Posted on 06/05/2002 6:36:50 PM PDT by Lady In Blue
So - Who was St Boniface?
Well, he was a great Englishman - yet hardly anyone in this country has heard of him, even though he was our Patron Saint for 300 years. It's very different abroad where he is still the Patron Saint of both Germany and the Netherlands. A historian has written of him: "Everything which has developed afterwards (in Germany) in the realm of politics, the church and spirituality, is established on the foundation laid by Boniface, whose tomb should be more sacred for us than the tombs of the patriarchs were for the Jews, because he is truly the spiritual father of our people. Boniface has given us, as well as our successors, more than any of our great emperors and kings has been able to contribute." Quite some tribute, that!
Boniface was born at Crediton in Devon in 675 and baptised with the name Wynfrith. The name means "Friend of Peace", possibly because his father was a Saxon and his mother British, to show that the two peoples had come together. He entered a monastery at Nursling [near Southampton] and became a monk and a priest. He found in his heart a burning passion for foreign mission. Finally his abbot let him leave, and in 716 he set out for the land of the Frisians (in the Netherlands, where the black and white cows come from!). Another English Missionary, Willibrord from Northumbria (where Vicars called Wallace and lay-readers called Martin come from!) had already preached the Gospel there for several years. But wars and the hatred of the pagans were big obstacles for the young Wynfrith. Some months later, having failed, he returned to his monastery in England, to devote two more years to preparation for his apostolic work. (Isn't it encouraging to know that even a great saint failed at first, but did not give up?)
After failing in his mission to Frisia, and after two years of further preparation, in 718 Wynfrith once again left his monastery, this time for good. He would never return to England. So he set off for Rome to ask the leader of the world-wide church for his commissioning and blessing. On 14 May 719 he threw himself at the feet of Pope Gregory II, who gave him the new name "Boniface". He then crossed the Alps and embarked on 35 years of missionary work in various parts of Germany, as well as a return visit to Frisia. In 722 he was consecrated by the Pope as Bishop of the whole of Germany to the east of the Rhine.
On his return to Germany as Bishop, Boniface decided to tackle the heathen superstitions head-on. At a place called Geismar in front of hostile tribesmen he chopped down a sacred Oak Tree, where they worshipped Thor, the god of thunder (after whom our Thursday is named), and laid the foundations of a flourishing new church there. (This event is depicted in the banner at the front of our church as well as outside over the main door). He went on to plant many new churches and monasteries, and to re-organise the existing ones so that they were more effective Christian communities and properly "equipped for mission". After six years, the Pope made him Archbishop of all Germany, based at Mainz.
As well as expanding and growing the churches in Germany, Boniface was equally concerned to ensure that the political authorities and rulers became firmly committed to Christianity. He crowned Pepin as King of all the "Franks" (the people of France and Germany), whose son Charlemagne was to become the first "Holy Roman Emperor" - a title which continued for the following 1,000 years. Boniface was constantly travelling around, encouraging churches, appointing good leaders, and negotiating with politicians. His journeys and letters show his energy and spirituality. Many of his fellow-workers came from his native England. Whenever tired, he withdrew to the new abbey he had founded at Fulda (in central Germany) for rest and refreshment. But even in his late 70s he was not prepared to put his feet up for long!
At the age of nearly 80, when most Archbishops would retire or concentrate on their books (and Boniface was devoted to reading), he had other ideas. He still wanted to take the gospel to Frisia, where his first efforts had failed nearly 40 years earlier. So he set off with 52 companions on an evangelistic mission. At Pentecost, on 5 June 755 near the modern town of Dokkum in the Netherlands, they were all massacred by heathen brigands. Boniface was himself struck down by a sword which pierced the bible he had raised to shield his head (see this depicted in our banner and above the church entrance). As requested in his Will, his body was taken back to the monastery he had founded at Fulda, in central Germany, where a magnificent Cathedral now encloses his tomb, and where all the Roman Catholic Bishops of Germany hold their meetings every year.
So - Who was St Boniface?
