Saint Bonaventure
Giovanni di Fidanza, known as Saint Bonaventure, was probably born between 1217 and 1221 in Bagnoregio, north of Rome in Italy. Coming from a wealthy family, when he was a child, he was cured of a serious illness through the intercession of Saint Francis of Assisi.
He took the name of Bonaventure in 1243 when he made his profession among the Franciscans, in the Order of Friars Minor. A quick student of theology, he was ordained a priest around 1244-1245, and later took on important responsibilities in his order, since he was a minister general.
Because of his writings in particular, he was nicknamed the “Seraphic Doctor” (Doctor seraphicus). Declining the office of Archbishop of York in 1265, he was however consecrated cardinal-bishop of Albano by Pope Gregory X in 1273. He affirmed himself as a great theologian, and Benedict XVI compared him to Saint Thomas Aquinas, a contemporary and friend of Bonaventure.
After he died on July 14, 1274, he was canonized in 1482 and proclaimed a doctor of the Church in 1587 by Pope Sixtus V. He is celebrated every year by the Church on July 15. So, Let's meet Saint Bonaventure: let's discover his life, his influence and what he can still tell us today.
At the end of this reading on Saint Bonaventure, you can continue to nourish yourself with holiness by discovering other holy figures in the Guide to Saints on Hozana.
What can we learn from Saint Bonaventure?
Bonaventure, a total dedication to his Order
He was very devoted to his Order, that of the Order of Franciscan Friars Minor.
We can identify two important acts. His most important act was the governance of his order. Indeed, he was Minister (Superior) General of the Order from 1257, following his election, and he was until his death. Responsible for the governance of the Order, he had the task of publishing new Constitutions, which were approved by the Narbonne chapter. The consolidation of the Franciscan presence in Europewas an important challenge for Bonaventure, who had the duty to maintain unity and fidelity following the intuitions of Saint Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Order.
A second act illustrating his dedication to his order was that, at the request of the General Chapter of Narbonne in 1260, he wrote a biography on Saint Francis: the “Legenda Major,” to be an official hagiography of Saint Francis. To do this, Bonaventure needed to gather many documents and testimonies on the life of Saint Francis. The General Chapter of Pisa of 1263 recognized the quality of Bonaventure's work by approving the Legenda Major as the only official biography of Francis of Assisi.
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Bonaventure, a brilliant intellectual
Bonaventure was recognized as a brilliant intellectual, both in philosophy and theology.
In his compendium of Theology, The Breviloquium, Bonaventure developed his thought on theology as follows: “The subject of theology is in turn: God from whom all beings come, Christ through whom all pass, the redemptive work towards which all tend, the only bond of charity that embraces and unites all heavenly and earthly beings. ”
He also made the connection between philosophy and theology. To this end, he showed that philosophy can help man in his search for God by sending him back to his inner dimension, which will then orient him to God, and that “Christ is the way for all the sciences.”
In addition, he also compares theology to a wisdom, which aims to restore order in his life, following the disorder created by sin, and by contemplating Christ, the perfect model of wisdom. For him, the gift of wisdom was first manifested in the contemplation of God.
Bonaventure's contributions to theology earned him the name “seraphic doctor.” He was one of the three great scholastic theologians of the Middle Ages, along with Dun Scott and Saint Thomas Aquinas.
Benedict XVI paid tribute to Saint Bonaventure on the occasion of three catecheses in March 2010. On the occasion of the third catechesis, the Pope took up a quote from the prayer of Bonaventure by showing that prayer is “the mother and the origin of elevation,” and that “our life is an ascent, a pilgrimage to God. ”
What can Saint Bonaventure bring us today?
What Saint Bonaventure can bring us today is to seek first to contemplate Christ. As we had already seen with John of Capistrano, who really invited us to become the friend of Jesus, the theology of Saint Bonaventure starts from the contemplation of Christ.
Benedict XVI had good reason to say that Bonaventure's thought was “deeply Christocentric,” in other words, truly centered on Christ. Therefore, Saint Bonaventure calls us to explore or rediscover the Love of Christ through contemplation. According to him, loving God and the bond of his love are equivalent to bliss.
Books written by Saint Bonaventure
Uncover a selection of literary works by Saint Bonaventure:
· The Sentences: questions about God
· Story of Saint Francis of Assisi
· The Three Ways of the Spiritual Life
· The Tree of Life
· The Soliloquy
· As well as a significant amount of sermons, on Sundays, the Liturgical Times, the feasts of the saints, etc.
Praying with Saint Bonaventure
Prayer by Saint Bonaventure “O my soul, praise your Lord”
“Recognize, therefore, my soul, how admirable and invaluable is your dignity to be not only a Sign of the Creator's power, which is common to every creature, but to be his Image, which can only be suitable for a being endowed with reason. O my soul, praise your Lord; praise your God, O Zion! Awaken and let your praises be heard, leap for joy and burst into transports of joy that you have been marked with the image of God, adorned with His likeness, that you have become a participant in His reason and capable of eternal bliss. But such favors would be mediocre if death were to be their end, so raise your happiness and praise your God for also giving you an immortal nature, an incorruptible substance, an endless duration, a life that must not come to an end. Amen.”
Prayer by Saint Bonaventure after Holy Communion “O sweet Jesus, now that You are in my chest and on my heart”
“O sweet Jesus, now that You are in my chest and on my heart, penetrate my soul and my senses with the salutary fires of Your Love; intoxicate me with the true, the divine Love, so that, in a sweet and holy intoxication, I may sigh only after the moment when I will go to lose myself in You in Heaven. Make me, O Jesus, hungry for You who are the Bread of the Angels and our daily bread, for You who offer the most delicious and delightful Sweetness to the holy souls. The Angels, happy at Your sight, cannot tire of contemplating You; Ah! May my heart and my senses be constantly transported by the insatiable desire to see You and to love You; may a burning thirst bring me to You, Source of life and wisdom, Fire of eternal light, Torrent of the purest pleasure. That I seek You and that I find You, that I go to You and that I reach You, that I think of You and that I speak of You, that I do everything to the praise and glory of Your Name, with love and humility, with joy and perseverance. Be, divine Jesus, my hope and my confidence, my affections and my pleasures, my peace and my joy, my happiness and my delights, my food and my remedy, my help and my refuge, my wisdom and my advice, and may my mind and my heart be forever fixed on You.”
Rediscover Christ with Hozana
Following Saint Bonaventure, a Franciscan, discover Franciscan spirituality with:
- This novena to Saint Francis of Assisi
- Or, discover other communities to pray every day.
