Reflection for SATURDAY, 14th Week, Ordinary Time.

By

Fr. Aloysius Santiago sdb
Assistant Parish Priest,Manjeshwar,Kasargod

 Gospel Reading 


 Matthew 10:24-38   

Jesus instructed the Twelve as follows: ‘The disciple is not superior to his teacher, nor the slave to his master. It is enough for the disciple that he should grow to be like his teacher, and the slave like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, what will they not say of his household? 

‘Do not be afraid of them therefore. For everything that is now covered will be uncovered, and everything now hidden will be made clear. What I say to you in the dark, tell in the daylight; what you hear in whispers, proclaim from the housetops.

‘Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul; fear him rather who can destroy both body and soul in hell. Can you not buy two sparrows for a penny? And yet not one falls to the ground without your Father knowing. Why, every hair on your head has been counted. So there is no need to be afraid; you are worth more than hundreds of sparrows.

‘So if anyone declares himself for me in the presence of men, I will declare myself for him in the presence of my Father in heaven. But the one who disowns me in the presence of men, I will disown in the presence of my Father in heaven.’

 Reflection on the Reading 

If we were to ask ourselves this question - Am I afraid of death? - how honestly can we answer that question?

Whatever the answer may be, it is inevitable that there is some apprehension, if not fear, about death.

Because no one whom we know of (except Jesus of course) ever came back to tell us of what lies beyond the door of death.

In the 1st reading we hear of two people who knew that the time of their death was coming up.

And they even said it as a matter of fact - Jacob said : I am about to be gathered to my people ; and later Joseph would say : I am about to die.

They seemed to talk about and take death as a part of life. They don't seem to be apprehensive or fear death. Maybe because they know who they would be returning to when their life on earth is over.

In fact the ones that seemed to fear death are the ones who are left behind on earth.

Joseph's brothers feared that with the death of their father, Joseph would now take revenge for all the harm they had done to him before.

In the gospel, Jesus urged His disciples not to be afraid (3 times even).

We become afraid when we forget who is looking after us and what we should do in life in order to prepare for death.

Yes, in forgetting we fear. So let us remember what Jesus has taught us about life, and He will remember us when we face our death.


 SAINT IF THE DAY

JULY 15 | 

Feast of St. Bonaventure 

Perhaps not a household name for most people, Saint Bonaventure, nevertheless, played an important role in both the medieval Church and the history of the Franciscan Order. A senior faculty member at the University of Paris, Saint Bonaventure certainly captured the hearts of his students through his academic skills and insights. But more importantly, he captured their hearts through his Franciscan love for Jesus and the Church. Like his model, Saint Francis, Jesus was the center of everything—his teaching, his administration, his writing, and his life. So much so, that he was given the title “Seraphic Doctor.”

Born in Bagnorea in 1221, Saint Bonaventure was baptized John, but received the name Bonaventure when he became a Franciscan at the age of 22. Little is known about his childhood, but we do know that his parents were Giovanni di Fidanza and Maria Ritell. It seems that his father was a physician and a man of means. While Saint Francis died about five years after the saint’s birth, he is credited with healing Bonaventure as a boy of a serious illness.

Saint Bonaventure’s teaching career came to a halt when the Friars elected him to serve as their General Minister. His 17 years of service were not easy as the Order was embroiled in conflicts over the interpretation of poverty. Some friars even ended up in heresy saying that Saint Francis and his community were inaugurating the era of the Holy Spirit which was to replace Jesus, the Church, and Scripture. But because he was a man of prayer and a good administrator, Saint Bonaventure managed to structure the Order through effective legislation. But more importantly, he offered the Friars an organized spirituality based on the vision and insights of Saint Francis. Always a Franciscan at heart and a mystical writer, Bonaventure managed to unite the pastoral, practical aspects of life with the doctrines of the Church. Thus, there is a noticeable warmth to his teachings and writings that make him very appealing.

Shortly before he ended his service as General Minister, Pope Gregory X created him a Cardinal and appointed him bishop of Albano. But a little over a year later, while participating in the Second Council of Lyon, Saint Bonaventure suddenly died on July 15, 1274. There is a theory that he was poisoned.

Saint Bonaventure left behind a structured and renewed Franciscan Order and a body of work all of which glorifies his major love—Jesus.

St. Bonaventure, pray for us.


      GOD BLESS YOU

Good morning. Have a nice day.

Happy feast of St. Binaventure