On the Five Feasts of the Child Jesus
On the Five Feasts of the Child Jesus De quinque festivitatibus pueri Jesu A Pious Meditation
ON THE FIVE FEASTS OF THE CHILD JESUS
Prologue HE venerable men in the Church of God who shine more brightly than others with divine light and bum more ardently with heavenly fire believe and teach that meditating on Jesus most sweet, and contemplating the Incarnate Word piously, procures a greater de light, a sweeter inebriation, a more perfect consolation and comfort for the mind than could the sweetness of honey or the perfume of any fragrant ointment. Hence, as I had occasion,to withdraw for a while from the turmoil of distracting thoughts, and to enter my inner self in silent meditation, I came to wonder which aspect of the divine
Incarnation I should consider, in order to obtain spiritual consolation. What in this valley of tears would reveal to me the sweetness of God as through a mirror? Which sweet aspect ever so lightly tasted would suffice to bring about distaste for passing and imaginary consolation?
In the secret of my mind, I saw that, with the grace of the Holy Spirit, a soul devoted to God could conceive the blessed Word, only-begotten Son of God the Father; that it could give birth to Him, name Him, seek and adore Him with the blessed Magi, and finally, in obedience to the Law of Moses, joyfully present Him to God the Father in the temple. The soul, then, as a true disciple of the Christian
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religion, would celebrate with due reverence and a pious disposition the five feasts of the Child Jesus which the Church proposes. Hence, as I humbly planned, so did I humbly write, leaving out for the sake of brevity many corroborating quotations.
Anyone, therefore, who reads this brief and unpreten tious work or meditates upon it and derives from it the slightest devotion toward Jesus most sweet, should praise, glorify, and bless no one but Him, the Author, Fountain, and Principle of all good. But if he conceives no such devotion, let him blame me for not having written well or worthily enough; or let him, perhaps, blame himself for having read with insufficient piety and humility.
FIRST FEAST
HOW THE DEVOUT SOUL SPIRITUALLY CONCEIVES
JESUS CHRIST, THE SON OF GOD
1. First, our intellect must be cleansed by contrition, and our will set afire and lifted up by the little flame of love. J Then, we must engage in pious meditation and devout thought on how this blessed Son of God, Jesus
Christ, is to be spiritually conceived by the devout soul.
When this devout soul, moved or stimulated by the hope of a heavenly reward, by the fear of eternal pun ishment, or by the weariness of having to remain in this valley of tears, receives the visit of new inspiration, be comes inflamed with holy desire, and feels the pressure of heavenly thought; when, finally —having rejected and scorned its former imperfections and longings — it is made
| See volume I: "The Triple Way," p. 71.
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spiritually fruitful by the spirit of grace, receiving as it does a new reason to live by the action of the Father of Lights from whom proceeds every good gift and every per fect gift: what is all this if not the act of the Father making the soul pregnant, making it fruitful with a divine seed, while the power of the Most High overshadows it, covering it with a heavenly dew that appeases the desires of the flesh while strengthening and supporting spiritual sight?
]as. 1:17 ibid. cf. Lk. 1:35
After this most holy conception, the soul assumes a pale countenance because it is truly humbled in its ways. Food and drink cease to appeal to the mind because of complete contempt and rejection of worldly things. New and differ ent goods desired and sought bring about new longings in the heart. Sometimes the soul even begins to weaken and languish because of the mortification of self-will. It goes about sad and upset at the thought of its former sins, of the time it wasted, of the company it kept with men who still live as worldlings in the world. All external, visible things of the world, begin to seem tedious and burdensome, as offending the One perceived and sensed within the soul.
2. O happy conception that brings about such contempt for the world, such desire for heavenly deeds and divine concerns! Now, little as the spirit may have been tasted so far, the flesh loses its flavor,1 and the soul groans as it begins its journey with Mary into the hill country, for after cf. Lk. 1:39 so marvelous a conception, the things of the earth have lost their appeal, and all desires turn toward eternal and heavenly treasures. The soul flees the company of those who mind the things of the earth, and seeks the friendship of those who desire the things of heaven. It begins to serve
Elizabeth, that is, those whom divine wisdom enlightens and divine grace inflames with love.
Phil. 3:19
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The following principle is worthy of note because it implies a common necessity: the more completely men retire from the world, the closer and the more intimate will be their friendship with the virtuous, the more their hearts will be moved and inflamed by the worthy consorting with good and spiritual men, the more distaste will they feel for the company of the wicked. Gregory says: "He who associates with a holy person, seeing him often, hearing his words, and witnessing his exemplary conduct, will receive such inspiration that his soul shall burn with love for truth, flee the darkness of sin, and radiate with the charity of divine light.''2 And Isidore says: "Seek the company of the good, for if you share their life, you shall eventually share their virtue."3 Let the faithful soul recall at this point how chaste, devout, and holy was the con versation of the saints, how divine and salutary were their counsels, how great the holiness and mutual benefit their works contained, as by word and example they prompted each other toward higher virtue.
3. You, also, should act like this, O devout soul, if you feel that you have conceived of the Holy Spirit a new de sire for the life of heaven. Flee the company of the wicked, go into the hill country with Mary, seek the advice of spir itual men, try to follow the traces of the perfect, consider the sayings of the virtuous, and also their works and ex ample. Flee the poisonous counsels of sinners who always attempt to pervert, obstruct, and crush any new desire conceived of the Holy Spirit.
Often, under the guise of piety, they instill the slime of unholy cowardice, saying: "Your undertaking is too ambitious, your project too arduous, and your labor un bearable. You lack the necessary strength, nor does your
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natural power suffice. You will lose your mind, your eye sight will be destroyed, and many different diseases will thrive in you: consumption, paralysis, stones, dizziness, and blindness. Your senses will be blunted, your mind clouded, and your strength laid to waste. All these evils will befall you unless you give up what you have begun, and take better care of your health. Such things are not fitting for your state: they damage your honor and reputation."
Behold who would be a teacher of discipline and a phy sician of the body: a man who does not even know how to control himself, or how to rid his own mind of its disease!
Alas, alas! How many times did the accursed counsels of the worldly topple even the great among men, killing the Son of God conceived in them of the Holy Spirit! This is the wretched and deadly bane of diabolical persuasion, which prevents spiritual conception in many souls, and in many others extinguishes and kills what had been conceived by good resolve or explicit vow.