A great Englishman who devoted his whole life to the service of God
A great missionary to other lands, where the gospel had hardly been heard
A great planter, encourager and reformer of churches and Christian communities
Someone committed to Christians working together in unity, within the structures of church authority, so that their witness would be effective
A great leader himself, and a great trainer and selector of good leaders to follow him
Someone who wanted the whole of society to be Christian, and so worked hard to influence the political authorities and ensure their support for the church and Christian values
A man of persistence, who if he failed simply prepared himself better and then went for it again
A man of courage, who was still prepared to risk his life by leading a mission into a dangerous area, long past the age when most archbishops would have put their feet up
St Boniface and the Christmas Tree
According to tradition, when he chopped down the pagan Thor's Oak at Geismar, Boniface claimed a tiny fir tree growing in its roots as the new Christian symbol. He told the heathen tribes:
- "This humble tree's wood is used to build your homes: let Christ be at the centre of your households.
- Its leaves remain evergreen in the darkest days: let Christ be your constant light.
- Its boughs reach out to embrace and its top points to heaven: let Christ be your comfort and your guide."
So the fir tree became a sign of Christ amongst the German peoples, and eventually it became a world-wide symbol of Christmas.
From a letter of St Boniface
"In her voyage across the ocean of this world, the Church is like a ship pounded by the waves of life’s different stresses. Our duty is not to abandon ship, but to keep her on course".
A Prayer of St Boniface
Eternal God, the refuge and help of all your children, we praise you for all you have given us, for all you have done for us, for all that you are to us. In our weakness , you are our strength, in our darkness, you are light, in our sorrow you are comfort and peace We cannot number your blessings, we cannot declare your love: For all your blessings we bless you. May we live as in your presence, and love the things that you love, and serve you in our daily lives; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Thanks go to Robert Stand for compiling this history. © 1999 St Boniface Church, Quinton.
For a complete record of all the Bonifaces throughout the ages, we recommend Martin Teitsma's excellent page at http://www.boniface.demon.nl/boniface.html
The Careful Shepherd Watches Over Christ's Flock
Emphasis is mine.
St. Boniface bump on 06-05-04
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Boniface, known as the apostle of the Germans, was an English Benedictine monk who gave up being elected abbot to devote his life to the conversion of the Germanic tribes. Two characteristics stand out: his Christian orthodoxy and his fidelity to the pope of Rome.
How absolutely necessary this orthodoxy and fidelity were is borne out by the conditions he found on his first missionary journey in 719 at the request of Pope Gregory II. Paganism was a way of life. What Christianity he did find had either lapsed into paganism or was mixed with error. The clergy were mainly responsible for these latter conditions since they were in many instances uneducated, lax and questionably obedient to their bishops. In particular instances their very ordination was questionable.
These are the conditions that Boniface was to report in 722 on his first return visit to Rome. The Holy Father instructed him to reform the German Church. The pope sent letters of recommendation to religious and civil leaders. Boniface later admitted that his work would have been unsuccessful, from a human viewpoint, without a letter of safe-conduct from Charles Martel, the powerful Frankish ruler, grandfather of Charlemagne. Boniface was finally made a regional bishop and authorized to organize the whole German Church. He was eminently successful.
In the Frankish kingdom, he met great problems because of lay interference in bishops’ elections, the worldliness of the clergy and lack of papal control.
During a final mission to the Frisians, he and 53 companions were massacred while he was preparing converts for Confirmation.
In order to restore the Germanic Church to its fidelity to Rome and to convert the pagans, he had been guided by two principles. The first was to restore the obedience of the clergy to their bishops in union with the pope of Rome. The second was the establishment of many houses of prayer which took the form of Benedictine monasteries. A great number of Anglo-Saxon monks and nuns followed him to the continent. He introduced Benedictine nuns to the active apostolate of education.
Comment:
Boniface bears out the Christian rule: To follow Christ is to follow the way of the cross. For Boniface, it was not only physical suffering or death, but the painful, thankless, bewildering task of Church reform. Missionary glory is often thought of in terms of bringing new persons to Christ. It seems—but is not—less glorious to heal the household of the faith.
Memorial of St. Boniface, bishop and martyr
In 724 he turned his attention to the Hessian people, among whom he continued his missionary activity with renewed zeal. On an eminence near the village of Geismar on the Eder, he felled a giant oak that the people honored as the national sanctuary of the god Thor. Boniface used the wood to build a chapel in honor of St. Peter. This courageous act assured the eventual triumph of the Gospel in Germany.
