In Christ and through Christ he is the source of all. In contrast to all else he is self-existent… He is infinite, for nothing contains Him and He contains all things… He is eternally anterior to time, for time is his creation. Let imagination range to what you may suppose is God's utmost limit, and you will find him present there; strain as you will there is always a further horizon towards which to strain... Such is the truth of the mystery of God; such is the expression of the incomprehensible nature of the Father… Let us confess by our silence that words cannot describe him; let sense admit that it is foiled in the attempt to apprehend, and reason in the effort to define.
Yet he has, as we said, in the word 'Father' a name to indicate his nature; he is a Father unconditioned. He does not, as men do, receive the power of paternity from an external source. He is unbegotten,... To the Son only is he known, for “no one knows the Father save the Son and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal him,” and “no one knows the Son except the Father”. Each has perfect and complete knowledge of the Other. Therefore, since “no one knows the Father save the Son”, let our thoughts of the Father be at one with the thoughts of the Son, the only “faithful Witness” (Rv 1,5), who reveals him to us.
It is easier for me to feel this concerning the Father than to say it. I am well aware that no words are adequate to describe his attributes… All this is an acknowledgment of his glory, a hint of our meaning, a sketch of our thoughts, but speech is powerless to tell us what God is, words cannot express the reality… Therefore we may well acknowledge God but we must avoid naming him. Whatever words we use could not express God as he is nor translate his greatness... We must believe in him, must apprehend, must worship; and such acts of devotion must stand in lieu of definition.
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