4. Other men, good in appearance or in fact, are lacking in courage, if we may say so with all due respect. They forget that the hand of the Lord is not shortened that it
Isa. 59:1* cannot save; nor do they remember that the kindness of the Most High has in no way decreased, but that He desires to help them, and is able to do so. They have zeal for God, but not according to knowledge, for, out of compassion for physical sufferings, or out of fear that natural powers may fail, they discourage their fellow-men from the pursuit of perfection whenever they see them manfully doing precisely what they themselves had judged to be good and holy, but had not dared to undertake. They oppose anything that exceeds the average common life and destroy holy coun
Rom. 10:2 sels of divine inspiration. And the more convincing the
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counsels of such men appear in the light of their own life, the more dangerous they are.
5. At times, with the cunning of the Ancient Enemy, these men shrewdly object: "If you do this and that, you will be considered a holy, virtuous, and devout religious.
But since you have none of the perfections others will think you have, you shall be found guilty in the sight of the supreme Judge who knows your great, damaging, and dreadful sins; you shall lose the merits of your good deeds: and you shall be convicted as a liar and a hypocrite."
Such practices, they declare, befit only those who have cf.Mt. 19:27 never done wrong, but have always led a holy and inno cent life; who have given up everything for God, and have always and perfectly cleaved to Him.
6. As for you, beloved soul devoted to God, avoid such men: go up into the hill country with Mary.
The Apostle Paul, who had not always lived without sin, had served God but a short time before being ravished to the third heaven where he saw God face to face. And Mary Magdalen, formerly replete with pride and ambition, entirely concentrated on worldly vanities and given to fleshly pleasures, is permitted very soon to sit at the feet of Jesus, among the holy apostles, intently listening to the sacred doctrine of perfection. She deserved to be the first to see the Lord immediately after the resurrection: from then on, she never ceased to impart to others the words
Acts 10:34 of truth. For God is not a respecter of persons. He con siders not high birth, long service, numerous works: what counts with Him is the intensity of fervor and the warmth of love in a pious soul. He considers not how bad you have been in the past, but how good you have begun to be in the present.
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The advice of such counselors, therefore, would be worthy of much blame were they not excused by their simplicity—which, however, is no reason for approval.
7. If it is too late to save yourself through innocence, try at least to do so through penance; if you cannot be a Catherine or a Cecilia, do not disdain to be a Mary Mag dalen or a Mary of Egypt. If you feel that, by holy resolve, you have conceived the most sweet Son of God, flee the deadly poison we described, and, as a woman in labor, hope and wish for a prompt and happy deliverance.
SECOND FEAST
HOW THE SON OF GOD IS SPIRITUALLY BORN
IN THE DEVOUT SOUL
1. Now, let us be hold and consider how this blessed Son of God, spiritually conceived, is spiritually born in the soul. He is born when, after proper thought, sufficient pondering, and due invocation of holy and divine patronage, the resolve is brought into effect: that is, when the soul sets out to do in fact what it had long entertained in mind, but had been reluctant to undertake for fear of eventual failure.
The angels rejoice in this most blessed birth; they glorify
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cf. Lk. 2:13 God and promise peace: for when the concept, long in the mind, is led to the perfection of the good work, peace is restored to the inner man. In that kingdom—the hu man soul —God's peace is not well preserved if the flesh wars against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; if the spirit loves solitude, and the flesh seeks the world; if the spirit pursues the repose of contemplation in God, and the flesh craves the honor of high temporal positions.
On the contrary, if the flesh obeys the spirit, and if good work, long obstructed by the flesh, now finally comes to fruit, internal peace and joy are restored. Happy the birth that brings such gladness to angels and to men! "How sweet and delightful it would be to act in harmony with nature! Alas, our own folly rules it out. Allay that folly, and nature is reconciled with men."4 Experience confirms
Mt. 11:29-30 the truth of the Gospel text: "Take My yoke upon you, etc. ..." And of what follows: "You will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden light.''
2. At this point, O devout soul, if you rejoice in the happy birth, remember that first you must be Mary. For the name Mary means "bitter sea," "giver of light," and "masterful."5
Be therefore a bitter sea through your tearful repent ance, regretting bitterly your past sins, bemoaning pro foundly the good you failed to do, deploring without cease the days you wasted and lost. Be also a giver of light, through honest living, virtuous deeds, and zealous efforts to teach others the ways of good. Finally, be master of your senses, of your fleshly desires, and of all your works, conforming your acts to right reason, ever seeking and de siring salvation for yourself, edification for your neighbor, praise and glory for God.
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3. This, indeed, is being like Mary, the fruitful one, who pines and weeps over the sins of the world, who shines and sparkles with virtue, who dominates the passions of the flesh. From such a Mary, Jesus Christ does not disdain to be spiritually bom in joy, without pain or labor. After such a happy birth, this Mary knows and tastes how good the Lord Jesus is. For He is truly sweet as we feed Him with holy meditation, bathe Him in a flow of warm and cf. Ps. 33:9
Wis. 12:1 devout tears, swaddle Him in the cloth of chaste desire, carry Him in the arms of holy love, kiss Him over and over again with a heartfelt devotion, and keep Him warm in the folds of our inner mind. That is how the Child is spiritually born.
THIRD FEAST
HOW THE INFANT JESUS IS SPIRITUALLY NAMED
BY THE DEVOUT SOUL
£ 1. Thirdly, we should consider what name to give to this blessed Infant now spiritually bom. There is no better name for Him than Jesus, for it is written: His name was called Jesus. This is the sacred name foretold by the prophets, announced by the angel, proclaimed by the apos
Lk. 2:21 tles, desired by all the saints.
O name full of power, grace, and joy; full of delight and glory! Full of power, for it overcomes the enemies, restores strength, and refreshes the mind. Full of grace, for in it, faith is founded, hope confirmed, love increased, and justice brought to perfection. Full of joy, for as Ber nard writes, "it is exultation to the heart, music to the ears, honey to the tongue,"6 and splendor to the mind. Full of delight, for according to the same Bernard, "it nourishes
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when remembered, soothes when uttered, anoints when called upon,"7 refreshes when written, and instructs when read. Full of glory, for it gives sight to the blind, agility to the lame, hearing to the deaf, speech to the dumb, and life to the dead. Blessed is the name that brings forth such powerful effects!
O soul, whether you write, read, teach, or do anything else, may nothing have any taste for you, may nothing please you besides Jesus. Give, therefore, to the Infant spiritually born in you the name Jesus, that is, Saviour in the wretched state of this present life. May He save you from the world's vanity that threatens you, from the devil's deceit that assails you, from the fleshly weakness that tortures you.
