Standing Steadfast in His Name

June 3, 2015

Today we remember St. Charles Lwanga and companions from Uganda, who were slowly burned to death because they refused to deny their faith and perform immoral acts. Johnnette Benkovic captures the sacrifice of these young men beautifully: “In every struggle we face, God’s Grace is there – always present to us. And when we say yes to Him, His Grace is poured into us and we function out of supernatural reality. It lifts us above that moment, giving us perspective of the eternal. That supernatural vision makes us greater than that moment, providing us what we need. We need a willingness to stand before those promoting evil with our conviction that our faith is worth dying for. We have an opportunity to die for the faith every time we say no to sin, no to cultural pressure and say yes to God. His Grace makes us strong enough to be the ultimate witness.”

On Friday, we remember St. Boniface, Apostle of Germany. An English Benedictine monk, he was commissioned by the Pope in 718 to preach the word of God to the heathen. There had been isolated attempts to bring Christianity to the pagans, but Boniface was the first to open up the area. What Christianity was there had lapsed into paganism or was filled with error. Unfortunately, the clergy was responsible for most of the error, since many of them were uneducated and often not obedient to their bishops. Boniface was authorized to reorganize the whole German church! So he first brought the clergy back in line with the bishops and the Pope, and he established houses of prayer, which later became Benedictine monasteries. Tradition says that because the German people, although attracted to Christianity, had difficulty letting go of the old ways, Boniface called the tribes to meet at a giant oak, a place dedicated to the worship of Thor. Boniface brought an axe! As he swung away at the tree, the people just knew that Boniface would be struck down by their gods. Finally, with a crack, the tree split into four parts, some accounts saying that it fell in the shape of a cross. Seeing that Boniface was unhurt, many people converted, and Boniface had a chapel built on the spot with the wood from the oak tree.

For thirty-six years, under difficult and dangerous conditions, Boniface labored as a missionary. When he was 73, as he was preparing converts for confirmation, his camp was attacked. He and all his companions were martyred.

Let us be steadfast in what is right and prepare our souls for judgment.
Let us await God’s powerful aid and say to Him, “O Lord, You have been
our refuge in all generations.”Let us trust Him who places this call upon us.

– St Boniface

St. Boniface, pray for us! St. Charles Lwanga and companions, pray for us!

And please join me in prayer for our wonderful new sidewalk counseling interns Julie and Erica. I had the privilege on Friday to sidewalk counsel with them. These wonderful young women are such a blessing! They are filled with the Holy Spirit and missionary zeal! They stand vigilant outside the abortion facilities, filled with the Holy Spirit and missionary zeal, offering hope and love for the women who feel they have neither. #interningforlife #prolifesummer