Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
July 15, 2021
Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Lectionary: 392
Reading I
Moses, hearing the voice of the LORD from the burning bush, said to him,
“When I go to the children of Israel and say to them,
‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’
if they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what am I to tell them?”
God replied, “I am who am.”
Then he added, “This is what you shall tell the children of Israel:
I AM sent me to you.”
God spoke further to Moses, “Thus shall you say to the children of Israel:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob,
has sent me to you.
“This is my name forever;
this my title for all generations.
“Go and assemble the elders of Israel, and tell them:
The LORD, the God of your fathers,
the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
has appeared to me and said:
I am concerned about you
and about the way you are being treated in Egypt;
so I have decided to lead you up out of the misery of Egypt
into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites,
Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites,
a land flowing with milk and honey.
“Thus they will heed your message.
Then you and the elders of Israel
shall go to the king of Egypt and say to him:
“The LORD, the God of the Hebrews, has sent us word.
Permit us, then, to go a three-days’ journey in the desert,
that we may offer sacrifice to the LORD, our God.
“Yet I know that the king of Egypt will not allow you to go
unless he is forced.
I will stretch out my hand, therefore,
and smite Egypt by doing all kinds of wondrous deeds there.
After that he will send you away.”
Responsorial Psalm
105:1 and 5, 8-9, 24-25, 26-27
- (8a) The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Give thanks to the LORD, invoke his name;
make known among the nations his deeds.
Recall the wondrous deeds that he has wrought,
his portents, and the judgments he has uttered.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He remembers forever his covenant
which he made binding for a thousand generations
Which he entered into with Abraham
and by his oath to Isaac.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He greatly increased his people
and made them stronger than their foes,
Whose hearts he changed, so that they hated his people,
and dealt deceitfully with his servants.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
He sent Moses his servant;
Aaron, whom he had chosen.
They wrought his signs among them,
and wonders in the land of Ham.
R. The Lord remembers his covenant for ever.
or:
R. Alleluia.
Alleluia
- Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
Jesus said:
“Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me,
for I am meek and humble of heart;
and you will find rest for yourselves.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden light.”
Reflection: THE NAME OF GOD
Reflecting on the name of God, listen to this experience shared by an Indian priest studying abroad: “I was in a parish in the north of Italy, to substitute a parish priest during his days of spiritual retreat. There were a few elderly ladies who were regular for the daily Eucharist. They would spend some time every day after Mass talking to me. They loved to hear things about the Bible and one day the most vociferous of them asked - "Is there a name for our God!" Before I could say, "Yes, it is Jesus!", she intervened and said, "I mean, God the Father! Does God have a name?" And I quoted to her today's reading and said, "Yes, our God is I AM. Or when we say it...Our God is WHO IS". She was thrilled to know the name of God, and was going around telling everyone the discovery that she has made. When the Parish priest returned a week later, one of the first things she told him was, "Father, you know, I know the name of our God. Our God is, WHO IS, or IAM, or YAHWEH"...And the Parish Priest was a bit upset; he turned to me and said - "No Father... That is the God of the Hebrews!" The priest said he did not want to pick a theological argument with the Parish priest...but thought to himself - "Yes...that is the God of the Hebrews, and therefore the God of Jesus too...the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ" as St Paul would say (2 Cor 1:3; Eph 1:3; Col 1:3). YAHWEH, One who IS... It is not just a name - it is an experience. It has to be our experience today: the God who IS, who is with us, now, always, all the time.