2. O soul, amidst the scourges of this life, call out:
Jesus, Saviour of the world, save us, having redeemed us through Your Cross and Blood. Come to our assistance,
O Lord our God! Most sweet Jesus Saviour, we beg of You, save us! Strengthen the weak, console the despond ent, assist the frail, sustain those who waver!"
3. After this blessed name had been given, how often did a feeling of sweetness come upon the Virgin Mary, fruitful Mother by nature, true Mother in spirit, when she saw, in this very name, the demons cast out, miracles mul tiplied, the blind made to see, the sick returned to health, and the dead made to rise from the tomb.
You, therefore, O soul, you a spiritual mother should certainly and with good reason rejoice and exult as you see, within yourself and others, Jesus casting out demons through the remission of sins, enlightening the blind by infusing true knowledge into them, raising the dead through the gift of grace, curing the sick, healing the lame,
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straightening the palsied and the twisted through spiritual consolations, so that those who had been weak and diseased in their sin might become strong and manful through grace.
Oh, how fruitful and blessed is the name endowed with so great a power and efficiency!
FOURTH FEAST
HOW THE DEVOUT SOUL TOGETHER WITH THE MAGI,
SPIRITUALLY SEEKS AND ADORES THE SON OF GOD
1. Now comes the fourth feast, the Adoration of the Magi. After the soul, through the power of grace, has spiritually conceived, brought to life, and named this most sweet Child, the three kings, that is, the three faculties of the soul — properly called kings since they are the princi ples of the body, the masters of the senses, and the fitting searchers of things divine —set out to seek the child re vealed to'them by many signs in the royal city, that is, in the whole complex of the universe. They seek through meditation, search through the desires of the heart, and ask questions through pious inquiry: ''Where is He that is born . . . ? For we have seen His star in the East, we have
Mt. 2:2 seen His light shining forth in the pious mind, we have seen His resplendence radiating in the recesses of the soul. We have heard His voice and it is most tender, we have tasted
His sweetness and it is delightful, we have perceived His fragrance and it is most suave, we have known His em brace and it is most pleasurable. And now, Herod, give us the answer: let us see the Beloved, show us the desired In fant. It is the One we long for and seek."
2. "O most sweet, most loving, timeless Child, Infant Immemorial, when shall I see You, when shall I appear
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before Your face? Rejoicing without You is pain, rejoic ing or even weeping with You is delight. For all that is against Your will repels us, and Your good pleasure is our constant desire. O Jesus, if it is so sweet to weep with You, how delightful it must be to share Your happiness!"8
Where are You whom we seek? Where are You whom we desire in all things and above all things? Where are
Mt.2:2 You who are bom King of the Jews, Rule of the faithful, Light of the blind, Guide of the wretched, Life of the dying, eternal Salvation of the eternally alive? ibid. 5 3. The answer is: "He lives in Bethlehem of Judea.''
Bethlehem means ''house of bread," and Juda, ''one who confesses." Christ, indeed, is found when sins have been confessed, and the bread of heavenly life — the gospel teaching— is heard, considered, and piously retained in the mind, to be fulfilled in good works and proposed to others for the same fulfillment. The Child Jesus is found with Mary when, after sorrowful contrition and fruitful con fession, the sweetness of heaven is tasted, sometimes in the midst of abundant tears of relief. The soul that had almost despaired before it started praying, now is filled with joy and assured of pardon.9
Fruitful is this Mary within whom Jesus is conceived, from whom He is bom, and in whose company He is so sweetly and joyfully found!
4. But you also, O kings—natural faculties of the pious soul—seek Him as did the kings of the earth in order to adore Him and offer Him your gifts. Adore Him with reverence, for He is the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Rewarder: Creator, as the Source of natural life; Redeemer, as the Restorer of spiritual life; Rewarder, as the Bestower of eternal life.
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O kings, adore Him with reverence, for He is the most powerful King; adore Him with respect, for He is the most wise Teacher; adore Him with joy, for He is the most bountiful Lord. Be not content with adoring, without at the same time offering a gift: offer the gold of ardent love, the frankincense of pious contemplation, the myrrh of bitter repentance; offer the gold of love for the favors bestowed upon you, the frankincense of devotion for the joys that await you, the myrrh of penance for your sins; offer the Gold to Christ's eternal Godhead, the frankin cense to the holiness of His soul, the myrrh to the passibility of His body.
O souls, seek Him, adore Him, and make offerings to Him in this way.
FIFTH FEAST
HOW THE SON OF GOD IS SPIRITUALLY PRESENTED IN THE
TEMPLE BY THE DEVOUT SOUL
1. In the fifth and last place, the pious and faithful soul should consider how the little Child, bom through the consummation of the divine act, named amidst the enjoy ment of heavenly sweetness, sought and found, adored and worshipped through the offering of spiritual gifts, must now be presented in the temple and offered up to God. This should be done as a pious and humble expres sion of fitting gratitude. cf. Lk. 2:22ff.
And so, this fruitful Mary, the spiritual mother of Jesus, by conceiving the blessed Child, has been cleansed through penance; by giving Him birth, she has been comforted with grace; by conferring upon Him His holy name, she has been pervaded with consolation; by adoring Him with
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the Magi, she has been enlightened concerning His divin ity. All that remains to be done is to bring the Son of God and the Virgin to the heavenly Jerusalem, the holy temple, and present Him to God.
2. Go up, therefore, O spiritual Mary, no longer into the hill country, but into the dwelling place of the spiritual
Jerusalem, into the palace of the heavenly city. And there, before the throne of the eternal Trinity and undivided
Unity, humbly kneel in spirit; present your Son to God the Father, praising, blessing, and glorifying the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Offer joyful praise to God the Father whose inspiration made you conceive the good re cf. ibid. 1:39 solve; glorify and praise God the Son whose information made you carry out the conceived resolve; bless and wor ship God the Holy Spirit whose consolation made you persevere in this good work.
3. O soul, render glory to God the Father for all His gifts and for your own good deeds, for He is the One who, through His inner inspiration called you away from the world, saying: "Turn, turn, O Sulamite!" This is explained in the first meditation of another treatise.!
Ct. 7:1
Magnify God the Son in all His saints, for He is the One who, through His inner prompting, delivered you from the devil's slavery, saying: "Take My yoke upon you, throw off the yoke of the devil. His yoke is most bitter, and Mine most sweet; his yoke leads to eternal pain and torture, Mine to the most luscious fruits and to wealthy
Mt. 11:29
Isa. 32:18* rest. Any delight you may find in his yoke is false and brief, while the joy that comes from Mine is true and leads to eternal salvation. The devil exalts his followers for a | Cf. "Soliloquy," l:37f., p. 68.
