St. Boniface - Patron of Germany - June 5th
This great Apostle of Germany was an English man. When he was a small boy, some missionaries who were staying at his home talked to him about their work and filled him with a great desire to become like them. While still very young, he entered a monastery school and some years later he himself became a very popular teacher. When he was ordained a priest, he gave many sermons taken from the Bible, which he dearly loved to read.
Boniface daily grew in love for God and for souls. So, with his Superior’s permission, he became a missionary to Germany, which at that time covered a large part of Europe. With the blessing of Pope St. Gregory, he preached with wonderful success.
Boniface was a man of great courage. Once, to prove that the pagan gods were false, he did a bold thing. There was a certain huge oak tree that the pagans thought was sacred to their gods. In front of a large crowd, Boniface struck it a few times with an axe. The big tree crashed, and split into four parts. The pagans saw that their gods were false when nothing happened to the Saint for this act.
Everywhere Boniface preached, new members came into the church. In his lifetime, he converted millions. In place of the statues of the gods, he built churches and monasteries.
When he was seventy-three, St. Boniface left someone else in charge of his work, and sailed with some companions to preach to more pagans. Here, too, he was successful and he baptized large numbers. Then, one day, as he was about to give some converts the Sacrament of Confirmation, he was martyred. A group of fierce pagans swooped down on their camp, and the Saint would not let his companions defend him. "Our Lord tells us to repay evil with good,” he said. "The day has come for which I have waited so long. Trust in God, and He will save our souls.” The barbarians attacked, and Boniface was the first one they killed.
Even today there are millions of souls who do not know the true god. Let us pray for them, and if God inspires us to become missionaries, let us be generous and courageous enough to follow His call.
