The Festival of St. Boniface, Bishop and Martyr
Posted on June 5, 2025 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 5:1-12 (NKJV)
5:1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “Blessed care the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
5 “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled.
7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
8 “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
9 “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
10 “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
Devotion
The key to the Beatitudes is the word “blessed”. After all, it appears nine times in the text. Let us look at the first four Beatitudes. There is a common theme of humbleness in them. We see four different ways to describe contrition. It means to be poor. It means to mourn. It means to hunger and thirst. It means to be repentant—to be miserable about our sinful condition. No, it’s not about being born on the “wrong side of the world’s tracks.” It’s about being born on the wrong side of the spiritual tracks—God’s holy tracks. No matter how bad a physical plight we may have, it is only temporal, not eternal. It is serious, but not consuming.
“Blessed”, then, means first of all to be spiritually poor—to be “contrite in heart.” But there is still more to this word. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” “Kingdom of heaven” refers to the very presence of God and all the riches of His kingdom. We pray for His kingdom to come in the Lord’s Prayer, and so it does. God Himself promises His kingdom comes to us in His Word. His riches come attached to word, water, bread, and wine. So, how about this word “blessed” that goes with “kingdom”? If you are blessed, it means to have God’s kingdom—that kingdom of forgiveness—as your very own.
Collect: O God, Who dost guide Thy Church through the faithful ministrations of Thy servants, grant that Thy ministers, like St. Boniface, stand steadfast against those who would work iniquity; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Collect for Exaudi Sunday
Almighty, everlasting God, make us to have always a devout will toward Thee, and to serve Thy Majesty with a pure heart; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