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short while, only to confound them in eternity, but those who honor Me and are humiliated in time shall reign and be glorified in eternity." Such is the doctrine that the Son of God taught you, either personally, or through His doc tors and friends. Thus did He free you from the devil's wicked proposals, and from the damaging lies of the flesh and the world.
O soul, always bless and worship God the Holy Spirit who, through His honeyed consolation, strengthened you in the ways of good, saying: "Come to Me, all you who . . . are burdened, and I will give you rest.'' O tender and deli cate soul, so fragile and weak, so deeply bent upon worldly pleasure, so completely inebriated with temporal delight as are the swine with the grounds of wine-grapes: how could you have persevered in virtue among the countless potent snares of the ancient enemy, among the multitude of evil suggestions and the many different obstacles you encoun tered, despite all the attacks by friends, family, and relatives who tried to hamper you on the way of love and to wound you? How could you have advanced in virtue, shackled as you were with the chains of many sins, were it not for the grace of the Holy Spirit mercifully assisting you, sweetly comforting you, and restoring your strength? Refer to Him, therefore, all your works, and keep none for yourself.
Mt. 11:28
4. Say with a pure and pious intention in your mind:
''Lord, You have wrought all my works for me. Lord, I am nothing in Your eyes, and I can do nothing: it is through Your gift that I survive; without You I am unable to act.
To You, most merciful Father of Mercies, do I offer what cf. Isa. 26:12
2 Cor. 1:3 is Yours; to You do I offer, commend, and commit my unworthy self, humbly recognizing my ingratitude for all the gifts You have bestowed upon me. Praise be to You,
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and glory, and thanksgiving, O most blessed Father, eternal Majesty who, by Your infinite power, created me out of nothingness. Praise be to You, and glory, and thanksgivcf. Heh. 1:3 ing, O most blessed Son, Resplendence of the Father who, by Your eternal wisdom, delivered me from death. I bless
You, I sanctify You, I adore You, O most blessed and nourishing Spirit who, through Your holy kindness and pity, made me pass from sin to grace, from the world to re ligious life, from exile to my fatherland, from labor to repose, from desolation to the sweet enjoyment of the most delightful happiness! And may this be granted to us by Jesus Christ, the Son of the Virgin Mary, who, together with the Father and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
Treatise on How to Prepare for the Celebration of Mass Tractatus de praeparatione ad missam
TREATISE ON HOW TO PREPARE FOR THE
CELEBRATION OF MASS
Prologue N HONOR of the glorious and undi vided Trinity, and of the most excel lent Sacrament of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, I will pro pose to you a way that shall lead you with ease to the contemplation of this great Mystery, and rightly prepare you for receiving it. These thoughts should not be read hur riedly as a rattling of words: their meaning must be fixed effectively within your heart. With deep inner feeling, every idea should be carefully weighed for what it signifies, in itself and in relation to the whole.
Chapter I — Remote Preparation: A Four fold Examination of Self Before you approach the table of the heavenly banquet, you must first prove yourself, as the Apostle warns, and cf. 1 Cor. 11:28 carefully verify what are your faith, love, dispositions, and motives in coming forth to it.
FIRST, ASK YOURSELF HOW STRONG IS YOUR FAITH AS
YOU APPROACH THE ALTAR
1. Examine these four points one by one: first, ask yourself what must be your faith concerning the truth and the essence of this Sacrament. You must firmly be lieve, according to the tenets and the teachings of the Cath olic Faith, and without any kind of doubt, that when Christ spoke, the material and visible bread lent its shape, that is, the accidental visible species, to the forthcoming heavenly
Bread of Life, out of respect for the Creator, and as an act of ministry and sacramental service. At the very instant when the bread ceases to be, the following truly exists be neath the accidents, in a wondrous and ineffable way: —
First, the most pure flesh of Christ and His sacred Body, formed of the Holy Spirit, bom from the glorious Vir gin, suspended upon the cross, laid in the tomb, and glori fied in heaven. —Second, since flesh does not live without blood, there is present here by necessity that precious Blood which fruitfully flowed on the cross for the salvation of the world. — Third, since man must have a rational soul, there is present here that glorious Soul of Christ, exceeding in
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grace and splendor all virtue, glory, and power, in which Col. 2:3 are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. —
Fourth, since Christ is true Man and true God, it follows that God also is present here in all the glory of His majesty.
All these four, together and severally, are simultaneously and perfectly contained under the species of bread and wine, not any the less in the Chalice than in the Host, nor in the Host than in the Chalice; nor again is either one a complement of the other, but the whole is found in each
Heb. 5:11 one by that great mystery of which we have much to say.
It is, however, sufficient to accept that under both species is contained the true God and Man whom the angels assist in great number, and the saints attend.
2. Consider how fitting it is that only these two species should hold Christ. — First, bread and wine are the best nourishment for the whole man: bread sustains the flesh, or body, and wine is absorbed in the blood, which is the seat of the soul. — Second, bread and wine are the prin cipal, most common, cleanest, and simplest kinds of food and drink; hence, they best signify the purity of spiritual refection. — Third, bread and wine best signify the Body and Blood of Christ, for bread is a symbol of this Body, ground, kneaded, and pounded during the passion, baked and parched by the fire of divine love on the hearth and altar of the cross; and wine is a symbol of this Blood, ex truded from the grapes, that is, Christ's body, by the Jews who trampled Him in the winepress of the cross. — Fourth, the species beautifully signify the Mystical Body of Christ, the Church, made of a number of faithful predestined for life, like so many grains and grapes.
3. Be sure not to approach the altar with a wavering and doubtful mind; do not, as a blind man in his groping, lean
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upon a staff of broken reed, that is, upon natural arguments and human reasons, wondering how such things are pos sible, as did the Jews who argued with one another, and some of the disciples who were scandalized and turned back.
Surrender to God instead, and submit your mind to the yoke of that faith which you see confirmed by so prominent witnesses. What doubt remains about a Sacrament visibly and explicitly given by Christ, preached by the apostles, performed for so many centuries by holy orthodox fathers, and confirmed as by tangible proofs by so many rites, mira
4 Kgs. 18:21* Jti. 6:53 ibid. 67 cles, prodigies, and praises?
Take away this Sacrament from the Church, and what is left in the world besides error and unbelief? The Christian people would be scattered like a herd of swine and given to idolatry, as so clearly happens with pagans. Instead, by the presence of this Sacrament, the Church stands firm, faith is strengthened, the Christian religion and divine worship are kept alive. That is why Christ said: "Behold, I am with you all days, even unto the consummation of the world.''
