+(Intro) Today we celebrate the memorial of St Bonaventure, doctor of the Church. It is also Fr Alan’s feastday so let us keep him in prayer. We will hear Isaiah reminding us that our religious practice is useless unless we make justice our aim, redress the wronged, hear the orphan’s plea, defend the widow. So let us be mindful of our own sins as we begin this Eucharist.
(After the Gospel) Jesus saying this morning “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword” is unsettling. He would have us lose our lives that we may find them. The dying to self, to self-interests is never easy but it makes all the difference in the world if we are going to learn what love is about.
Jesus would have us be open to the prophet among us, and like Isaiah, to give a cup of cold water to the one in need. Certainly, this selflessness is what St Bonaventure gave witness to as he taught within the Franciscan Order, a wonderful example for us all.
Isaiah 1:10-17; Matt 10:34-11:1