Chapter Seven
CHAPTER SEVEN
SPIRITUAL AND MYSTICAL ECSTASY
IN WHICH REST IS GIVEN TO OUR
INTELLECT
WHEN THROUGH ECSTASY OUR
AFFECTION
PASSES OVER ENTIRELY INTO GOD
1. We have, therefore, passed through these six considerations.
They are like the six steps of the true Solomon's throne, by which we arrive at peace, where the true man of peace rests in a peaceful mind as in the interior Jerusalem.
They are also like the six wings of the Seraph
by which the mind of the true contemplative can be borne aloft, filled with the illumination of heavenly wisdom.
They are also like the first six days, in which the mind has been trained so that it may reach the sabbath of rest.
After our mind has beheld God outside itself
Although the critical text has "Cherub," we have read "Seraph," since Bonaventure is clearly referring to the six-winged Seraph of Francis's vision (cf. prologue, 2-3, p.
54), which serves as the symbolic matrix of the entire treatise.
THE SOULSJOURNEY INTO GOD
S 4^. through his vestiges and in his vestiges, within itself through his image and in his image, and above itself through the similitude of the divine Light shining above us and in the Light itself, insofar as this is possible in our state as wayfarers and through the exercise of our mind, when finally in the sixth stage our mind reaches that point where it contemplates in the First and Supreme Principle and in the mediator of God and men, 2 Jesus Christ, those things whose likenesses can in no way be found in creatures and which surpass all penetration by the human intellect, it now remains for our mind, by contemplating these things, to transcend and pass over not only this sense world but even itself.
In this passing over, Christ is the way and the door; 3 Christ is the ladder and the vehicle, like the Mercy Seat placed above the ark of God 4
and the mystery hidden from eternity .
2. Whoever turns his face fully to the Mercy Seat and with faith, hope and love, devotion, admiration, exultation, appreciation, praise and joy 2.
1 Tim. 2:5.
Cf. John 14:6, 10:7.
Cf. Exod. 25:21.
Eph.
3:9
ST. BONAVENTURE
beholds him hanging upon the cross, such a one makes the Pasch, that is, the passover, with Christ.
By the staff of the cross he passes over the Red Sea, going from Egypt into the desert, where he will taste the hidden manna? and with Christ he rests in the tomb, as if dead to the outer world, but experiencing, as far as is possible in this wayfarer's state, what was said on the cross to the thief who adhered to Christ; Today you shall he with me in paradise . 8
This was shown also to blessed Francis, when in ecstatic contemplation on the height of the mountain where I thought out these things I have written— there appeared to him a six-winged Seraph fastened to a cross, as I and several others heard in that very place from his companion who was with him then. 9
10.
There he passed over into God in ecstatic contemplation and became an example of perfect contemplation as he had previously been of action, like another Jacob and Israel, 10 so that through him, more by example than by word, 6.
Cf. Exod.
12:11.
7. Apoc. 2:17.
Luke 23:43.
Cf. Bonaventure's Life of St. Francis , XIII, 3., pp. 305-306.
Cf. Gen. 35:10.
THE SOULSJOURNEY INTO GOD
God might invite all truly spiritual men to this kind of passing over and spiritual ecstasy.
In this passing over, if it is to be perfect, all intellectual activities must be left behind and the height of our affection must be totally transferred and transformed into God.
This, however, is mystical and most secret, which no one knows except him who receives it , n no one receives except him who desires it, and no one desires except him who is inflamed in his very marrow by the fire of the Holy Spirit whom Christ sent into the world. 12
And therefore the Apostle says that this mystical wisdom is revealed by the Holy Spirit. 13
Since, therefore, in this regard nature can do nothing and effort can do but little, little importance should be given to inquiry, but much to unction; little importance should be given to the tongue, but much to inner joy; little importance should be given to words and to writing, but all to the gift of God, that is, the Holy Spirit; 11. Apoc. 2:17.
12.
Cf. Luke 12:49.
13.
Cf.
1 Cor.
2: lOff.
ST. BONAVENTURE
little or no importance should be given to creation, but all to the creative essence, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, saying with Dionysius to God the Trinity:
"Trinity, superessential, superdivine and supereminent overseer of the divine wisdom of Christians, direct us into the super-unknown, superluminous and most sublime summit of mystical communication.
There new, absolute and unchangeable mysteries of theology are hidden in the superluminous darkness of a silence teaching secretly in the utmost obscurity which is supermanifest a darkness which is super-resplendent and in which everything shines forth and which fills to overflowing invisible intellects with the splendors of invisible goods that surpass all good ." 14
This is said to God.
But to the friend to whom these words were written, let us say with Dionysius:
"But you, my friend, concerning mystical visions, with your journey more firmly determined, leave behind your senses and intellectual activities,
14.
Dionysius, De mystica theologia, I, 1.
THE SOULSJOURNEY INTO GOD
sensible and invisible things, all nonbeing and being; and in this state of unknowing be restored, insofar as is possible, to unity with him who is above all essence and knowledge.
For transcending yourself and all things, by the immeasurable and absolute ecstasy of a pure mind, leaving behind all things and freed from all things, you will ascend to the superessential ray of the divine darkness." 15
# 6.
But if you wish to know how these things come about, ask grace not instruction, desire not understanding, the groaning of prayer not diligent reading, the Spouse not the teacher, God not man, darkness not clarity, not light but the fire that totally inflames and carries us into God by ecstatic unctions and burning affections.
This fire is God, and hisfurnace is in Jerusalem ;
and Christ enkindles it in the heat of his burning passion, which only he truly perceives who says:
My soul chooses hanging and my bones death. 17
15.
Ibid.
16.
Isa. 31:9.
17. Job 7:15.
ST. BONAVENTURE
Whoever loves this death can see God because it is true beyond doubt that man will not see me and live . 18
Let us, then, die and enter into the darkness; let us impose silence upon our cares, our desires and our imaginings.
With Christ crucified let us pass out of this world to the Father 19 so that when the Father is shown to us, we may say with Philip:
It is enough for us . 20
Let us hear with Paul:
My grace is sufficientfor you . 2
Let us rejoice with David saying:
My flesh and my heart have grown faint; You are the God of my heart , and the God that is my portion forever.
Blessed be the Lordforever and all the people will say:
Let it be; let it be.
Amen
Here Ends the Souls Journey into God.
18.
Exod. 33:20.
19. John 13:1.
20. John 14:8.
21.
2 Cor.
12:9.
22.
Ps. 72:26, 105:48.
THE TREE OF LIFE
PROLOGUE
With Christ I am nailed to the cross,
from Galatians, chapter two.
The true worshiper of God and disciple of Christ, who desires to conform perfectly to the Savior of all men crucified for him, should, above all, strive with an earnest endeavor of soul to carry about continuously, both in his soul and in his flesh, the cross of Christ until he can truly feel in himself what the Apostle said above.
Moreover an affection and feeling of this kind is merited to be experienced in a vital way only by one who, not unmindful of the Lord's passion nor ungrateful, contemplates the labor, suffering and love of Jesus crucified, with such vividness of memory, such sharpness of intellect and such charity of will that he can truly say with the bride:
A bundle of myrrh is my beloved to me; he will linger between my breasts . 2
2. To enkindle in us this affection, to shape this understanding and to imprint this memory,
I have endeavored to gather this bundle of myrrh from the forest of the holy Gospel,
Gal.
2:19.
Cant.
1:12.
ST. BONAVENTURE
which treats at length the life, passion and glorification of Jesus Christ.
I have bound it together with a few ordered and parallel words to aid the memory.
I have used simple, familiar and unsophisticated terms to avoid idle curiosity, to cultivate devotion and to foster the piety of faith.
Since imagination aids understanding, I have arranged in the form of an imaginary tree the few items I have collected from among many, and have ordered and disposed them in such a way that in the first or lower branches the Savior's origin and life are described; in the middle, his passion; and in the top, his glorification. In the first group of branches there are four stanzas placed opposite each other in alphabetical order. 3 So also in the second and third group of branches. From each of these branches hangs a single fruit. So there are, as it were, twelve branches bearing twelve fruits according to the mystery of the tree of life. 4
Picture in your mind a tree whose roots are watered by an ever-flowing fountain that becomes a great and living river with four channels to water the garden of the entire Church.
From the trunk of this tree, imagine that there are growing twelve branches that are adorned with leaves, flowers and fruit.
Imagine that the leaves are a most effective medicine to prevent and cure every kind of sickness, because the word of the cross is the power of Godfor salvation to everyone who believes (Rom.
1:16).
Let the flowers be beautiful with the radiance of every color and perfumed with the sweetness of every fragrance, awakening and attracting the anxious hearts of men of desire. Imagine that there are twelve fruits, having every delight and the sweetness ofevery taste
(Wisd. 16:20). This fruit is offered to God's servants to be tasted so that when they eat it, they may always be satisfied, yet never
Bonaventure implies that the original manuscript contained a picture of a tree. On this was inscribed a poem, which is discussed in note 5, p. 121; cf. the Quaracchi critical edition, S.
Bonaventurae opera omnia , VIII, xxxix.
4. This and the following passage are based on Apocalypse 22 :\ -2 \ And he showed me a river of the water of life, clear as a crystal, comingforthfrom the throne ofGod and ofthe Lamb. In the midst of the city street, on both sides of the river, was the tree of life, bearing twelve fruits, yielding its fruit according to each month, and the leaves for the healing of nations.
Cf. Esther 10:6; Gen. 2:9-10.
THE TREE OF LIFE
grow weary of its taste. This is the fruit that took its origin from the Virgin's womb and reached its savory maturity on the tree of the cross under the midday heat of the Eternal Sun, that is, the love of Christ. In the garden of the heavenly paradise— God's table— this fruit is served to those who desire it. This is suggested by the first stanza, which says:
O cross, salvation-bearing tree, Watered by a living fountain, Your flower is spice-scented, Your fruit an object of desire. 5
Although this fruit is one and undivided, it nourishes devout souls with varied consolations in view of its varied states, excellence, powers and works. These can be reduced to twelve.
