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”.
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Mass Readings
First Reading – Isaiah 10:5-7, 13b-16
Thus says the LORD: Woe to Assyria! My rod in anger, my staff in wrath. Against an impious nation I send him, and against a people under my wrath I order him To seize plunder, carry off loot, and tread them down like the mud of the streets. But this is not what he intends, nor does he have this in mind; Rather, it is in his heart to destroy, to make an end of nations not a few. For he says: “By my own power I have done it, and by my wisdom, for I am shrewd. I have moved the boundaries of peoples, their treasures I have pillaged, and, like a giant, I have put down the enthroned. My hand has seized like a nest the riches of nations; As one takes eggs left alone, so I took in all the earth; No one fluttered a wing, or opened a mouth, or chirped!” Will the axe boast against him who hews with it? Will the saw exalt itself above him who wields it? As if a rod could sway him who lifts it, or a staff him who is not wood! Therefore the Lord, the LORD of hosts, will send among his fat ones leanness, And instead of his glory there will be kindling like the kindling of fire.
Responsorial PS 94:5-6, 7-8, 9-10, 14-15 (R. 14a)
R. The Lord will not abandon his people.
Your people, O LORD, they trample down,
your inheritance they afflict.
Widow and stranger they slay,
the fatherless they murder. R.
And they say, “The LORD sees not;
the God of Jacob perceives not.”
Understand, you senseless ones among the people;
and, you fools, when will you be wise?R.
Shall he who shaped the ear not hear?
or he who formed the eye not see?
Shall he who instructs nations not chastise,
he who teaches men knowledge? R.
For the LORD will not cast off his people,
nor abandon his inheritance;
But judgment shall again be with justice,
and all the upright of heart shall follow it. R.
Gospel – Mt 11:25-27
At that time Jesus exclaimed: “I give praise to you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, for although you have hidden these things from the wise and the learned you have revealed them to the childlike. Yes, Father, such has been your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son wishes to reveal him.”
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). He received the Dominican habit from St. Dominic, and 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.
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