Wednesday, June 5, 2013

June 5: St. Boniface of Mainz


Saint Boniface by Cornelis Bloemaert, c. 1630


History

St. Boniface of Mainz had a lot of trouble when he first tried to be a missionary, but he soon figured out that his problem was trying to do everything on his own instead of asking for help. At the time, most of Europe was pagan – people worshiped idols or even trees. Saint Boniface had to be very patient, trusting God and getting help from other missionaries. They were able to convince many people to become Christians. When St. Boniface was an old man, some people attacked him and his helpers, and he held up a Bible as his only shield. The attacker shoved his sword through the Bible, and that's why statues and paintings of St. Boniface of Mainz show him holding a book with a sword in it.


Activity

Think about something that’s hard to do all by yourself. You can either keep trying to do it alone and failing, or you can ask for help or you can just give up. Which is the best way to handle it? Now think of something that you accomplished after trying very hard for a long time, like learning to ride a bike or learning to play a song on the piano. Were you mostly patient or mostly impatient during the process? Ask Saint Boniface of Mainz to pray for everybody in your family, that you will all be patient and ask for help when you need it. 

More reading for parents:


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