This fruit of the tree of life, therefore, is pictured and is offered to our taste under twelve flavors on twelve branches. On the first branch the soul devoted to Christ perceives the flavor of sweetness, by recalling the distinguished origin and sweet birth of her
Savior; on the second branch, the humble mode of life which he condescended to adopt; on the third, the loftiness of his perfect power; on the fourth, the plenitude of his most abundant piety; on the fifth, the confidence which he had in the trial of his passion; on the sixth, the patience which he exhibited in bearing great insults and injuries; on the seventh, the constancy which he maintained in the torture and suffering of his rough and bitter cross; on the eighth, the victory which he achieved in the conflict and passage of death; on the ninth, the novelty of his resurrection embellished with remarkable gifts; on the tenth, the sublimity of his ascension, pouring forth spiritual charisms; on the eleventh, the equity of the future judgment; on the twelfth, the eternity of the divine kingdom.
This and the two stanzas below, in no. 6, are part of a longer poem which Bonaventure mentions in no.
2; cf. note 3, p.
120. This longer poem, which probably had fifteen stanzas, was changed and added to by later copyists. The editors of the critical edition print within the text only the three stanzas here, but add a number of others in a supplement: cf. the critical edition, S. Bonaventurae opera omnia , VIII, 86-87.
ST. BONAVENTURE
I call these fruits because they delight with their rich sweetness and strengthen with their nourishment the soul who meditates on them and diligently considers each one, abhoring the example of unfaithful Adam who preferred the tree of the knowledge ofgood and evil (Gen. 2: 17) to the tree of life. No one can avoid this error unless he prefers faith to reason, devotion to investigation, simplicity to curiosity and finally the sacred cross of Christ to all carnal feeling or wisdom of the flesh. Through the cross the charity of the Holy Spirit is nourished in devout hearts and the sevenfold grace is poured forth, as is requested in the two first and last verses.
Let us, then, say with devotion and tears:
Feed us with these fruits, Shed light upon our thoughts, Lead us along straight paths, Crush the attacks of the enemy.
Fill us with your sacred light, Breathe holy inspiration, Be a peaceful way of life For those who fear Christ. Amen. 6
Cf. note 5, p.
121.
THE TREE OF LIFE
CHAPTER HEADINGS
ON THE MYSTERY OF HIS ORIGIN
FIRST FRUIT: HlS DISTINGUISHED ORIGIN
Jesus Begotten of God Jesus Prefigured Jesus Sent from Heaven Jesus Born of Mary Second Fruit: The Humility of His Mode of Life
Jesus Conformed to His Forefathers Jesus Shown to the Magi Jesus Submissive to the Law Jesus Exiled from His Kingdom Third Fruit: The Loftiness of His Power Jesus, Heavenly Baptist Jesus Tempted by the Enemy Jesus Wonderful in His Miracles Jesus Transfigured Fourth Fruit: The Plenitude of His Piety
Jesus, the Solicitous Shepherd Jesus Bathed with Tears Jesus Acclaimed King of the World Jesus, Consecrated Bread
ST BONAVENTURE
ON THE MYSTERY OF HIS PASSION
Fifth Fruit His Confidence In Trials Jesus Sold through Guile Jesus Prostrate in Prayer Jesus Surrounded by the Mob Jesus Bound with Chains Sixth Fruit His Patience in Maltreatment
Jesus Denied by His Own Jesus Blindfolded Jesus Handed Over to Pilate Jesus Condemned to Death Seventh Fruit His Constancy Under Torture
Jesus Scorned by All Jesus Nailed to the Cross Jesus Linked with Thieves Jesus Given Gall to Drink Eighth Fruit Victory in the Conflict of Death Jesus, Sun Dimmed in Death Jesus Pierced with a Lance Jesus Dripping with Blood Jesus Laid in the Tomb
ON THE MYSTERY OF HIS GLORIFICATION
Ninth Fruit: The Novelty of His Resurrection Jesus Triumphant in Death
THE TREE OF LIFE
Jesus Rising in Blessedness Jesus, Extraordinary Beauty Jesus Given Dominion over the Earth Tenth Fruit: The Sublimity of His Ascension
Jesus, Leader of His Army Jesus Lifted Up to Heaven Jesus, Giver of the Spirit Jesus Freeing from Guilt Eleventh Fruit: The Equity of His Judgment
Jesus, Truthful Witness Jesus, Wrathful Judge Jesus, Glorious Conqueror Jesus, Adorned Spouse Twelfth Fruit: The Eternity of His Kingdom
Jesus, King, Son of the King Jesus, Inscribed Book Jesus, Fountain-Ray of Light Jesus, Desired End Arise, then, O soul devoted to Christ, and examine diligently, consider attentively and mull over carefully each of the things that are said about Jesus.
ST. BONAVENTURE
THE MYSTERY
OF HIS ORIGIN
FIRST FRUIT:
His Distinguished Origin Jesus Begotten of God 1. When you hear that Jesus is begotten of God, beware lest some inadequate thought of the flesh appear before your mind's eye. Rather, with the vision of the dove and the eagle, believe simply and contemplate with penetrating gaze the following: From that Eternal Light which is at the same time measureless and most simple, most brilliant and most hidden, there emerges a coeternal, coequal and consubstantial splendor, who is the power and wisdom of the Father. In him the Father ordered all things from eternity; through him he made the world
(Heb.
1:2) and governs and directs it to his own glory, partly by nature, partly by grace, partly by justice and partly by mercy, so that he leaves nothing in this world without order.
Jesus Prefigured 2. At the beginning of the creation of nature, our first parents were placed in paradise; but they were driven out by the severity of God's decree because they ate of the forbidden tree.
From that time his heavenly mercy has not ceased calling straying man back to the way of penance by giving hope of forgiveness and by promising that a Savior would come.
Lest such condescension on God's part should fail to effect our salvation because of ignorance and ingratitude, he never ceased announcing, promising and prefiguring the coming of his Son in the five
THE TREE OF LIFE
ages of history, through the patriarchs, judges, priests, kings and prophets, from Abel the Just to John the Baptist. Through many thousands of years, by many marvelous prophecies he stirred men's minds to faith and inflamed their hearts with living desires.
Jesus Sentfrom Heaven 3.
Finally, the fulness of time (Gal. 4:4) had come. Just as man was formed from the earth on the sixth day by the power and wisdom of the divine hand, so at the beginning of the sixth age, the Archangel Gabriel was sent to the Virgin. When she gave her consent to him, the Holy Spirit came upon her like a divine fire inflaming her soul and sanctifying her flesh in perfect purity. But the power of the Most High overshadowed her (Luke
1:35) so that she could endure such fire. By the action of that power, instantly his body was formed, his soul created, and at once both were united to the divinity in the Person of the Son, so that the same Person was God and man, with the properties of each nature maintained.
Oh, if you could feel in some way the quality and intensity of that fire sent from heaven, the refreshing coolness that accompanied it, the consolation it imparted; if you could realize the great exhaltation of the Virgin Mother, the ennobling of the human race, the condescension of the divine majesty; if you could hear the Virgin singing with joy; if you could go with your Lady into the mountainous region; if you could see the sweet embrace of the Virgin and the woman who had been sterile and hear the greeting 1.
Cf. Matt.
1:18-23; Luke 1:26-38.
ST. BONAVENTURE
in which the tiny servant recognized his Lord, the herald his Judge and the voice his Word, then I am sure you would sing in sweet tones with the Blessed Virgin that sacred hymn:
My soul magnifies the Lord .
and with the tiny prophet you would exalt, rejoice and adore the marvelous virginal conception!
Jesus Born of Mary 3 4. Under the reign of Caesar Augustus, the quiet silence (Wisd. 18: 14) of universal peace had brought such calm to an age which had previously been sorely distressed that through his decree a census of the whole world could be taken. Under the guidance of divine providence, it happened that Joseph, the Virgin's husband, took to the town of Bethlehem the young girl of royal descent who was pregnant. When nine months had passed since his conception, the King of Peace like a bridegroom from his bridal chamber (cf.
1 Par. 22:9; Ps.
18:6), came forth from the virginal womb. He was brought forth into the light without any corruption just as he was conceived without any stain of lust. Although he was great and rich, he became small and poor for us. He chose to be born away from a home in a stable, to be wrapped in swaddling clothes, to be nourished by virginal milk and to lie in a manger between an ox and an ass. Then "there shone upon us a day of new redemption, restoration of the past and eternal happiness. Then throughout the whole world the heavens became honey-sweet." 4
2. Luke 1:46.
Cf. Luke 2:1-18.
4. Breviarium Romanum , Officium nativitatis Domini, noc.
1, resp.
THE TREE OF LIFE
Now, then, my soul, embrace that divine manger; press your lips upon and kiss the boy's feet.
Then in your mind keep the shepherds' watch, marvel at the assembling host of angels, join in the heavenly melody, singing with your voice and heart:
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to men ofgood will}
SECOND FRUIT:
The Humility of His mode of Life Jesus Conformed to His Forefathers 5. On the eighth day the boy was circumcised and named
Jesus (Luke 2:21). Thus not delaying to pour out for you the price of his blood, he showed that he was your true Savior, promised to his forefathers by word and sign, and like them in everything except ignorance and sin. For this reason he received the mark of circumcision so that coming and appearing in the likeness of sinful flesh , he might condemn sin by sin (Rom. 8:3) and become our salvation and eternal justice, taking his beginning from humility, which is the root and guardian of all virtues.
Why are you proud , dust and ashes?* The innocent Lamb who takes away the sins of the world7 does not shrink from the wound of circumcision.
5. Luke 2:14.
Ecclus.
10:9.
7. John 1:29.
ST. BONAVENTURE
But you, who are a sinner, while you pretend to be just, are fleeing from the remedy of eternal salvation, which you can never reach unless you are willing to follow the humble Savior.
Jesus Shown to the Magi 8 6. When the Lord was born in Bethlehem of Judah, a star appeared to the Magi in the east and with its brightness showed them the way to the home of the humble King.
Do not now turn away from the brilliance of that star in the east which guides you.
Become a companion of the holy kings; accept the testimony of the Jewish Scriptures about Christ and avert the evil of the treacherous king.