Mt. 28:20
4. Remember, also, that it was fitting for Christ to be given to us under a veil. For what merit of faith would you have, were Christ to appear before you as He is? You would adore Him, certainly and necessarily. And how could the eyes of your body sustain such great glory?
What insanity to say that we could eat and drink raw flesh and human blood in their natural form!
Let all doubt recede, for as the Godhead had once hid den itself within the virginal womb, and as the Son of God had once become visible to the world under a veil of human flesh, so also Christ's glorified humanity united to His di vinity hides under the appearance of bread and wine, thus accommodating itself to us mortals.
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SECOND, ASK YOURSELF WHAT ARE YOUR INTENTIONS
AND DISPOSITIONS AS YOU APPROACH THE ALTAR
5. Second, ask yourself what are your intentions and dispositions as you approach the altar. Examine and search the house of your conscience, lest there remain in your soul some impurity, or in your flesh, some stain, offensive to the eyes of the One who is the Holy of Holies.
First, therefore, looking inward at the wickedness of your soul, consider how many sins you committed since your earliest years and how many good actions you failed to accomplish; consider how short is life, how uncertain the hour of death, how slippery and dangerous the ways of this world. Most of all, ask yourself whether, God for bid, you have committed or intended any mortal sin since your last confession and penance. Your wretched soul would then be dead, cut away as it would be from the root of Christ and of the Church. For the Bread of Life, the divine Food, procures no vital flow, provides no nour ishment for members that are cut off and dead, as proven
Wis. 1:4 by the Scriptures: Into a soul that plots evil wisdom enters not, nor dwells she in a body under debt of sin. Such a man may receive the Sacrament, but not its content: the grace of Christ and the divinity of His love; he may take it in his mouth, but he is not spiritually fed; it may go down to the stomach, but it reaches not the soul. It would then be swallowed as by a brute animal: the Sacrament itself remains unimpaired, but it brings no life to the soul, nor is there any union between Sacrament and soul. Out of sheer disgust, Christ vomits such a man, and expels him as an evil-smelling corpse to be devoured by wild beasts and birds of prey. He abandons this unfruitful soul to the
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devil's tortures, as it is written of Judas: After the morsel, Satan entered into him. Therefore, if you are so ensnared, beware lest for some reason or necessity you dare to ap proach the altar without due contrition, a firm intention
]n. 13:27 to amend, and a proper confession of your sins, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
Heh. 10:31
6. Alas, how many today are those wretched priests who, unmindful of their salvation, partake of the Body of Christ at the altar as if they were eating the flesh of a mere animal: and who, entangled and contaminated by abominations — which it would be indecent to mention — are not afraid of touching and kissing with their criminal hands and their polluted lips the Son of God and of the Virgin Mary! In deed, were God to accept their sacrifice, I dare to say that He would be a liar and an abettor of sinners!
Worse yet, in our days, some priests reach such utter perversion and irrationality as to imagine in their wretched ness that their crimes and impure sins, which they repeat every day and intend to repeat, will be expiated without penance or confession through the daily celebration of the Holy Eucharist. They are not priests, but sacrilegious men; not Christians, but heretics. Most certainly, if their faith were right, they would either desist from sinning or ab stain from saying Mass.
7. Not only must cleanliness of mind be assured, but also cleanliness of body. Beware, therefore, not to come to the altar unclean. I have in mind not only willful im purity, which is a mortal sin, but also any nocturnal or accidental stain, which is an impediment to the celebration of Mass in the absence of any grave necessity or binding command imposing celebration. When such things occur, and you have not occasioned or caused these stains through
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previous impure desires or excessive drinking, the soul is not seriously befouled by the memory and imagination of carnal dreams. Subject to better judgment, I believe that, then, you would be allowed to approach the altar, particu larly if you are prompted by special devotion on a feastday, or by some other good reason of the same kind.
You must also keep your hands and all other parts of your body as clean as possible. Therefore, at all times — but most particularly before celebrating Mass — avoid with greater care than other men not only those filthy and im pure touches that are mortal sins, but also those contacts that imply the slightest indecency or pollution.
Recollect your whole self so as not to be distracted in your actions or thoughts by any external objects.
Furthermore, take good care of the cleanliness and neat ness of the altar linens and of the holy vessels, so that He who is feared and honored by the angels and archangels may be treated with all due honor and attention.
THIRD, ASK YOURSELF HOW GREAT ARE YOUR LOVE AND
FERVOR AS YOU APPROACH THE ALTAR
8. Third, ask yourself how great are your love and fervor as you approach the altar. Mortal sins are not the only danger: for venial sins, multiplied by negligence, idleness, levity, the distractions of a dissolute life, and vicious habits, if they do not kill the soul, often make a man lukewarm and sluggish, unwilling and unfit to cele brate Mass. All this dust should be blown away by the breath of the Holy Spirit; this chaff of venial sin should be consumed by the flame of love that issues from the burning fire of the heart and from the consideration of
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one's own unworthiness. Beware not to be lukewarm, dis ordered, and careless as you go to the altar: for if you approach it without reverence, attention, and care, you receive unworthily. That is why the Apostle writes: He eats and drinks judgment to himself. The same Apostle is even more explicit when he adds: This is why many among you are infirm, in other words, severely wounded by sin, and weak, by their wavering faith, and many sleep, being
1 Cor. 11:29 ibid. 30 idle and slothful.
9. "Oh, how many grievous torments afflict me from all sides! Going to the altar unworthily entails a dreadful judgment; not going, out of negligence or despite, is a damnable sin!"1 This from Bede. For when a priest in the state of grace, having the right intention and no legal im pediment, abstains from celebrating Mass, not out of rev erence but out of sheer negligence, he denies due praise and glory to the holy Trinity, as much as is in him; he denies joy to the angels, pardon to the sinners, assistance and grace to the just, relief to the souls in purgatory, and spir itual advantages to the Church of Christ. And he also denies himself the specific medicine and remedy to his own weakness and daily sins. Ambrose says: "As often as the Blood of Christ is made to run, it is shed for the remission of sins; hence, I must always receive it so that my sins may always be remitted: for as I constantly sin, I constantly need the remedy."2
Likewise, a priest who fails to celebrate Mass deprives himself of all the effects of Holy Communion: remission of sin, reduction of pain, enlightenment of the mind, inner refection, incorporation with Christ and His Mystical Body, strengthening of the virtues, arming against the devil, as suring of faith, elevating of hope, enlivening of charity,
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA II
increasing of devotion, and association with the angels.
