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St. Boniface: The Apostle of Germany
(680-754)
Around the year 680 AD, a tiny flame from the Heart of the Father, through the Sacrament of Baptism, descended upon a little baby named Winfred. The flame, buried deep within his soul, over time slowly grew into a raging fire and transformed an English Benedictine monk into the “Apostle of Germany.”
After spending over twenty years behind the walls of a Benedictine monastery, excelling in the areas of scholarship and preaching, God called Winfred from the monastic life to embrace the life of a missionary. His scholarship and preaching would no longer reach the ears and hearts of fellow monks and countrymen, but instead would touch the hearts and souls of Germanic pagans.
Boniface’s zeal for the salvation of the Germanic peoples knew no bounds. He drove back the darkness of paganism with the light and power of the Holy Spirit. He willingly challenged the beliefs and practices of the pagans. On one occasion as a number of pagans gathered around a giant oak to worship the god Jupiter, Boniface appeared. He made his way through the crowd with an axe in hand and approached the tree. Stopping just in front of it, he rolled up his sleeves, pulled the axe back and swung at the trunk of the oak. Suddenly a wind arose and the branches of the tree began swaying. The pagans believed Jupiter would deal with Boniface accordingly for defacing his shrine. Boniface took another swing at the trunk and the wind grew all the stronger. Suddenly, without warning a powerful blast occurred. Upon the ground laid the mighty oak, split into four equal parts. The pagans stood there in disbelief. Stunned and shocked many converted to Catholicism.
Once Boniface entered Germany he never slowed down. He spent all his energy, used all his talents, and devoted all his time to announcing the Good News of salvation to the pagan peoples of Germany. He systematically built churches and established diocese so that the faith would take root within the minds and hearts of those he converted.
Well into his seventies, Boniface continued as an Archbishop to baptize and confirm those wishing entrance into the Church. On the eve Pentecost 754 AD, prior to celebrating the Sacrament of Confirmation, Boniface and a number of his companions were martyred by a band of pagan marauders.
The driving force behind Boniface’s missionary activity was his zeal for the salvation of souls. He never counted the cost, even when he faced danger and the very likelihood of death. Instead, like a man on a mission, he joyfully picked up his cross and followed the Lord.
Most of us will never be called by God to leave our homes, go to a foreign land, and preach the Gospel as Boniface was. However, each one of us is called through our Baptism to be missionaries, bringing Jesus by our words and actions to family members, friends, co-workers, neighbors and fellow parishioners.
St. Boniface, pray for us.
God bless.