With gold, frankincense and myrrh, venerate Christ the King as true God and man.
Together with the first fruits of the Gentiles to be called to faith, adore, confess and praise this humble God lying in a manger.
And thus, warned in a dream not to follow Herod's pride, 8.
Cf. Matt. 2:1-12.
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you will return to your country in the footsteps of the humble Christ.
Jesus Submissive to the Law 9 7.
It was not enough for the teacher of perfect humility, who was equal to the Father in all things, to submit himself to the humble Virgin. He must submit himself also to the Law, that he might redeem those who were under the Law andfree themfrom the slavery of corruption to the freedom of the glory of the sons of God
(Gal. 4:5; Rom. 8:21). He wished that his mother, although she was most pure, should observe the law of purification. And he wished that he himself, the redeemer of all men, should be redeemed as a firstborn son and should be presented to God in the temple and that an offering should be given for him in the presence of the just who were rejoicing.
Rejoice, then, with that blessed old man and the aged Anna; walk forth 9. to meet the mother and Child.
Let love overcome your bashfulness; let affection dispel your fear.
Receive the Infant in your arms and say with the bride; I took hold of him and would not let him go . 10
Dance with the holy old man and sing with him:
Now dismiss your servant, Lord , according to your word in peace . 11
Cf. Luke 2:27.
10.
Cant.
3:4.
11. Luke 2:29.
ST. BONAVENTURE
Jesus Exiledfrom His Kingdom 12 8.
It is fitting that perfect humility should be adorned and accompanied by three other virtues: poverty in fleeing from riches which are spurs to pride; patience in bearing insults with composure; obedience in following the bidding of others. So in God's design a higher providence allowed that, when the evil
Herod sought to kill the tiny King, he was taken into Egypt as a pilgrim and pauper, directed by a warning from heaven. In the children his own age who were killed because of him, he was killed and, as it were, slaughtered in each. Finally, after Herod's death, he was brought back by divine command into the land of Judah; and growing in age and grace, he lived there with his parents and was subject to them. He never left them for a moment except when, at twelve years of age, he remained in Jerusalem, causing his mother much sorrow while she sought him and bringing her much joy when he was found.
Do not, then, leave the mother and Child as they flee into Egypt without accompanying them.
With the beloved mother looking for her beloved Son, do not cease searching until you have found him.
O, how you would weep if with devotion you could look upon so venerable a lady, so charming a girl, in a foreign country with so tender and handsome a little boy; or if you could hear the sweet complaint of the loving mother of God:
Son , why have you done this to us?
as if she would say:
12.
Cf. Matt. 2:13-23.
13.
Luke 2:48.
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Most beloved Son, how could you give such sorrow to your Mother, whom you love and who loves you so much?
THIRD FRUIT:
The loftiness of His power Jesus , Heavenly Baptist 14 9. When the Savior reached the age of thirty, wishing to work out our salvation, he began first to act before he taught (cf.
Acts 1:1). And beginning with baptism as the doorway of the sacraments and the foundation of virtues, he wished to be baptized by John, in order to show us an example of perfect justice and to "confer regenerative power on water by contact with his most pure flesh." 15
You also, accompany him faithfully; and once regenerated in him, explore his secrets so that "on the banks of the Jordan you may discern the Father in the voice, the Son in the flesh and the Holy Spirit in the dove, and when the heaven of the Trinity is opened to you," 16 you will be taken up into God.
14.
Cf. Matt. 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11; Luke 3:21-22.
15.
Bede, In Lucam , I, 3:21.
16.
Pseudo-Anselm, Meditationes , 15.
ST. BONAVENTURE
Jesus Tempted by the Enemy 17 10. ThenJesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil (Matt. 4: 1). By humbly enduring the enemy's attacks, he would make us humble; and by winning a victory, he would make us courageous. He firmly took up a life that was hard and solitary so that he might arouse the souls of the faithful to strive toward perfection and strengthen them to endure hardships.
Come now, disciple of Christ, search into the secrets of solitude with your loving teacher, so that having become a companion of wild beasts, you may become an imitator and sharer of the hidden silence, the devout prayer, the daylong fasting and the three encounters with the clever enemy.
And so you will learn to have recourse to him in every crisis of temptation because we do not have a high priest who cannot have compassion on our infirmities , but one tried in all things as we are , except sin . 18
Jesus Wondeful in His Miracles 11 .He is the one who alone does marvelous things (Ps .71:18). He transforms the elements, multiples the loaves of bread, walks upon the sea and calms the waves; he curbs the demons and puts them to flight; he cures the sick, cleanses the lepers and raises the dead; he restores sight to the blind, hearing to the deaf, speech to the mute, the power to walk to the crippled, sensation and movement to the paralytics and those with withered limbs.
17.
Cf. Matt. 4:1-11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-13.
18. Heb. 4:15.
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To him our sinning conscience calls out like the faithful leper:
Lord , ifyou wish , you can make me clean . 19
Now like the centurion:
Lord , my servant boy is lying at home
Now like the woman of Canaan: paralyzed and is suffering intensely .
Have mercy on me , 2,1 Now like the woman with the issue of blood:
Son of David.
If I touch the hem of his garment, I will be cured 22 Now with Mary and Martha:
See , Lord , the one you love is ill. 23
Jesus Transfigured24 12. To strengthen the human spirit with hope of eternal , James and John up a high mountain by reward, Jesus took Peter themselves (Matt.
17:1). He revealed to them the mystery of the Trinity and foretold that he would be rejected in his passion. He showed the glory of his future resurrection in his transfiguration. The Law and the prophets gave testimony to him in the apparition of Moses and Elijah, the Father and the Holy Spirit in the voice and the cloud.
So the soul devoted to Christ, strengthened in truth and borne to the summit of virtue,
19.
Luke 5:12; Matt. 8:2.
20.
Matt. 8:6.
21.
Matt.
15:22.
22.
Matt. 9:21.
23. John 11:3.
24.
Cf. Matt.
17:1-8; Mark 9:1-13; Luke 9:28-36.
ST. BONAVENTURE
can faithfully say with Peter:
Lord , it is goodfor us to be here, 2b in the serene enjoyment of contemplating you.
When heavenly repose and ecstasy are given to the soul, it will hear the secret words which man is not permitted to speak . 26
FOURTH FRUIT:
THE PLENITUDE OF HIS PIETY
Jesus , the Solicitous Shepherd27 13. How great was this devoted shepherd's solicitous care for the lost sheep and how great his mercy', the Good Shepherd himself indicates with an affectionate metaphor in the parable of the shepherd and the hundredth sheep that was lost, sought with much care, and finally found and joyfully brought back on his shoulders. He openly declares the same thing in an express statement when he says: "Thegood shepherdgives his lifefor his sheep"
(John 10:11). In him is truly fulfilled the prophecy: Like a shepherd he will feed his flock (Isa. 40:1 1). In order to do this, he endured toil, anxiety and lack of food; he traveled through towns and villages preaching the kingdom of God in the midst of many dangers and the plotting of the Pharisees; and he passed the nights in watchful prayer. Fearless of the murmuring and scandal of the Pharisees, he was affable to the publicans, saying that he had come into the world for the sake of those who are sick
(Matt. 9:12). He also extended fatherly affection to the repentant, showing them the open bosom of divine mercy. As witnesses to this I call upon and summon Matthew, Zacchaeus, the sinful woman who prostrated herself at his feet and the woman taken in adultery. 28
25.
Matt.
17:4.
26.
2 Cor.
12:4.
27.
Cf. Luke 15:4-10; Matt.
18:12-14.
28.
Matt. 9:9-13, 10:3; Luke 19:1-10, 7:36-50; John 8:3-11.
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Like Matthew, therefore follow this most devoted shepherd; like Zacchaeus receive him with hospitality; like the sinful woman anoint him with ointment and wash his feet with your tears, wipe them with your hair and caress them with your kisses, so that finally, with the woman presented to him for judgment, you may deserve to hear the sentence of forgiveness:
Has no one condemned you? Neither will I condemn you.
, and sin no more . 29
Go •• Jesus Bathed with Tears 30 14. To manifest the sweetness of supreme devotedness, the Fountain of all mercy, the good Jesus, wept for us in our misery not only once but many times. First over Lazarus, then over the city and finally on the cross, a flood of tears streamed forth from those loving eyes for the expiation of all sins. The Savior wept abundantly, now deploring the misery of human weakness, now the darkness of a blind heart, now the depravity of obdurate malice.
O hard heart, insane and impious, to be pitied as if bereft of true life, why do you rejoice and laugh like a madman in the midst of such misery while the Wisdom of the Father 29. John 8:10-11.
30.
Cf. John 11:35; Luke 19:41; Heb.
5:7.
ST. BONAVENTURE
weeps over you?
Consider your weeping physician and make mourning asfor an only son , a bitter lamentation; let tears stream down like a torrent day and night.
Give yourself no rest , nor let the pupil ofyour eye be still . 31
Jesus Acclaimed King of the World32 15.
After the raising of Lazarus and the pouring of the jar of ointment on Jesus' head, as the fragrance of his fame had already spread among the people, foreseeing that a crowd would meet him, he mounted an ass in order to give a remarkable example of humility in the midst of the applause of the people who came to him, cut down branches and strewed their garments in his way. Not forgetting compassion, when the crowd was singing a hymn of praise, he lamented over the destruction of the city.
Rise now, handmaid of the Savior, so that like one of the daughters of Jerusalem you may behold King Solomon in the honor which his mother the synagogue reverently offered him 33 as a symbol of the birth of the Church, so that with works of piety and triumphs of virtue as if with olive branches and palms— you may follow the Lord of heaven and earth, sitting on the back of an ass.
31.
Jer. 6:26; Lam. 2:18.
32.
Cf. Matt. 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-38; John 12:12-16.
33.
Cf. Cant. 3:11.
