Memorial of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
St. Bonaventure (†1274 Lyon – France). He entered the Order of Friars Minor (Franciscans) at the age of twenty-two. While studying for his doctorate in Paris, he formed friendships with St. Thomas Aquinas and with King St. Louis IX. Chosen as Superior General of his Order during a time of internal upheaval, he restored the spirit of the founder, St. Francis of Assisi. He is known as “the Seraphic Doctor”.
See also:
Mass Readings
First Reading – Is 1:10-17
Hear the word of the LORD, princes of Sodom! Listen to the instruction of our God, people of Gomorrah! What care I for the number of your sacrifices? says the LORD. I have had enough of whole-burnt rams and fat of fatlings; In the blood of calves, lambs and goats I find no pleasure. When you come in to visit me, who asks these things of you? Trample my courts no more! Bring no more worthless offerings; your incense is loathsome to me. New moon and sabbath, calling of assemblies, octaves with wickedness: these I cannot bear. Your new moons and festivals I detest; they weigh me down, I tire of the load. When you spread out your hands, I close my eyes to you; Though you pray the more, I will not listen. Your hands are full of blood! Wash yourselves clean! Put away your misdeeds from before my eyes; cease doing evil; learn to do good. Make justice your aim: redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow.
Responsorial Psalm – Ps 50:8-9, 16BC-17, 21 and 23 (R. 23b)
R. To the upright I will show the saving power of God.
“Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you,
for your burnt offerings are before me always.
I take from your house no bullock,
no goats out of your fold.” R.
“Why do you recite my statutes,
and profess my covenant with your mouth,
Though you hate discipline
and cast my words behind you?” R.
“When you do these things, shall I be deaf to it?
Or do you think you that I am like yourself?
I will correct you by drawing them up before your eyes.
He that offers praise as a sacrifice glorifies me;
and to him that goes the right way I will show the salvation of God.” R.
Gospel – Mt 10:34-11:1
Jesus said to his Apostles: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household. “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple– amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.” When Jesus finished giving these commands to his Twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
Featured Saints
St. Joseph of Thessalonica, bishop (†832). He was a monk elected bishop of this Greek city; he endured suffering for his defence of ecclesiastical discipline and the cult to sacred images.
St. David, bishop (+1082). English Cluniac religious, sent as a missionary to evangelize the Swedes. He died in old age in Västerås, Sweden.
St. Pompilius Mary Pirrotti, priest (†1766). Priest of the Order of Regular Clerics of the Pious Schools, he carried out apostolate in various regions of Italy.
St. Peter Nguyen Ba Tuan, priest and martyr (†1838). Imprisoned during the time of Emperor Minh Mang, he died of starvation in the prison of Nam Dinh, Vietnam.
St. Vladimir, king (†1015). Grand Prince of Kiev, grandson of St. Olga; he converted to Christianity and summoned missionaries to evangelize his people.
Blessed Ceslaus of Poland, priest (†1242). Received the Dominican habit from St. Dominic. Stood out for his ardent preaching. Founded the convents of Prague and Breslau.
Blessed Michel-Bernard Marchand, priest and martyr (†1794). Imprisoned during the French Revolution for being a priest; he died from illness contracted in the prison-ship anchored in Rochefort, France.
Blessed Anne-Marie Javouhey, virgin (†1851). During the French Revolution, she dedicated herself to protecting religious, and assisting the sick with her own means. She later founded the Sisters of St. Joseph for the education of needy children.
Image gallery