Also, he fails to satisfy the obligation imposed upon him to perform a service of great dignity, and to fulfill the office of a dutiful servant of God. Yet, it is clearly written:
]er. 48:10* Cursed be he that doth the work of the Lord deceitfully.
Again, he despises Christ's command concerning the re- ]n. 6:54 ception of this Sacrament. For Christ warns us: "Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man," etc. . . . Furthermore, he throws away the food that would sustain him on his pilgrimage, and he exposes himself to death, for unless he receives the food of the Body of Christ and the Sap of Life, he becomes like a withered limb that no longer receives bodily nourishment. Finally, as much as is in him, he fails in the divine worship and in the adoration he owes to his
Creator, showing instead ingratitude for the favors he reNm. 9:13 ceived from God. That is why it is said: Anyone who is clean, meaning free of mortal sin, and not away on a jour ney, meaning not hindered in any way, who yet fails to keep the Passover, shall be cut off from his people, because he did not present the Lord's offering at the prescribed time.
Try, then, with all your might, to expel from your soul all sluggishness and sloth, through good works, tearful repentance, and flaming devotion, so that you may not be found guilty of scorning the favor of such gifts.
10. If you wish to be set aflame with love, let your mind concentrate upon these two things: first, the fire of that supreme Love which, in its utter goodness, withstood the awful sufferings and shame of the cross for the sake of you, a wretched worm; second, the sweet partaking of that sacred Body and Blood.
First, concentrate your attention upon Christ's blessed death and examine its only cause: it was necessary for
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your redemption. In every law, high treason is punishable by death. Hence, we were liable to death because of our sins. Yet, God had pitied human misery and desired to spare us from this death. He provided and conceded that our forefathers redeem their enormous debt by sacrificing animals instead of paying with their own lives: He accepted animal-victims and sacrifices of appeasement. As often as man had sinned, he was to offer one such victim. All these things were figures or shadows, until Christ, the Head of the human race, was finally sent, to be offered up as a living and reasonable Victim, a stainless Victim who sur renders Himself to death out of love, for the sake of re deeming us from death. But Christ did not have to die sev eral times: His death was sufficient to cover all sins, both past and future. Hence, it was enough that at His death,
He leave with us the one Victim, His own Body once immo lated for us, now to be mystically offered by us to the Fa ther every day for the remainder of our sins, in commuta tion of the sentence of death our daily transgressions entail.
That is why Augustine writes: "This offering is renewed every day, even though Christ suffered only once, because every day we fall into sins from which our present mortal weakness cannot escape. As we fall every day, so every day
Christ is immolated for us."3 Everything done in the Mass, therefore, and all the ornaments and ceremonies represent nothing but Christ's passion; and the most important point in the Mass is the remembrance of Christ, as He Himself explains: "Do this in remembrance of Me"; and as the Apostle writes: For as often as you shall eat this Bread and drink the Cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord, until
He comes, meaning for the judgment. So whenever you go Lk. 22:19
1 Cor. 11:26 to the altar, say with all your heart:
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11. Prayer: O heavenly Father, remembering the death of Your only-begotten Son our Lord Jesus Christ, behold:
I offer You this Victim whom He Himself in olden days did offer You, for my salvation and that of the whole world. 1 send up to the altar of Your majesty this living
Gift whom You, in Your compassion, had sent down to be sacrificed for us on the altar of the cross.
Remember, therefore.
His most sacred sweat that fell upon the ground as drops of blood; behold this virginal flesh cruelly whipped with lashes, covered with blows, swollen and bruised, stained with spittle, purpled with blood, pierced with thorns, fastened with spikes, wounded with a spear! May this very same kindness that moved and over whelmed Your Son so strongly that He outweighed on the cross all the sins of the world, move You also, O Father, in order that You may have pity upon our misery. I pray
Ps. 83:10 You not to look upon our sins, but upon the face of Your Dan. 9.18 Anointed. For it is not for our justifications that we pre sent our prayers before Thy face, but for the multitude of Your tender mercies.
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12. Second, if you wish to be set aflame and ignited with love, consider the most sweet food: Christ's Body: behold how good and delightful is His spirit within us; how cf. Wis. 12:1 suitable, useful, and life-giving the nourishment our heav enly Father provides. The rational creature, indeed, is des tined to receive and share the goodness of God. Through this sharing, it shall live, and shall attain the beatific vision.
Deprived of this vivifying Food, it tends to nothingness and to eternal death: constantly sustained by this Food, it par takes of divine power and grace. Such partaking is called a consuming, for as the animal body receives its strength and its well-being, its heat and its light, from the food it takes in, so also the rational soul is strengthened and nourished, inflamed and vivified, in the fullness of love and under standing, by the spirit of Christ of which it must partake.
As angels in heaven drink their fill from eternal and living fonts of life and are sated with the prime gifts of God's house, so also eternal Wisdom provides that the ra tional souls of men, redeemed with such solicitude, mag nified through grace, and conformed to the angels of God, be nourished with this Bread — this angelic Food without cf. Ps. 35:9 which neither angels nor men could live —in a manner fitting for us little ones. We could not, with our mortal body, eat of this Bread of Life in the full density of its proper form, the Godhead. That is why, in order to pro vide under a more convenient aspect a food that we could eat, Wisdom made use of material bread and wine be cause of the fitting relation between Bread and bread, and between spiritual and physical sustainment. As Wisdom nourishes the angels, living spirits, with the uncreated
Word, so also He deigns to feed mortal men with the in carnate Word received in the Sacrament. Therefore, it is
230 ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA H
Ps. 77:25 said: The Bread of the mighty was eaten hy men; and also:
]n. 6:51 "l am the living Bread that has come down from heaven."
13. Note also that as God takes care of the bodies of animals by supplying them with suitable food, so also He feeds His most noble Mystical Body the Church, whose
Head is Christ the Son of God. This Mystical Body must not be sustained and kept alive by anything but its Head, so that all its members, meaning all the just united and adhering to one another in Christ the Head, may be sus tained by His spirit and love through this Sacrament of union and peace. As the body cannot live without suit able food, so also there can be no spiritual life for the rational soul unless it consume and absorb a suitable spir- ]n. 6:58 itual aliment. Hence, Christ says: ''He who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me."
This is the difference between natural and spiritual re freshment: natural food, when consumed, changes into the substance and life of the consumer: whereas when Christ is consumed, the consumer is incorporated with Him and passes into the union and love of Christ's spirit. That is why blessed Augustine heard these words: "I will not be transformed into you, but you will be transformed into Me";4 that is, into My likeness, or in other words, into My goodness, holiness, etc., as iron is transformed into the likeness of fire.
