Foreword
Foreword Solemn high distjDctions between th oJogy and spirituality are of rather recen vjntag J and result in th> Lmpov rishment of both. Tha tlle fir t tasl 0f th theologian. is to pray and study was more commonly r gnized in earlier Christian enturies. Purely academic tll ology or religiou tudies, wltethered fr Dl an ex:pli it ornmitm nt to afailb shaped and sustained by regular prayer, worshi p, ind ed onternplation, is a th roughly m d -m developm nl an l would hav been Ullrecognizable on the theological landscape of previous periods of Christian history.
We stand at a juncture. At this point in our history there is a deepening realization that whatever the merits of the historical epoch called "rn dem," its view of human natur , histOlY, th world, and the ,od-worldrelation, is flawed. Th. promise or modernity have failed to satisfy th de pe desire of the human heart for freedom, for tmth, for love. Anotherwotldview is coming to be a wa of bing and p rcelving named by the very slippery term up st[-]mod rn." Though its con our. are not yet alt g ther dear, ill the post[-]modern worldview there is a greater recognition of the importance of relationality, of interdependence, and of the irreducible role of traditions in the quest for meaning, purpose, and value. Today there is a deeper realization that the human person is n.ot to be defined principally as a rational animal with separate faculties of intel-
Foreword lect and will, a composite of body and soul often at odds with one another. Rather the person is a whole, a being defined by heart, affectus, affectivity-the capacity to be touched and drawn into relationship and interpersonal communion with another, others, and God. These features ofthe post[-]modern have a deep resonance with the large sweep of history referred to loosely as "premodern," specifically the high Middle
Ages and the Devout Teacher, Saint Bonaventure. What an extraordinary expression of the coincidentia oppositorum at the heart of the Bonaventurian synthesis that an age so vastly different from the medieval as ours should find so much in common with the vision of the Seraphic Doctor and Prince of Mystics.
This thirteenth century Franciscan friar, professor at the University of Paris, minister general of the Franciscans, cardinal and esteemed ecclesiastical adviser, played a crucial role in shaping the spirituality of the high Middle Ages. He created what is arguably the richest synthesis of Christian spirituality of the medieval age, integrating insights from the Greek East and the Latin West, specifically the thought forms of the Pseudo-Dionysius with the emerging devotion to the humanity and passion of Christ Crucified. He thereby gave direction to the spirituality of Western Christianity for centuries to come.
Bonaventure lived and wrote in an age when spirituality and speculation were not yet considered strangers and rivals.
Thus he was able to articulate a speculative, systematic theology enkindled by a passion for the things of the Spirit, as well as a spiritual synthesis enlivened and strengthened by the rigors of theoretical reflection.
In Bonaventure we find a theology with heart and a spirituality with spine. His genius lies in speculative synthesis, in the construction of a spiritual summa that weaves together an integrated understanding of human personhood, philosophy and theology. As very few others have, Bonaventure managed to bring together a vast range of insights and a plethora of dispa-
Foreword
rate elements within an organic and unified system in service of the life of the Spirit.
Bonaventure's work is altogether Trinitarian, grounded in the doctrine of the Trinity and in devotion to the person of Christ, the Incarnate Word of God. In Bonaventure, theology is mysticism, or mysticism is theology, wherein abstract philosophical speculation is balanced by richly laden biblical symbolism. Hence, Bonaventure's systematic spirituality is especially resonant with two developments in contemporary theology and spirituality: The astonishing renaissance in studies of the doctrine of the Trinity; and the centrality of the Word in any Christian theological reflection or understanding of the spiritual life Preeminent among biblical symbols in Bonaventure is that of the Word. In Bonaventure: MystiC of God's Word, Timothy
Johnson has selected and edited a wide range of Bonaventure's writings, all of which bespeak the centrality of Christ as the Word of God. Deeply schooled in Franciscan spirituality, specifically as it is expressed in the life and legacy of Saint
Bonaventure, Professor Johnson demonstrates an abundance of insight and a knowledge of sources rare in a North American scholar. Johnson's own words in these pages are lean and spare, inviting the reader to enter into the words of the Seraphic Doctor, discerning therein the Word beneath and beyond all Bonaventure's words. Johnson thus proves himself a learned disciple of the Devout Teacher'. For in these pages we have not only a carefully ordered, systematic presentation of Bonaventure's own thinldng and writing but, more importantly, an invitation to participate in the mystery of the Incarnate Word of God palpably present in Bonaventure's words, precisely as the Word whose name is Love beneath and beyond all words.
Michael Downey