7/15/2016 – Friday of the 15th week in Ordinary Time – Matthew 12:1-8

      The Pharisees criticized the disciples of Jesus for violating the Sabbath.  A. They had gone into the fields and had picked grains to eat on the Sabbath day when they were hungry; the Pharisees considered this to be work, which was prohibited by Jewish law on the Sabbath.  We can be so occupied with the strict interpretation of the law that we lose sight of God’s love.  We can follow God’s law, which in itself is a good thing, but if we do it in a rigid and merciless way, we are not following the spirit of the Gospel. 

      We have been blessed to have had some great theologians in the history of our Church.  Today, we celebrate St. Bonaventure, one such theologian.  He was a member of the Franciscan order who taught at the University of Paris in the 13^th century; today he is revered as a Doctor of the Church.  Bonaventure was elected the Minister General of the Franciscan Order in 1267 at a time when that order experienced a huge increase in numbers, but at a time when the Franciscan order was splintering into different factions and falling into administrative disorder.  Bonaventure emphasized the spirit of the Franciscan order in his compassion, in his simplicity of life, in his detachment from material possessions and riches, and in his hard work.  He promoted these values in his leadership of his order.  Bonaventure saw the ministry of the Franciscans as complementing the ministry of diocesan priests in preaching and spiritual direction. Unfortunately, the priests in this era were often not very well educated and often lacked a depth in their spirituality.  Bonaventure thus put an emphasis on formation and study.

      Like Bonaventure, we are faced with a particular reality in our modern era, of many people not wanting to fully commit to their faith and with secularism and relativism being the norms in society.   Saints like Bonaventure can teach us a lot in the ways they responded to the reality of the world around them. Bonaventure is full of wise advice for us modern Catholics.  He once said:  “In everything, whether in a thing sensed or a thing known, God Himself is hidden within.”  May we always keep searching for God in our lives. And may we not be afraid to read the signs for the times and to announce the Gospel in the reality in which we live with mercy, love, and compassion.