THE TREE OF LIFE
Jesus , Consecrated Bread34 16. Among all the memorable events of Christ's life, the most worthy of remembrance is that last banquet, the most sacred supper. Here not only the paschal lamb was presented to be eaten but also the immaculate Lamb, who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Under the appearance of bread having all delight and thepleasantness ofevery taste (Wisd. 16:20), he was given as food. In this banquet the marvelous sweetness of Christ's goodness shone forth when he dined at the same table and on the same plates with those poor disciples and the traitor Judas. The marvelous example of his humility shone forth when, girt with a towel, the King of Glory diligently washed the feet of the fishermen and even of his betrayer. The marvelous richness of his generosity was manifest when he gave to those first priests, and as a consequence to the whole Church and the world, his most sacred body and his true blood as food and drink so that what was soon to be a sacrifice pleasing to God and the priceless price of our redemption would be our viaticum and sustenance.
Finally the marvelous outpouring of his love shone forth when, loving his own to the end (John 13:1), he strengthened them in goodness with a gentle exhortation, especially forewarning Peter to be firm in faith and offering to John his breast as a pleasant and sacred place of rest.
O how marvelous are all these things, how full of sweetness, but only for that soul who, having been called to so distinguished a banquet, runs with all the ardor of his spirit so that he may cry out with the Prophet:
As the stag longsfor the springs of water so my soul longsfor you, OGod/ 35 34.
Cf. Matt. 26:17-29; Mark 14:12-25; Luke 22:7-38; John 13-17.
35.
Ps. 41:2.
ST. BONAVENTURE
THE MYSTERY
OF HIS PASSION
Fifth Fruit: his Confidence in Trials
Jesus Sold through Guile 17. The first thing that occurs to one who wishes to contemplate devoutly the passion of Jesus Christ is the perfidy of the traitor. So filled was he with the poison of deceit that he betrayed his Teacher and Lord; so on fire with the flame of greed that he sold the all-good God for money and weighed the most precious blood of Christ against the price of a cheap reward. So ungrateful was he that he pursued to death the one who had entrusted everything to him and had elevated him to the height of apostolic dignity. So hardened was he that he could not be called back from the evil he had conceived by the intimacy of the banquet, the humility of Christ's deference or the sweetness of his words.
O marvelous kindness of the Master toward this hardened disciple, toward this wicked servant of the loving Lord!
Certainly it were betterfor that man if he had not been born . 2
But although the traitor's impiety was inexplicable, the most sweet meekness of the Lamb of God surpassed it beyond measure.
Cf. Matt. 26:14-16; Mark 14:10-11; Luke 22:3-6.
Matt. 26:24.
THE TREE OF LIFE
This meekness was given as an example to mortal men, so that when exasperated by a friend, our human weakness would no longer say:
If my enemy had reviled me , I could have borne it ,
because here was a man , another self, who seemed to be a companion andfriend , who ate the bread of Christ and at that sacred supper partook sweetfood with him he it was who raised his heel against him\ And nevertheless in the very hour of his betrayal this most mild Lamb did not refuse to apply
* with a sweet kiss his mouth in which no guile wasfound h to the mouth which abounded in iniquity in order to give the traitor every opportunity to soften the obstinacy of his perverse heart.
Jesus Prostrate in Prayer 6 18. Jesus , knowing all that was to come upon him (John 18:4), in accord with the secret disposition of the Most High, after reciting a hymn wentforth to the Mount ofOlives (Matt. 26:30) to pray to his
Father, as was his custom. And especially at that moment, when the combat of death was close at hand and the sheep which the devoted Shepherd had embraced with tender affection were about to be dispersed and left abandoned, the imagination of death was so horrible to Christ's sensible nature that he said:
Ps. 54:13.
Ps. 54:14-15; 40:10.
1 Pet. 2:22.
Cf. Matt. 26:36-46; Mark 14:32-42; Luke 22:40-46; John 18:1.
ST. BONAVENTURE
Father if it be possible , let this chalice passfrom me (Matt. 26:39). The intensity of the anxiety in the Redeemer's spirit, springing from diverse causes, is testified to by the drops of bloody sweat that ran down to the ground from his entire body.
"Ruler, Lord Jesus, whence comes to your soul such vehement anxiety and such anxious supplication?
Have you not offered to the Father an entirely willing sacrifice?" 7
To shape us in faith by believing that you have truly shared our mortal nature, to lift us up in hope when we must endure similar hardships, to give us greater incentives to love you— for these reasons you exhibited the natural weakness of the flesh by evident signs which teach us that you have truly horne our sorrows 8 and that it was not without experiencing pain that you tasted the bitterness of your passion.
Jesus Surrounded by the Mob 9 19. How ready Jesus' spirit was to face his passion was clearly evidenced by the fact that when men of blood (Ps. 54:24) together with the betrayer came by night with torches, lanterns and weapons to seek his life, he spontaneously hurried to meet them, showed himself plainly and offered himself to them. That human presumption might know that it can do nothing against him unless he permit it, he cast these evil guards upon the ground with a word of his omnipotent power. But not even then
Pseudo-Anselm, Meditationes , 9.
Isa. 53:4.
Cf. Matt. 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53; John 18:2-11.
THE TREE OF LIFE
- * V did he withhold his compassion in anger (Ps.
76:10) nor did his honeycomb cease to drip the sweetness of kindness. 10 For he healed with the touch of his hand the ear of the impudent servant which had been cut off by his disciple, and he restrained the zeal of his defender who wanted to injure the attackers.
Cursed be theirfury because it is violent , n for it could be curbed neither by a miracle of his majesty nor by a favor of his kindness.
Jesus Bound with Chains 20.
Finally, who could hear without grief how the cruel executioners laid murderous hands upon the King of Glory and bound with chains the innocent hands of the gentle Jesus, as if he were a robber, and insultingly dragged as a victim to sacrifice that most meek Lamb who offered no objection? What a sting of grief then penetrated the hearts of his disciples when they saw their beloved Master and Lord betrayed by their fellow disciple and led to death, hands bound behind his back like an evildoer, and when that impious Judas, driven by remorse, afterwards was filled with such bitterness because of this that he preferred to die rather than live! (cf. Matt. 27:3-5).
Yet woe to that man who did not return to the fountain of mercy out of hope of forgiveness but, terrified by the enormity of his crime, despaired!
10.
Cf. Cant. 4:11.
11. Gen. 49:7.
ST. BONAVENTURE
SIXTH FRUIT:
HIS PATIENCE IN MALTREATMENT
Jesus Denied by His Own 12 21. When the shepherd is seized, the sheep are scattered (Matt. 26:31). When the Master was captured, the disciples fled.
Yet Peter, more faithful,followed at a distance even to the courtyard ofthe highpriest (Matt. 26:58). There in response to a maidservant he denied with an oath that he knew Christ and repeated it a third time. Then after the cock crowed, his kind Master looked upon his beloved disciple with mercy and grace. Reminded by this of the earlier warning, Peter went out and wept bitterly (Matt.
26:75).
O whoever you are, who at the word of an insistent servant, that is your flesh, by will or act have shamelessly denied Christ, who suffered for you, remember the passion of your beloved Master and go out with Peter to weep most bitterly over yourself.
When the one who looked upon the weeping Peter looks upon you, you will be inebriated with the wormwood 13 of a twofold bitterness: remorse for yourself and compassion for Christ, so that having atoned with Peter for the guilt of your crime, with Peter 12.
Cf. Matt. 26:69-75; Mark 14:66-72; Luke 22:56-62; John 18:12-27.
13.
Lam. 3:15.
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you will be filled with the spirit of holiness.
Jesus Blindfolded 14 22.
Presented to the council of the malicious high priests, our High Priest Jesus Christ professed the truth that he was the Son of God. He was condemned to death, as if for blasphemy, and endured innumerable insults. For that face, venerable to the elders and desirable to the angels, which fills all the heavens with joy, was defiled by the spittle of polluted lips, struck by impious and sacrilegious hands, and covered in derision with a veil. The Lord of all creation was struck on the ears like a contemptible slave, while he with placid respect and submissive speech gently reprimanded one of the servants of the high priest who had given him a blow: IfI have spoken ill , he said, bear witness to the evil; but if well , why do you strike me? (John 18:23).
O truthful and kind Jesus, what soul who is devoted to you, when it sees and hears this, can restrain itself from tears and hide the sorrow of its inner compassion?
1 ^ Jesus Handed Over to Pilate 23. O horrible impiety of the Jews, 16 which could not be satiated by such insults but went further and, raging with the madness of wild beasts, exposed the life of the Just One to an impious judge as if to be devoured by a mad dog! For the high priests led Jesus bound before the face of Pilate, demanding death by the torture of the cross for him who knew nothing ofsin
(2 Cor. 5:21). But he, like a lamb before his shearer (Isa. 53:7), stood 14.
Cf. Matt. 26:57-68; Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:66-71; John 18:13, 19-24.
15.
Cf. Matt.
27:1 1-26; Mark 15:1-15; Luke 23:2-5; John 18:28-19:16.
16. An example of strong language against the Jews that was widespread in the Middle
Ages. Such expressions would be contrary to contemporary norms as expressed, for example,
ST. BONAVENTURE
before his judge meek and silent, while deceitful and impious men, accusing him of a mass of false crimes, with tumultuous shouts sought to bring to death the Author of Life; and they saved the life of a man who was a murderer and seditious thief.
With as much folly as impiety they preferred the wolf to the lamb, death to life, darkness to light.
Sweet Jesus, who will be so hardened as not to groan and cry out in spirit when he hears with his bodily ear or considers with his mind those horrible shouts:
Away with him! Away with him!
Crucify him! 11
Jesus Condemned to Death 18 24.
Pilate was not ignorant of the fact that the Jewish people were aroused against Jesus not out of zeal for justice but out of envy. Although he clearly asserted that he found in him no cause at all for death, nevertheless, vanquished by human fear, hefilled his soul with bitterness (Lam. 3:15) and handed over the most dutiful King to the judgment of a cruel tyrant, Herod.
After Herod mocked Jesus and sent him back to Pilate, the latter issued an even cruder order that Jesus should stand stripped in the sight of men who mocked him so that savage scourgers could lash that virginal and pure-white flesh with fierce blows, cruelly inflicting bruise upon bruise, wound upon wound. The precious blood flowed down the sacred sides of that innocent and loving youth in whom there was found absolutely no basis for accusation.