FOURTH, ASK YOURSELF WHAT IS YOUR MOTIVE AS YOU
APPROACH THE ALTAR
14. Fourth, and finally, ask yourself what is your mo tive or what are your reasons as you approach the altar.
Here, focus your attention upon two particular points:
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first, did you have a pure love and holy desire; second, did you have a worthy disposition and the necessary intention?
Consider first your motive, lest it be greed, fear, vain glory, mere habit, some worldly satisfaction or temporal favor, as happens in the present time with many who abuse for their loss what had been given for their salvation. Alas, alas, O Lord God! How many unfortunate souls come to Holy Orders and to the divine Mysteries seeking bread not of heaven but of earth! Seeking not the spirit, but the profit; not God's honor, but the satisfaction of their own ambition; not the salvation of souls, but the accumulation of riches. Their effort is not directed toward serving Christ with a clean heart and body in the sacred Mysteries, but toward their own pleasure, wealth, and glory; toward the satisfaction of their own lustful passions, at the expense of Christ's heritage and of the people's charity! In their ambition, they grab rather than obtain ecclesiastical digni ties, by means, even, of much litigation and simony, follow ing not the call of God but the devil's prompting.
15. As for you, O man of God, let God be the goal of your wishes and desires; consider with what love and ex pectation you must accede to the sacred Mysteries.
One, let your conscience lead you, and remorse for the sins you committed: have hope that your sins will be cleansed through Christ, the Victim offered for appease ment.
Two, follow the vision and the consideration of your own weakness: call Christ to your side as the Healer who will cure all your ills.
Three, bear the pressure of trials: through Christ allpowerful, let yourself be saved and protected all the sooner in the face of danger.
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA II
Four, desire some grace or spiritual favor: you shall ob tain them from Christ to whom the Father refuses nothing.
Five, be grateful for all the temporal and spiritual bene fits you and others have received: we have nothing to return to the Lord for all the good He has done to us, except that we can take up the cup of salvation, and offer
Him the sacrifice of thanksgiving: Jesus Christ. cf.Ps. 115:12
Ps. 115:13, 17 Six, be filled with love and compassion for your neigh bor, for no supplication is more effective for the salvation of the living and the repose of the dead than the Blood of Jesus Christ which is shed for the remission of sins. cf. Mt. 26:28
Seven, praise God and the saints, for we cannot exalt God and the saints fittingly except by offering and im molating Christ to God the Father in the Sacrament.
Eight, be filled with love and affection for God, attract ing Him to you and embracing Him delightfully within your soul by absorbing the spiritual Food.
Nine, be filled with thirst and hope for an increase in grace: this Sacrament contains the Fountain of all grace and sanctification, the Author of Salvation, the Lord Jesus
Christ, whence it is called the Eucharist, which means the Good Grace. The other Sacraments are streams and rivers of grace by which we are sanctified.
Ten, be filled with ardor and yearning so that you may desire with your innermost self to be cleansed of every bodily and spiritual stain by the power of this great love and sweet refreshment, to be delivered from all dangers and temptations, and to be inseparably united with Christ the Saviour and preserved within His love. That is why Christ said: "Father, 1 will that where I am, they also whom Thou hast given Me may he with Me—that they may he one, cf. 2 Cor. 7:1
]n. 17:24 ibid. 22, 23 even as We are one: I in them and Thou in Me."
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16. Next, you must be sure to have the right purpose and intention in all you do. Keep these three intentions in mind as you are about to celebrate: to worship God, to remember Christ's death, and to assist the whole Church.
First, you should intend to worship god. Worship of latria is due to God alone, and it consists in giving honor to the supreme Creator as a tribute of utter dependency, by which we are bound to consecrate to His honor not only our goods but our own persons, and to die for Him con tinually as a means of acknowledgment of His favors and immense goodness. All this we should do with a contrite heart and a humbled body, prostrating ourselves with all our affections, deeds, and dispositions, by means of our gestures and symbolic actions, before the eyes of His maj esty, venerating Him with sacrifices and offerings. We should place all our hope and desire upon Him unto whom cf. Rom. 11:36 are all things. We should expect from Him what we de serve: due repayment for our good and evil deeds, accord ing to the retribution of His justice and good pleasure.
To the saints, honor and devotion must be offered in the form of worship of dulia: it is not full worship, or adora tion, but a deputizing and an invocation in order that they may be our advocates before God. All the reverence we offer them is due to the fact that they are united with God.
17. God must be immensely feared, honored, and loved by us.— First, He must be immensely feared, for in His omnipotence and justice, He may condemn us or save us with perfect right. Out of this fear come forth sorrow for our sins, modesty, sighs, tears, breast-beatings, supplica tions, fastings, penances, pilgrimages, and the like. —Sec ond, God must be supremely honored for His wisdom and majesty. Out of this honor come forth veneration and
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA II
reverence, genuflections and bows, prostrations, prayers, purifications, consecrations, cleanliness of the sacred ves sels, vestments, and altar appointments; also feasts, cele brations, and solemnities when all the lights are lit, the chanting of psalms and hymns, the reading of lessons, and so forth. —Third, God must be immensely loved for His goodness and mercy. Out of this love come forth thanks givings, praises, hymns, benedictions, votive offerings, incensings, and the like.
18. We should see to it that the name of God is sancti fied within us through our participation in divine worship, that it is glorified abroad through the holiness of our lives, and that the worship and honor of God increase on earth so that the whole world may know we are the true wor shipers of the one and true God and Saviour Jesus Christ.
19. Second, you should intend to remember Christ's death. Of this, we have spoken above.J Third, you should intend to assist the whole church by proposing to call upon God in behalf of the Pope, the Cardinals, Patriarchs, Archbishops, Bishops, and Doctors, superiors, priests, clerics, monks, religious, monastic com munities, and all servants of Christ; of kings, chiefs, princes, and other noblemen; of virgins, widows, orphans, travelers, and captives; of the sufferers, the weak and infirm, and all the people of God; also, of pagans, heretics, and schis matics, so that they may be converted to the true God and to the Holy Church. In particular, you must pray for some special intentions, for your beloved parents, relatives, friends, dependents, and for those who were recommended to you and who are hoping for your prayers. You should t Cf. § 10.
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also pray most particularly for yourself. And if, especially through hatred or bitterness, you exclude some of the said faithful from the profit of so great favors, you commit a mortal sin, for you are performing the sacred Mysteries with hatred in your heart.
