July 15 St. Bonaventure, Doctor of the Church -CA Mission

St. Bonaventure (1218-1274)

July 15

            Bonaventure was born at Bagnorea, Tuscany and was baptized "John/Giovanni." As a child he was cured at the intervention of St. Francis. Bonaventure studied at the University of Paris and became a Franciscan there. Thomas Aquinas and Bonaventure were both distinguished scholars there in Paris at the same time. His academic career was cut short in 1257 by his election as Minister General of the Order. Bonaventure immediately dedicated his energies to restoring harmony among the friars, who were plagued by various factions.

As one Franciscan source puts it: "The Church in the 1260’s closely linked ordination and the permission to preach. This presented a problem for the friars whose style, since Francis’ time, had been that of itinerant preachers—few of whom were ordained. Bonaventure, wanting to ensure the friars’ preaching vocation, moved them in a clerical direction. And accepting ordination meant establishing large houses of study near universities like Paris and Oxford. Though some people have criticized Bonaventure for this redirection of the friars, others have argued convincingly that he was simply following the mind of the Church—which, they say, is what Francis would have wanted. Bonaventure ably defended the friars against those who said that the friars’ form of life, with its provisions for begging, was condemned by the gospel."

Among Bonaventure’s most famous writings are his life of St. Francis called the Legenda Major and the equally brilliant Journey of the Soul to God.  Bonaventure attributed his knowledge to meditation on the cross of Jesus Christ, something he wrote of in The Tree of Life.

Bonaventure writes in Journey of the Soul to God, Chapter 7: “For this passover (to God) to be perfect, we must suspend all the operations of the mind and we must transform the peak of our affections, directing them to God alone. This is a sacred mystical experience. It cannot be comprehended by anyone unless they surrender themselves to it; nor can they surrender themselves to it unless they long for it; nor can they long for it unless the Holy Spirit, whom Christ sent into the world, should come and inflame their inmost soul.  Hence the Apostle says that this mystical wisdom is revealed by the Holy Spirit.” 

Bonaventure worked hard not to be named a bishop but was finally made Bishop of Albano and then cardinal. At the Second Council of Lyons (1274), he worked for the reunion with the Eastern Greek Church. He died before the Council ended. Bonaventure was canonized in 1482.

Sacred and Immaculate Hearts

 Sacred and Immaculate Hearts-Jesus and Mother Mary

Although not explicitly Franciscan in origin, the contemporary devotion to the Twin Hearts on the Friday and Saturday following the Solemn Feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ, is deeply Scriptural and resonates within Franciscan spirituality. In his encyclical Dilexit Nos, Pope Francis points out the theological contributions of Saint Bonaventure in paragraphs 106-108. He writes that Bonaventure “presents the heart of Christ as a source of the sacraments and of grace and urges that our contemplation of that heart become a relationship between friends, a personal encounter of love.”

In paragraph 110 when writing about feminine encounter with Christ, Pope Francis includes the Franciscan Saint Angela of Foligno (3^rd order). “A number of holy women, in recounting their experiences of encounter with Christ, have spoken of resting in the heart of the Lord as the source of life and interior peace.” In paragraph 177 he quotes Saint Bernard, “in exhorting us to union with the heart of Christ, draws upon the richness of this devotion to call for a conversion grounded in love.”

This year the optional Saturday memorial of the Immaculate Heart of the Blessed Virgin Mary (BVM) falls on June 13^th, which is the feast day of St. Anthony of Padua. It thus bumps St. Anthony into an optional status as well, as two extremely popular devotional saints vie for attention, so to speak. Just an example of how several devotional items or issues can “stack up” on any particular day. That is especially true of Saturdays, which are traditionally devoted to BVM. Or when the Sunday celebration “overtakes” the date of a saint. Whatever choices are made, our eyes ultimately (should) land on Jesus, the source of all holiness and grace. Or as I saw it put into a slogan: "Two Saints. One Mission. Lead Souls to Jesus."