And you, lost man, the cause of all this confusion and sorrow, how is it in the statement of Vatican II on the Jews in its Declaration on the Relation of the Church to Non-Christian Religions.
17.
Cf. John 19:15.
18.
Cf. Luke 23:8-25; Matt. 27:26-31; Mark 15:16-20; John 19:1-16.
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that you do not break down and weep?
Behold, the most innocent Lamb has chosen on your account to be condemned by an unjust sentence in order to rescue you from a sentence of just damnation.
Behold, he pays back for you what he did not steal . 19
And you, my wicked and impious soul, you do not repay him with gratitude and devotion nor do you recompense him with compassion.
SEVENTH FRUIT:
His Constancy Under Torture Jesus Scorned by All20
After Pilate had passed judgment to satisfy the desires of the wicked, those sacrilegious soldiers were not satisfied to crucify the Savior until they had heaped his soul full of mockery.
The entire cohort assembled in the praetorium, stripped him of his clothes, dressed him in a scarlet tunic and placed a purple cloak around him, a crown of thorns on his head and a reed in his right hand. They genuflected in mockery, gave him blows, spat upon him and struck that sacred head with the reed.
Attend now, O pride of the human heart that flees from reproach and aspires after honors!
Who is it who comes in the likeness of the King and yet is filled with the confusion 19.
Ps. 68:5.
20.
Cf. references in note 17, p.
146.
ST. BONAVENTURE
of a despicable slave?
He is your King and your God, who is accounted as a leper and the last of men 21 in order to snatch you from eternal confusion and to heal you from the disease of pride.
Woe, therefore, and woe again to those who, after seeing this outstanding reflection of humility, are lifted on high in pride placing on display again the Son of God, 22 who is all the more worthy of all honor from men because of how much humiliation he has endured for their sake.
Jesus Nailed to the Cross23 26. When the wicked men were sated with insulting the meekest King, our King was again clothed in his own garments, which would be stripped off a second time; and bearing his crossfor himself, he was led forth to the place ofCalvary (John 19:17). There he was stripped completely and covered only with a cheap loincloth. Thrown roughly upon the wood of the cross, spread out, pulled forward and stretched back and forth like a hide, he was pierced by pointed nails, fixed to the cross by his sacred hands and feet and most roughly torn with wounds. His garments were given away as spoils and were divided into parts, except his seamless tunic which was not divided but went by lot to one man.
See, now, my soul, how he who is God blessed above all things , 21.
Isa.
53:4, 3.
22.
Heb. 6:6.
23.
Cf. Matt. 27:33-37; Mark 15:22-26; Luke 23:33-34; John 19:17-24.
THE TREE OF LIFE
is totally submerged in the waters of suffering from the sole of the foot to the top of the head . 24
In order that he might draw you out totally from these sufferings, the waters have come up to his soul . 25
For crowned with thorns he was ordered to bend his back under the burden of the cross and to bear his own ignominy.
Led to the place of execution, he was stripped of his garments so that he seemed to be a leper from the bruises and cuts in his flesh that were visible over his back and sides from the blows of the scourges.
And then transfixed with nails, he appeared to you as your beloved cut through with wound upon wound in order to heal you.
Who will grant me that my request should come about and that God will give me 2 * what I longfor, that having been totally transpierced in both mind and flesh, I may be fixed with my beloved to the yoke of the cross?
24. Rom 9:5; Isa.
1:6.
25.
Ps. 68:2.
26. Job 6:8.
ST. BONAVENTURE
Jesus Linked with Thieves 27 27. To increase the confusion, ignominy, shame and suffering, the innocent Lamb was lifted up on the cross as a spectacle, in the midst of thieves, outside the gate in the place of punishment for criminals on that solemn day at noon, while his friends wept and his enemies scoffed. For also the passersby shook their heads (Matt. 27:39), and those who were standing there were shouting, saying that he saved others and now he cannot save himself
(Matt.
27:42). One thief did not refrain from this kind of mockery, while the most mild Lamb prayed out of the sweetness of his kindness to his Father for those who were crucifying him and deriding him; and to the thief who confessed and implored him, he promised paradise out of his most generous charity.
O words full of sweetness and forgiveness:
"Father, forgive them /"
O words full of love and grace:
"Today you will be with me in paradise/" 28
Breathe in peace now, O soul, in hope of pardon, however great a sinner you are, if you do not shrink from following the footsteps of the Lord God who is suffering for you,
"who in all his torments did not once open his mouth to say even the slightest word of complaint or excuse or threat or abuse against those accursed dogs.
Rather he poured upon his enemies words of a new blessing not heard since the beginning of the world. " 29
27.
Cf. Matt. 27:38-44; Mark 15:27-32; Luke 23:35-43.
28.
Luke 23:34, 43.
29.
Pseudo-Anselm, op. cit ., 9; John 9:32.
THE TREE OF LIFE
Say, then, with much confidence:
"Have pity on me, 0 God, have pity on me, because my soul trusts in you. " 30
If only like the repentant thief you would merit to hear at the moment of death: uToday you will be with me in paradise ." 31
Jesus Given Gall to Drink 32 , Jesus , knowing that all things were now accom28.
After this plished , that the Scripture might be fulfilled said , '7 thirst " (John 19:28). According to the testimony of John, who was present, after Jesus was given a drink of vinegar and gall on a sponge, he said: uIt is consummated" (John 19:30).
It was as if in the taste of vinegar and gall his bitter passion reached its fulness and completion. For since it was by tasting the sweetness of the forbidden tree that the prevaricator Adam became the cause of all our perdition, it was appropriate and fitting that a remedy for our salvation should be found in the opposite direction. While the hostile arrows of piercing suffering were increasing in each of his limbs, and his spirit was drinking in their poison (cf. Job 6:4), it was fitting that his mouth and tongue— the vehicles of food and speech— should by no means be spared in order that this prophecy might be fulfilled in our physician: He hasfilled me with bitterness; he has inebriated me with wormwood (Lam. 3:15); and that the following prophecy might be fulfilled in his most sweet and loving mother: He has made me desolate and wasted with sorrow all the day long (Lam.
1:13).
30.
Ps. 56:2.
31. Luke 23:43.
32.
Cf. Matt. 27:48; Mark 15:36; John 19:28-30.
ST. BONAVENTURE
What tongue can tell, what intellect grasp the heavy weight of your desolation, blessed Virgin?
You were present at all these events, standing close by and participating in them in every way.
This blessed and most holy flesh which you so chastely conceived, so sweetly nourished and fed with your milk, which you so often held on your lap, and kissed with your lips you actually gazed upon with your bodily eyes now torn by the blows of the scourges, now pierced by the points of the thorns, now struck by the reed, now beaten by hands and fists, now pierced by nails and fixed to the wood of the cross, and torn by its own weight as it hung there, now mocked in every way, finally made to drink gall and vinegar.
But with the eye of your mind you saw that divine soul filled with the gall of every form of bitterness, now groaning in spirit, now quaking with fear, now wearied, now in agony, now in anxiety, now in confusion, now oppressed by sadness and sorrow partly because of his most sensitive response to bodily pain,
THE TREE OF LIFE
partly because of his most fervent zeal for the divine honor taken away by sin, partly because of his pity poured out upon wretched men, partly because of his compassion for you, his most sweet mother, as the sword pierced the depths of your heart, when with devoted eyes he looked upon you standing before him and spoke to you these loving words:
"Woman, behold your son, " 33 in order to console in its trials your soul, which he knew had been more deeply pierced by a sword of compassion than if you had suffered in your own body.
EIGHTH FRUIT:
Victory In The Conflict of Death Jesus , Sun Dimmed in Death 34 29. Then when the innocent Lamb, who is the true Sun of justice, had hung upon the cross for the space of three hours, and when the visible sun, out of compassion for its Maker, had hidden the rays of its light, now that all things were consummated, at the ninth hour that Fountain of Life dried up. With a loud cry and tears (Heb.
5:7), Jesus, God and man, in order to manifest his feeling of pity and to declare the power of his divinity, commends his spirit to the hands of his Father and expires. Then the veil ofthe temple was tornfrom top to bottom and the earth quaked and the rocks were rent and the tombs were opened (Matt.
27:51-52). Then the centurion recognized that he was truly God. Then those who had come to a spectacle to jeer returned,
33. John 19:26.
34.
Cf. Matt. 27:50-53; Mark 15:37-39; Luke 23:44-47; John 19:30.
ST. BONAVENTURE
beating their breasts (Luke 23:48). Then he who isfairer in beauty than the sons of men (Ps.
44:3), with his eyes clouding and his cheeks turning pale, appeared ugly for the sons of men, having been made a holocaust with a most sweet fragrance in view of his
Father's glory in order to avert his anger from us (Ps. 84:4).
O Lord, holy Father, look down , then , from your sanctuary , from your lofty habitation in the heavens ;
look , I say, upon the face ofyour Anointed ; look upon this most holy Victim, which our High Priest offers to you for our sins and be placated over your people's wantonness . 37
And you also, redeemed man, consider who he is, how great he is, and what kind of a person he is who for you is hanging on the cross, whose death brings the dead to life, at whose passing away heaven and earth mourn and hard rocks crack as if out of natural compassion.
O human heart, you are harder than any hardness of rocks, if at the recollection of such great expiation you are not struck with terror, nor moved with compassion nor shattered with compunction nor softened with devoted love.
Jesus Pierced with a Lance 38 30. Then, in order that the Church might be formed out of the side of Christ sleeping on the cross and that the words of 35.
Deut. 26:15.
36.
Ps. 83:10.
37.
Exod. 32:12.
38.
Cf. John 19:31-37.
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Scripture might be fulfilled which say: They will look upon him whom they have pierced (John 19:37; Zach.
12:10), the divine plan permitted that one of the soldiers should pierce open his sacred side with a lance. While blood mixed with water flowed, the price of our salvation was poured forth, which gushing from the secret fountain of the heart gave power to the sacraments of the Church to confer the life of grace and to become for those already living in Christ a draught of the fountain of living water springing up into eternal life (John 4:14). Behold how the spear thrown by the perfidy of Saul, that is, of the reprobate Jewish people, through the divine mercy fastened in the wall without making a wound (1 Kings 19: 10) and made a cleft in the rock and a hollow place in the cliff as an abode for doves (Cant. 2:14).