The resident clergy and the priests dwelling at the court, whose unworthy lives needed censure, were constantly creating difficulties. Nevertheless Boniface continued to labor quietly, discreetly. He prayed unceasingly, put his trust in God alone, recommended his work to the prayers of his spiritual brothers and sisters in England. And God did not abandon him. Conversions were amazingly numerous. In 732 Gregory III sent him the pallium, the insignia of the archiepiscopal dignity. Boniface now devoted his time and talent to the ecclesiastical organization of the Church in Germany. He installed worthy bishops, set diocesan boundaries, promoted the spiritual life of the clergy and laity, held national synods (between 742 and 747), and in 744 founded the monastery of Fulda, which became a center of religious life in central Germany. In 745 he chose Mayence for his archiepiscopal see, and affiliated to it thirteen suffragan dioceses. This completed the ecclesiastical organization of Germany.
The final years of his busy life were spent, as were his earlier ones, in missionary activity. Word came to him in 754 that a part of Frisia had lapsed from the faith. He took leave of his priests and, sensing the approach of death, carried along a shroud. He was 74 years of age when with youthful enthusiasm he began the work of restoration, a mission he was not to complete. A band of semi-barbarous pagans overpowered and put him to death when he was about to administer confirmation to a group of neophytes at Dockum.
Patron: Brewers; Tailors; Germany; Prussia.
Symbols: Ax; book; raven; scourge; sword; sword piercing heart; Bible transfixed by sword; fallen oak; book and pen; scourge; club; fox; axe and fallen oak of Thor.
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BTTT on the Memorial of St. Boniface, June 5, 2006!
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June 5, 2007
St. Boniface
(672?-754)
Boniface, known as the apostle of the Germans, was an English Benedictine monk who gave up being elected abbot to devote his life to the conversion of the Germanic tribes. Two characteristics stand out: his Christian orthodoxy and his fidelity to the pope of Rome.
How absolutely necessary this orthodoxy and fidelity were is borne out by the conditions he found on his first missionary journey in 719 at the request of Pope Gregory II. Paganism was a way of life. What Christianity he did find had either lapsed into paganism or was mixed with error. The clergy were mainly responsible for these latter conditions since they were in many instances uneducated, lax and questionably obedient to their bishops. In particular instances their very ordination was questionable. These are the conditions that Boniface was to report in 722 on his first return visit to Rome. The Holy Father instructed him to reform the German Church. The pope sent letters of recommendation to religious and civil leaders. Boniface later admitted that his work would have been unsuccessful, from a human viewpoint, without a letter of safe-conduct from Charles Martel, the powerful Frankish ruler, grandfather of Charlemagne. Boniface was finally made a regional bishop and authorized to organize the whole German Church. He was eminently successful. In the Frankish kingdom, he met great problems because of lay interference in bishops’ elections, the worldliness of the clergy and lack of papal control. During a final mission to the Frisians, he and 53 companions were massacred while he was preparing converts for Confirmation. In order to restore the Germanic Church to its fidelity to Rome and to convert the pagans, he had been guided by two principles. The first was to restore the obedience of the clergy to their bishops in union with the pope of Rome. The second was the establishment of many houses of prayer which took the form of Benedictine monasteries. A great number of Anglo-Saxon monks and nuns followed him to the continent. He introduced Benedictine nuns to the active apostolate of education.
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Saint Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
Memorial
June 5th
Saint Boniface Baptizing and Martyrdom
illustration from Sacramentary of Fulda, 11th Cent.)
Saint Boniface, a Benedictine monk, was born in England. He was consecrated the first bishop of Germany after only four years of preaching there. He organized the Church in this area. He was martyred while preaching among the Frisians.
Source: Daily Roman Missal, Edited by Rev. James Socías, Midwest Theological Forum, Chicago, Illinois ©2003
Collect:
Lord,
Your martyr Boniface
spread the faith by his teaching
and witnessed to it with his blood.
By the help of his prayers
keep us loyal to our faith
and give us courage to profess it in our lives.
Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,
who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.
First Reading: Acts 26:19-23
"Wherefore, O King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision, but declared first to those at Damascus, then at Jerusalem and throughout all the country of Judea, and also to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God and perform deeds worthy of their repentance. For this reason the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me. To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer, and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, He would proclaim light both to the people and to the Gentiles."
Gospel Reading: John 10:11-16
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hireling and not a shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hireling and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd; I know My own and My own know Me, as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep, that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will heed My voice. So there shall be one flock, one shepherd.
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