Monday, July 15, 2013

July 15: St. Bonaventure


History

When Saint Bonaventure was born, his parents called him John. When he was four years old, he became dangerously sick. In fact, his doctor was convinced the little boy would die. John’s mother prayed to God and then hurried to see Saint Francis of Assisi to ask him to pray for her son. Saint Francis felt sorry for the poor mother and agreed to pray for John. As the saint was praying for little John, he saw a vision from God about John’s future and cried out “O buona entura”, which means, “O, good fortune!” John recovered so well, he was never sick again for the rest of his life, and he went on to be a wonderful priest and helper to many people. And everybody called him “Bonaventure” after that, remembering Saint Francis’ prophesy.

Activity


Just like “Bonaventure” has a special meaning, there are many people in the Bible who have names that have special meaning. Saint Peter’s name means “Rock,” which is significant because Jesus said to him, “On this Rock, I will build my church!” Do you know what your name means? You can look it up on this website, or in a baby naming book. Find out what your name means and think about how to use your name as a clue for how you will serve God.

Saint Bonaventure, pray for us!


More reading for parents:


No comments:

Post a Comment