Rise, therefore, beloved of Christ, be like the dove that makes its nest in the heights in the mouth ofa cleft . 39
There,
like a sparrow that finds a home , do not cease to keep watch; there, like the turtledove, hide the offsprings of your chaste love; there apply your mouth to draw waterfrom the Savior'sfountains41 for this is the river arisingfrom the midst ofparadise which, divided into four branches 42 and flowing into devout hearts, waters and makes fertile the whole earth.
39.
Jer. 48:28.
40.
Ps. 83:4.
41.
Isa.
12:3.
42.
Gen. 2:10.
ST. BONAVENTURE
Jesus Dripping with Blood 3 1 .
Christ the Lord was stained with his own blood, which flowed profusely: first from the bloody sweat, then from the lashes and the thorns, then from the nails and finally from the lance. So that with God there might be plenteous redemption (Ps.
1 29:7), he wore a priestly robe of red; his apparel was truly red and hisgarments like those ofthe wine presser (Isa. 63:2). As in the case of Joseph who was thrown into an ancient cistern, his tunic was dipped in the blood ofa goat (Gen. 37:3 1)— that is, because of the likeness ofsinfulflesh (Rom. 8:3)— and was sent to the Father for his recognition and acceptance.
"Recognize, therefore, O most merciful Father, the tunic of your beloved son Joseph, whom the envy of his brothers in the flesh has devoured like a wild beast 43 and has trampled upon his garment in rage, befouling its beauty with the remains of blood, for it has left in it five lamentable gashes.
For this is indeed, O Lord, the garment which your innocent Son willingly gave over into the hands of the Egyptian prostitute, that is to the Synagogue, choosing to be stripped of the mantle of his flesh and to descend into the prison of death rather than to seek temporal glory by acquiescing to the shouts of the adulterous mob."44
For when joy was set before him , 43. Gen. 37:33.
44.
Pseudo-Anselm, op. cit., 9; cf. Gen.
39:7ff.
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he endured a cross , despising the shame . 45
But you also, my most merciful Lady, behold that most sacred garment of your beloved Son, artistically woven by the Holy Spirit from your most chaste body; and together with him beg forgiveness for us who take refuge in you that we may be found worthy to fleefrom the wrath to corned Jesus Laid in the Tomb 47
Finally a noble man, Joseph of Arimathea, came and with the permission of Pilate and the assistance of Nicodemus took the body of Christ down from the cross, embalmed it with spices, wrapped it in a cloth and buried it with all reverence in a new tomb which had been cut out of the rock for him in a nearby garden. Then, after the Lord was buried and soldiers were assigned to guard the tomb, those devoted and holy women who had followed him when he was alive, in order to render him service out of their dutiful piety now that he was dead, bought spices to anoint Jesus' most sacred body. Among them Mary
Magdalene was borne along by such a burning in her heart, moved by such sweetness of piety and drawn by such strong bonds of love that, forgetting her feminine weakness, she was held back from visiting the tomb by neither the darkness of night nor the cruelty of the persecutors. Rather, she stood outside and bathed the tomb with her tears. Although the disciples had fled, she did not go away. Ablaze with the fire of divine love, she burned with such a powerful desire and was wounded with such
45.
Heb.
12:2.
46.
Matt.
3:7.
47.
Cf. Matt. 27:57-66, 28:1; Mark 15:42-47, 16:1-2; Luke 23:50-56, 24:1; John 19:38-42,
20 : 1
ST. BONAVENTURE
an impatient love that nothing had any taste for her except to be able to weep and to utter in truth those words of the Prophet: My tears were my food day and night , as they say to me day after day:
"Where is your God?" (Ps. 41:4).
O my God, good Jesus, although I am in every way without merit and unworthy, grant to me, who did not merit to be present at these events in the body, that I may ponder them faithfully in my mind and experience toward you, my God crucified and put to death for me, that feeling of compassion which your innocent mother and the penitent Magdalene experienced at the very hour of your passion.
THE TREE OF LIFE
THE MYSTERY
OF HIS GLORIFICATION
NINTH FRUIT:
THE NOVELTY OF HIS RESURRECTION
Jesus Triumphant in Death 33. Now that the combat of the passion was over, and the bloody dragon and raging lion thought that he had secured a victory by killing the Lamb, the power of the divinity began to shine forth in his soul as it descended into hell. By this power our strong Lion of the tribe ofJudah (Apoc.
5:5), rising against the strong man who was fully armed (Luke 1 1:21), tore the prey away from him, broke down the gates of hell and bound the serpent.
Disarming the Principalities and Powers , he led them away boldly , displaying them openly in triumph in himself (Col.
2:15). Then the Leviathan was led about with a hook (Job 40:25), his jaw pierced by Christ so that he who had no right over the Head which he had attacked, also lost what he had seemed to have over the body.
Then the true Samson, as he died, laid prostrate an army of the enemy (cf. Judges 16:30). Then the Lamb without stain by the blood ofhis Testament ledforth the prisonersfrom the pit in which there was no water (Zach. 9: 1 1). Then the long-awaited brightness of a new light shone upon those that dwelt in the region of the shadow of death (Isa. 9:2).
Jesus Rising in Blessedness 34. When the third day dawned of the Lord's sacred repose in the tomb, which in the cycle of the week is both the eighth and 1.
Cf. Matt. 28:1-20; Mark 16:1-18; Luke 24:1-49; John 20:1-31, 21:1-25.
ST. BONAVENTURE
the first, Christ, the power and wisdom of God (1 Cor.
1:24), with the author of death lying prostrate, conquered even death itself and opened to us access to eternity, when he raised himself from the dead by his divine power in order to make known to us thepaths of life (Ps.
15:11). Then there was a great earthquake ; for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven , with raiment like snow and his countenance like lightning (Matt. 28:2-3). He appeared attractive to the devout and severe to the wicked; for he terrified the cruel soldiers and comforted the timid women, to whom the Lord himself first appeared after rising because their intense devotion so merited. Then he was seen by Peter, then by the disciples going to Emmaus, then by all the apostles, except Thomas.
Later he presented himself to be touched by Thomas, who proclaimed his faith: My Lord and my God (John 20:28). And thus during forty days he appeared in many ways to his disciples, both eating and drinking with them; and he enlightened our faith with proofs and lifted up our hope with promises so as finally to enkindle our love with gifts from heaven.
Jesus , Extraordinary Beauty 35.
This most beautifulflower of the root ofJesse (Isa.
11:1), which had blossomed in the incarnation and withered in the passion, thus blossomed again in the resurrection so as to become the beauty of all. For that most glorious body— subtle, agile and immortal— was clothed in glory so as to be truly more radiant than the sun, showing an example of the beauty destined for the risen human bodies. Concerning this the Savior himself said: "Then thejust will shineforth like the sun into the kingdom oftheir
Father" (Matt. 13:43), that is, in eternal beatitude. And if the just will shine forth like the sun, how great do you think is the radiance of the very Sun of justice himself? So great is it,
I say, that it is more beautiful than the sun and surpasses every constellation
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ofthe stars (Wisd. 7:29); compared to light, his beauty is deservedly judged to be preeminent.
Happy the eyes that have seen!
But you will be truly happy if there will be remnants ofyour seed to see 2 both interiorly and exteriorly that most desired splendor.
Jesus Given Dominion over the Earth 36. The Lord appeared to his disciples also in Galilee and declared that all power in heaven and earth had been given to him by the Father (cf. Matt. 28: 16-20). In view of this he sent his disciples into the whole world to preach the gospel to every creature
(Mark 16:15), promising salvation to believers, threatening damnation to unbelievers. The Lord worked with them and confirmed the preaching by the signs thatfollowed (Mark 16:20) so that in the power of the name ofJesus Christ they might have command over all creatures and all diseases. And thus it was to be manifest to the whole world that Jesus Christ, the Son of the mighty
Father, lives and reigns like another Joseph and a true Savior not only in the land ofEgypt (Gen . 4 1 :45 , 45 : 26) but also "in everyplace where the eternal King has dominion (Ps.
102:22). At the command of the God of heaven he has been led forth from the prison of death and the underworld. And shorn of the fleece of mortality, he exchanged the clothing of flesh for the glory of immortality.
Like a true Moses drawn out of the waters of mortality, he undermined the power of Pharaoh." 3 So exalted is his honor that in his name every knee should bend ofthose in heaven , on earth and under the earth (Phil. 2:10).
2. Tob.
13:20.
Pseudo-Anselm, Meditationes , 9; cf. Exod.
2:5.
ST. BONAVENTURE
TENTH FRUIT:
THE SUBLIMITY OF HIS ASCENSION
Jesus , Leader of His Army 4 37.
Forty days after the Lord's resurrection— and this fortieth day is not without mystical meaning— having eaten with his disciples, the benign Master climbed the Mount of , he lifted up his hands and was Olives; and then while they looked on borne up into heaven (Luke 24:50-51), and a cloud engulfed him
(Acts 1:9) as he ascended, and he hid himself from the view of men. And so ascending on high , he led captivity captive (Ps. 67:19; cf.
Mich. 2:13); and with the gates of heaven now open, he made a way for his followers and led the exiles into the kingdom. He made them fellow citizens with the angels and members of God's household (Eph.
2:19). Thus he repaired the fall of the angels, increased the honor of his eternal Father, manifested himself in triumph and proved that he is the Lord of Hosts.
Jesus Lifted Up to Heaven 38.
While the angels sang and the saints rejoiced, the God and Lord of angels and men ascended above the heaven of heavens
(Ps. 67:34), and he soared on the wingsofthe wind (Ps. 17:ll)with the marvelous agility of his power and sat at the right hand of the Father, having become so much superior to the angels as he inherited a more excellent name than they , and there he appeared before the face of the most benign Father to intercede for us (Heb.
1:4, 9:24). For it was fitting that we should have such a High Priest , innocent , holy , undefiled, set apart from sinners and become higher than the heavens
(Heb.
