Memorial of Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
“Father, they are your gift to me.”
The hard work of unity in the family or a community is done only by way of the Father’s providential care!
In our Gospel passage, Jesus is praying to the Father. His prayer is about the unity of his disciples with him and in the Father. God the Father gives the disciple, and us, to Jesus. This is no little regard for us! We belong to Jesus and we belong to the Father.
In practice this means that we always source any effort toward unity in the Eucharist. If we get away from this source, which lies beyond our meager efforts, we will not have unity but frustration!
Cardinal Basil Hume, in a talk to the Catholic Common Ground Initiative in 1999, said: “I believe that unity in the Church in the next millennium will be dependent upon two essentials: the primacy of spirituality in the lives of individuals and a rediscovery of the centrality of Christ as the Way, the Truth, and the Life.”
In the light of our Gospel today, something this means is that we never forget the Providential care of God. St. Benedict reminded us of this: ‘to shun forgetfulness.’ In practice we can easily do this if cultivate what the tradition calls, “unceasing prayer.” This is simply a willingness to pray – allowing the Spirit to pray in us – any time or place, anchoring ourselves in the care of our Father who gives us as gifts – how special we are – to Jesus and to the Church!
St. Boniface, whose memorial is today, was a such a gift to Christ and His Church. “Baptized Winfrid or Wynfrith, [he] determined at the age of five that he wanted to be a monk after listening to visitors from the monastery. He began his education when he was seven at the monastery school near Exeter and, at 14, graduated to the abbey at Benedictine Nursling (Hants) in Winchester.” He ended a martyr.
The Father’s providential care is over us in all the circumstances of our lives because we are His gift to Jesus and his Church. Let us not forget this when we are tempted to fear for our families and communities!
Reflection by Fr. Xavier Nacke, OSB
Posted in Article for Easter, Daily Reflections