7:26), so that, seated at the right hand of Majesty, he might show to the glorious face of his Father the scars of the wounds which he suffered for us.
Cf. Acts 1:9-11.
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Let every tongue give thanks to you, Lord our Father, for the unutterable gift of your most abundant charity.
You have not spared the only Son of your heart, but you have handed him over to death for all of us that we might have so great and so faithful an advocate before your face in heaven. 5
Jesus , Giver of the Spirit 39. When seven weeks had passed since the resurrection, on the fiftieth day, when the disciples were gathered in one place with the women and Mary the mother ofJesus , suddenly there came a sound from heaven as ofa violent wind blowing (Acts 1:14, 2:1). The Spirit descended upon the group of a hundred and twenty persons (Acts
1:15) and appeared in theform of tongues offire to give speech to the mouth, light to the intellect and ardor to the affection. They were allfilled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in different languages
(Acts 2:4), as the prompting of the Holy Spirit dictated, who taught them all truth and inflamed them with all love and strengthened them in every virtue.
For aided by his grace, illumined by his teaching and strengthened by his power, although they were few and simple, "they planted the Church with their own blood" 6 throughout the world, partly by their fiery words, partly by their perfect example, partly by their astonishing miracles. Purified, illumined and perfected by the power of the same Holy Spirit, the Church became lovable to her Spouse and his attendants for being exceedingly beautiful and adorned with a wonderful variety (Ps. 44: 15); but to Satan and 5.
Pseudo-Anselm, op cit.,9; Rom.
8:32; cf.
1 John 2:1.
6. Breviarium Romanum , Commune apostolorum, noc.
3, resp.
ST. BONAVENTURE
his angels she became awe-inspiring like an army in battle array (Cant. 6:10).
Jesus Freeingfrom Guilt 40.
In this holy Church, which through the wonderful work of the Holy Spirit is diversified in a variety of forms throughout the world and yet is united in a single whole, there presides one High Priest, Christ, as supreme Hierarch. With a wonderful order, like that of the heavenly city, he dispenses offices in the Church and distributes charismatic gifts. For he himselfgave some men as apostles , some as prophets, others again as evangelists, others aspastors and teachers in order to perfect saints and to build up the body of Christ (Eph. 4:1 1-12). Also according to the sevenfold grace of the Holy Spirit, he gave the sacraments as seven remedies against sickness. Through the administration of the sacraments he grants sanctifying grace and forgives sins, which are never taken away except within the faith and unity of Holy Mother Church. And since sins are cleansed in the fire of tribulation, therefore, just as God exposed Christ, the head of the Church, to the waves of suffering, so he permitted his body, that is, the Church, to suffer tribulation in order to be tested and purified until the end of the world.
So the patriarchs, so the prophets, so the apostles, so the martyrs, confessors and virgins and as many as have been pleasing to God have passed through many tribulations and remained faithful and so will all the chosen members of Christ until the day of judgment.
THE TREE OF LIFE
Eleventh Fruit:
The Equity of His Judgment Jesus , Truthful Witness 41. At the time of the future judgment, when God will judge the secrets of hearts, fire will precede thejudge; angels will be sent with trumpets; the elect will be gathered together from the four winds (Ps. 96:3; Matt. 24:3 1; Mark 1 3:27); and all those who are in their tombs will rise by the power of the divine command and stand before his judgment seat (cf.
2 Thess.
1:7; Rom.
14:10).
Then things hidden in darkness will be illumined ; then the counsels of hearts
. will be revealed ; then the books of consciences will be opened and that book itself will be opened which is called the book of life . 8
Thus, altogether and in an instant, all the secrets of all will be revealed to all with such clear certainty that against the testimony of truth speaking in Christ and of each conscience giving similar testimony, not a single path will be open for denial, or defense or excuse or subterfuge, but each will receive according to his deeds . 9
"There is, then, a great necessity imposed upon us to be good, 7.
1 Cor. 4:5.
Apoc. 20:12.
Ps. 61:13; Rom.
2:6; Apoc.
2:23.
ST. BONAVENTURE
since all our actions are within the view of the all-seeing Judge." 10
Jesus , Wrathful Judge 11 42. When the sign of the omnipotent Son of God appears in the clouds and the powers ofheaven are shaken (Matt. 24:29) and fire engulfs the earth in the conflagration of the world and all the just are placed on the right and the wicked on the left, then the Judge of the universe will appear so wrathful to the reprobate that they will say to the mountains and to the rocks: "Fall upon us and hide usfrom theface ofhim who sits upon the throne andfrom the wrath of the Lamb" (Apoc.
6: 16). He shall don justice for a breastplate and shall wear surejudgmentfor a helmet . He shall take invincible equity as , and the universe shall war a shield and whet his dire angerfor a spear with him against the foolhardy (Wisd. 5:18-20); so that those who fought insolently against the Creator of all will then, by God's just judgment, be conquered by all creatures.
"On high the wrathful Judge will then appear; below, hell will open up as a horrible chaos.
On the right will be the accusing sins, on the left countless demons.
Thus surrounded, where will the sinner flee?
Certainly, to hide will be impossible and to be seen, intolerable.
For if the just man scarcely will be saved, 10.
Boethius, De consolatione philosophiae , V, prosa 6.
11.
Cf. Matt. 24:29-31 Mark 13:24-27; Luke 21:25-28.
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where will the impious and sinner appear ?" 12
Do not , therefore , into judgment with your servant, 0 Lord! 13
Jesus, Glorious Conqueror 14 43. Having condemned the reprobate to be burned in eternal flames and having gathered together as in a bundle all the enemies of Jesus Christ, the almighty power of God will cast them, in the flesh and in the spirit, into the everlasting voracity ofthe flames in which they will never be consumed but will burn and suffer eternally. And the smoke of their torments goes up forever and ever (Apoc. 14: 1 1). Then the beast and thefalse prophet and those who accepted its image shall be cast into the pool offire and brimstone which was preparedfor the devil and his angels (Apoc.
19:20; Matt.
25:41). Then the elect will go out to see the corpses (Isa. 66:24) dead by the death not indeed of nature but of penalty. Then the just will bathe their hands in the blood ofsinners (Ps. 57:11). Then at last the victorious Lamb will make his enemies his footstool (Ps.
109: 1) while the wicked willgo into the depths ofthe earth and will be delivered over to the sword and will be the prey offoxes (Ps. 62:1011), that is, of the demons who had seduced them through deceit.
Jesus, Adorned Spouse 44.
Finally, when the face of the earth has been renewed, when the light of the moon will be like the light of the sun and the light of the sun will be seven times greater like the light ofseven days, 12.
Based on authentic Anselm, Meditationes , 1, and Pseudo-Bernard, Tractatus de interiori domo, c. 22, no. 46;
Pet. 4:18.
13.
Ps.
142:1-2.
14.
Cf. Matt. 13:24-30, 36-43.
ST. BONAVENTURE
that holy city ofJerusalem , which had come down from heaven like a bride adorned now preparedfor the marriage of the Lamb ,
clothed with a double stole , will be led into the palace of the heavenly court and introduced into that sacred and secret bridal chamber and will be united to that heavenly Lamb in so intense a covenant that bride and groom will become one spirit . 11
Then Christ will be clothed with all the beauty of the elect as if with a many-colored tunic 18 in which he will shine forth richly adorned as if covered with all manner of precious stones.
Then the sweet wedding song will resound and throughout all the quarters of Jerusalem
Alleluia will be sung!
Then the virgins who were prudent and ready will enter into the nuptials with the Spouse , and with the door closed ,
will abide in the beauty of peace in the tabernacle of confidence and in opulent repose . 20
15.
Isa. 30:26; Apoc. 21:10, 19:7.
16.
Cf.
Bonaventure, Breviloquium , VII, 7, no.
1; the double stole refers to the two rewards of paradise: the beatific vision and the glorification of the body.
17.
1 Cor. 6:17.
18.
Gen. 37:3; cf. Ezech.
16:13.
19.
Matt. 25:10.
20.
Cf. Isa. 32:18.
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Twelfth Fruit:
The Eternity of His kingdom Jesus , King , Son of the King
. The glory and nobility of God's eternal kingdom have to be estimated from the dignity of its King, since a king is not derived from a kingdom but a kingdom from a king. And he indeed is King who has on his garment and on his thigh a name written: King ofkings and Lord of lords (Apoc.
19: 16), whosepower is an everlasting power that shall not be taken away (Dan.
7:14), whose kingdom will not be destroyed and whom all tribes and peoples and tongues (Apoc. 7:9) will serve throughout eternity. He is truly a peaceable (1 Par.
22:9) King, whose countenance both heaven and all the earth desire to look upon (3 Kings 10:24).
O how glorious is the kingdom of this most excellent King where all the just reign with him!
Its law is truth, peace, charity, life, eternity.
It is not divided by the number of those who reign; nor lessened by being shared, nor disturbed by its multitude, nor disordered by its inequality of ranks, nor circumscribed by space, nor changed by motion, nor measured by time.
Jesus , Inscribed Book 46.
For the glory of the kingdom to be perfect, there is required not only exalted power but also resplendent wisdom so that the government of the kingdom is directed not by arbitrary decision but by the brilliant rays of the eternal laws emanating
ST. BONAVENTURE
without deception from the light of wisdom. And this wisdom is written in Christ Jesus as in the book of life, in which God the Father has hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col.
2:3). Therefore, the only-begotten Son of God, as the uncreated Word, is the book of wisdom and the light that is full of living eternal principles in the mind of the supreme Craftsman, as the inspired Word in the angelic intellects and the blessed, as the incarnate Word in rational minds united with the flesh. Thus throughout the entire kingdom the manifold wisdom of God (Eph.
3:10) shines forth from him and in him, as in a mirror containing the beauty of all forms and lights and as in a book in which all things are written according to the deep secrets of God.
O, if only I could find this book whose origin is eternal, whose essence is incorruptible, whose knowledge is life, whose script is indelible, whose study is desirable whose teaching is easy, whose knowledge is sweet, whose depth is inscrutable, whose words are ineffable; yet all are a single Word!
Truly, whoever finds this book willfind life and will draw salvation from the Lord . 21
Jesus , Fountain-Ray of Light 47.
In this eternal kingdom, all good and perfect gifts come down in plenty and abundance from the Father of Lights (James 1:17) through Jesus Christ, who is the superessential Ray and who, since he is one , can do all things , and renews all things while
21.
Prov. 8:35.
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perduring (Wisd.
7:27) himself. For he is a pure effusion of the brightness of the power of the omnipotent God , and therefore nothing that is sullied can enter (Wisd.
7:25) into this Fountain-Ray of light.
You soul devoted to God, whoever you are, run with living desire to this Fountain of life and light and with the innermost power of your heart cry out to him:
"O inaccessible beauty of the most high God and the pure brightness of the eternal light, life vivifying all life, light illuming every light, and keeping in perpetual splendor a thousand times a thousand lights brilliantly shining before the throne of your Divinity since the primeval dawn!
O eternal and inaccessible, clear and sweet stream from the fountain hidden from the eyes of all mortals, whose depth is without bottom, whose height is without limit, whose breadth cannot be bounded, whose purity cannot be disturbed."22
From this Fountain
flows the stream of the oil ofgladness ,
which gladdens the city of God , and the powerful fiery torrent, 22.
Pseudo-Anselm, op. cit., 9.
23.
Ps. 44:8.
24.
Ps. 45:5.
ST. BONAVENTURE
the torrent , I say, of the pleasure of God, 25 from which the guests at the heavenly banquet drink to joyful inebriation and sing without ceasing hymns of jubilation.
Anoint us with this sacred oil and refresh with the longed-for waters of this torrent the thirsting throat of our parched hearts so that amid shouts ofjoy and thanksgiving 26 we may sing to you a canticle of praise, proving by experience that with you is the fountain of life , and in your light we will see light , 27 Jesus , Desired End 48.
It is true that the end of all desires is happiness, which is u a perfect state with the presence of all goods." 28 No one reaches this state except by an ultimate union with him who is the fountain and origin of goods that are both natural and gratuitous, both bodily and spiritual, both temporal and eternal.
And this is the one who said of himself: '7 am the Alpha and the 25.
Ps.
35:9.
26.
Ps. 41:5.
27.
Ps. 35:10.
28.
Boethius, op. cit., Ill, prosa 2.
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Omega, the beginning and the end" (Apoc.
1:8). As all things are produced through the Word eternally spoken, so all things are restored, advanced and completed through the Word united to flesh. Therefore he is truly and properly called Jesus, because there is no other name under heaven given to men by which one can obtain salvation (Acts 4:12).
Believing, hoping and loving with my whole heart, with my whole mind and with my whole strength
, may I be carried to you, beloved Jesus, as to the goal of all things, because you alone are sufficient, you alone are good and pleasing to those who seek you and love your name . 30
"For you, my good Jesus, are the redeemer of the lost, the savior of the redeemed, the hope of exiles, the strength of laborers, the sweet solace of anguished spirits, the crown and imperial dignity of the triumphant, the unique reward and joy of all the citizens of heaven, the renowned offspring of the supreme God and the sublime fruit of the virginal womb, the abundant fountain of all graces, of whose fulness we have all received. "31
29.
Matt. 22:37; Mark 12:30; Luke 10:27.
30.
Ps. 5:12.
31.
Pseudo-Anselm, op. cit., 9; John 1:16.
ST. BONAVENTURE
PRAYER To Obtain the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit 49. We, therefore, pray to the most kind Father through you, his only-begotten Son, who for us became man, was crucified and glorified, that he send us out of his treasures the Spirit of sevenfold grace who rested upon you in all fulness: the Spirit, I say, of WISDOM, that we may taste the life-giving flavors of the fruit of the tree of life, which you truly are; the gift also of UNDERSTANDING, by which the intentions of our mind are illumined; the gift of COUNSEL, by which we may follow in your footsteps on the right paths; the gift of FORTITUDE, by which we may be able to weaken the violence of our enemies' attacks; the gift of KNOWLEDGE, by which we may be filled with the brilliant light of your sacred teaching to distinguish good and evil; the gift of PIETY, by which we may acquire a merciful heart; the gift of FEAR, by which we may draw away from all evil and be set at peace by submitting in awe to your eternal majesty.
For you have wished
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» that we ask for these things in that sacred prayer which you have taught us and now we ask to obtain them, through your cross, for the praise of your most holy name.
To you, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, be honor and glory, thanksgiving, beauty and power, forever and ever.
Amen.
Here Ends The Tree of Life
THE LIFE OF ST. FRANCIS
(LEGENDA MAIOR)
PROLOGUE Here Begins The Prologue to the Life of Blessed
Francis
In these last days the grace of God our Savior has appeared2 in his servant Francis to all who are truly humble and lovers of holy poverty.
In him they can venerate God's superabundant mercy and be taught by his example to utterly reject ungodliness and worldly passions , to live in conformity with Christ and to thirst after blessed hope 4 with unflagging desire.
He was poor and lowly
, but the Most High God looked upon him with such condescension and kindness that he not only lifted him up in his need from the dust 7 of a worldly life, but made him a practitioner, a leader and a herald of Gospel perfection and set him up as a light 8 for believers
10. so that by bearing witness to the light he might prepare for the Lord a way of light and peace 10 into the hearts of his faithful.
Acts 2:17; Heb.
1:2.
Titus 2:11.
Ibid.
2:12.
Ibid.
2:13.
Isa. 66:2.
6. Job 36:22.
1 Kings 2:8.
Isa. 4?:6.
9. John 1:7.
Luke 1:76, 79.
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Shining with the splendor of his life and teaching, like the morning star in the midst of clouds , by his resplendent rays he guided into the light
those sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death , and like the rainbow shining among clouds ofglory 12 he made manifest in himself the sign of the Lord's covenant . 14
He preached to men the Gospel ofpeace 15 and salvation, being himself the Angel of true peace . 16
Like John the Baptist he was appointed by God to prepare in the desert 17 a way of the highest poverty and to preach repentance 18 by word and example.
First endowed with the gifts of divine grace, he was then enriched by the merit of unshakable virtue; and filled with the spirit 19 of prophecy, he was also assigned an angelic ministry and was totally aflame with a Seraphic fire.
Like a hierarchic man 20 he was lifted up in a fiery chariot
11.
Ecclus.
50:6.
12.
Luke 1:79.
13.
Ecclus.
50:8.
14. Gen. 9:13; this is a reference to Francis' stigmata that manifested the cross, which is the sign of the New Covenant as the rainbow was the sign of the Old Covenant.
15. Rom.
10:15.
16.
Isa.
33:7.
17.
Ibid.
40:3.
18.
Luke 24:47.
19.
Ibid.
1:67.
20. The Latin is vir hierarchies: the latter is a technical term in Bonaventure referring to the ordering of the soul according to the stages of the spiritual life: purgation, illumination and perfection. This hierarchical ordering of the soul reflects the angelic hierarchy and gives a basis for Bonaventure's association of Francis with angelic imagery. Cf. The Soul'sJourney into God ,
IV, 3-4, pp. 89-91, and Bonaventure's treatise on this subject, The Triple Way.
21.
Cf. 4 Kings 2:11; the Scripture reference here is to the prophet Elijah, who was taken to heaven in a fiery chariot. This is associated with the incident in Francis's life narrated in IV,
4, pp. 209-210.
THE LIFE OF ST. FRANCIS
as will be seen quite clearly in the course of his life; therefore it can be reasonably proved that he came in the spirit and power of Elijah . 22
And so not without reason is he considered to be symbolized by the image of the Angel who ascends from the sunrise bearing the seal of the living God, in the true prophecy
of that otherfriend of the Bridegroom , John the Apostle and Evangelist.
For uwhen the sixth seal was opened ," 2 4 John says in the Apocalypse, '7 saw another Angel ascending from the rising of the sun , having the seal of the living God" 25
2. We can come to the conclusion, without any doubt, that this messenger of God— so worthy to be loved by Christ, imitated by us and admired by the world— was God's servant Francis, if we consider the height of his extraordinary sanctity.
For even while he lived among men, he imitated angelic purity so that he was held up as an example for those who would be perfect followers of Christ.
We are led to hold this firmly and devoutly because of his ministry to call men to weep and mourn ,
to shave their heads , and to put on sackcloth , 22. Luke 1:17.
23. John 3:29.
24. Apoc. 6:12.
25.
Ibid.
7:2.
26.
Isa. 22:12.
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and to mark with a Tau the foreheads of men who moan and grieve, 27 signing them with the cross of penance and clothing them with his habit, which is in the form of a cross.
But even more is this confirmed with the irrefutable testimony of truth by the seal of the likeness 28 of the living God,
namely of Christ crucified , which was imprinted on his body not by natural forces or human skill but by the wondrous power of the Spirit of the living God . 30
I feel that I am unworthy and unequal to the task of writing the life of a man so venerable and worthy of imitation.
I would never have attempted it if the fervent desire of the friars had not aroused me, the unanimous urging of the General Chapter had not induced me 31 and the devotion which I am obliged to have toward our holy father had not compelled me.
For when I was a boy, as I still vividly remember, I was snatched from the jaws of death by his invocation and merits.
So if I remained silent and did not sing his praises, I fear that I would be rightly accused of the crime of ingratitude.
I recognize that God saved my life through him, and I realize that I have experienced his power in my very person. This, then, is my principal reason for undertaking this task, that I may gather
27.
Ezech. 9:4. The Tau is a letter of the Hebrew and Greek alphabets; its Greek form, which corresponds to the English capital T, was used as a variant form of the cross. Innocent
III used this text of Ezechiel as the theme for the opening homily of the Fourth Lateran
Council (1215), interpreting the marking with the Tau as a symbol of spiritual renewal in the Church. Francis seems to have been present on this occasion, and from that time used the Tau as his mark or signature. Cf. IV, 9, pp. 213-214; XI, note
17, p. 287.
28.
Ezech. 28:12.
29.
1 Cor.
2:2; for Bonaventure's treatment of Francis's stigmata, cf. XIII, pp. 00.
30.
2 Cor.
3:3.
31. The General Chapter of Narbonne, 1260.