Chapter II — On Contrition and Confession, on Immediate Preparation, and on the Cele bration Itself 1. Now that this has been said, and that your medita tion on such thoughts has set your heart ablaze, vomit and expel the filth of your transgressions, remembering with a heart contrite and humbled how grievously you have sinned in thought, word, or deed; how often you have left undone the good deeds you could and should have accomplished.
Going to your spiritual healer and father, you must now tell him your sins, not in an ordinary and general confes sion as would do the hard of heart who disguise their enor mous iniquities beneath the fronds of common words, and who, without remorse or pangs of conscience, expose such iniquities in terms they could have used on the market place without having to blush. Such is not a confession, but a fraud and a mockery. As for you, if you wish to be healed, open your wound and from the depth of your heart give a clear and frank account of what you have committed since your last confession, indicating not only your deeds, but cf. Ps. 38:4
Ps. 50:19 also the perverse thoughts that stain the soul when they are relished; not only your mortal sins, but also those more serious venial sins that bite and wound the conscience. All else you may explain briefly and clearly in a general way.
2. After fulfilling your penance, recite devotedly the five following psalms: How lovely . . .; You have favored
Incline Your ear I believed . . Out of the depths with their versicles and orations. If time allows, say also
Ps. 83: 84, 85, 115,129 the prayer O Highest Priest. . . ,"5 that is most effective
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and devout. Then, as you approach the altar, remember Christ on His way to the cross, and fix your thought upon the events of the passion. Read clearly and distinctly what must be read; avoid excessively drawn-out collects and other texts your personal devotion might suggest: make use of no other devotions than those established by the holy Fathers.
3. When you reach the holy Canon, recollect your mind and let it not wander; perform the signs and gestures with great care; recite the words with still greater care; apply the uttermost care in having the right intention because of what the Canon contains: Christ's precious Body, His glorious Soul, and the immensity of the Godhead.
In the Memento of the living and the dead, your recom mendations should not be expressed vocally: enumerate mentally your beloved ones, and mention the others in a general way, including in your intention all those for whom you have prayed before or for whom you intended to pray.
When you reach the Qut pridie .. ., set your mind and will to do what Christ meant in the Last Supper, and what
Holy Mother Church intends to accomplish.
After Communion, pause for a moment, and say, not with your lips but with your heart:
4. Prayer: "O my Lord, who are You, and who am I who presume to send You down into the evil-smelling pit of my body and soul? Why did You make me if I was to inflict upon You this detestable insult? Indeed, a thousand years of tears and penance would not suffice to make me receive this noble Sacrament worthily even once. How much more unworthy and wretched am I who sin every single day, persevere in my iniquity, and come to the Sacrament unprepared? But Your mercy is infinitely greater
ST. BONA VENTURE —OPUSCULA H
than my wretchedness: that is why, trusting in Your kind ness, I dare to consume You."'f'
These two sentiments, indeed, are those most needed for the Sacrament to be worthily received: deep self-effacing humility, and compassion for the death of Christ.
5. If, after Communion, you feel no spiritual consola tion, that is a sure sign of spiritual weakness or even death: you have placed a fire on your breast and feel no heat, honey in your mouth and taste no sweetness! But if you do feel some consolation, credit not yourself but God's im mense bounty extended even unto the wicked, consoling even the unworthy. Say, then, within your heart: "Through His favor. He makes me loathe my wretchedness. If He does so much for me in my sinful state, what great things
He would do for me were I to reform! With all my strength I want to change myself and cleave to Him." Do not think you could do this alone: you need the help of divine grace.
May this grace be granted both to you and to me. Amen. t A very poor and negative prayer influenced by the spiritual teachings of the day.
On the Government of the Soul De regimine animae Counsels of Perfection, Addressed to Blanche
Daughter of St. Louis, King of France
ON THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SOUL
IRST of all, O my soul, you should have of God a concept of the highest, most pious, and holiest order — that is, you should believe in Him with certain faith, consider Him with an attentive mind, and look upon Him admiringly with the penetrating glance of reason 2. Your concept of the most excellent God shall be of the highest order if you offer your faith, admiration, and praise to the boundless power of the One who created all things out of nothingness and sustains their existence; to the infinite wisdom of the One who governs all things and ordains them; to the timeless justice of the One who judges all things and retributes them. High is your concept of God if, going beyond yourself, entering within yourself, and rising above yourself, you truthfully sing with the prophet: The cities of fuda rejoice because of Your judg ment, O Lord. Because You, O Lord, are the Most High
Ps. 96:8-9 over all the earth, exalted far above all gods.
Your concept of the most excellent God shall be of the most pious order if you admire, embrace, and bless His boundless mercy as supremely kind in assuming our hu manity and mortality, as supremely compassionate in en during crucifixion and death, and as supremely generous in giving us the Holy Spirit and instituting the Sacrament, for it is in the Sacrament of the altar that He most gener ously communicates Himself. From the depth of your soul, you will then sing with the psalmist: The Lord is good to all and compassionate toward all His works. ibid. 144:9
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA H
Your concept of the most excellent God shall be of the holiest order if you behold, admire, and praise His in effable sanctity, and, together with the Seraphim, proclaim
Isa. 6:4 Him Holy, Holy, Holy. He is holy, first, because He pos sesses within Himself a sanctity that is utterly the greatest and the most pure, so that He cannot possibly think or love anything but what is holy. He is holy, secondly, be cause He loves holiness in others so perfectly that He could not possibly either withdraw grace from the servants of true holiness, or refuse the glory and reward due to them.
He is holy, thirdly, because He detests unholiness so thor oughly that He could not possibly condone sin or let it go unpunished. If this is the way you think of God, you will
Dt. 32:4 sing with the lawgiver: A faithful God without deceit, how fust and upright He is!
3. Next, turn the eyes of your mind to the laws of that God who orders you to offer a humble heart to the Most
High, a devoted heart to the Most Kind, and an immacu late heart to the Most Holy. Offer a humble heart to the Most High by adoring Him in thought, obeying Him in deed, and praising Him by word and sign, so that, as 1 Cor. 10:31 the Apostle commands and teaches, you do all for the glory of God. Offer a devoted heart to the Most Kind by appealing to Him through fervent prayer, tasting Him through spiritual delights, and perceiving His many graces, so that your soul may constantly come up toward Him
Ct. 3:6 from the desert, like a column of smoke laden with myrrh, with frankincense. Offer an immaculate heart to the Most Holy Spouse, so that no approval of bodily pleas ures, no craving for earthly possessions, no attachment to inner malice, may reign in your soul through your con sent. Cleanse yourself of every stain of sin, and sing with
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the psalmist: Let my heart he perfect in Your statutes, that Ps. 118:80
1 he not put to shame.
4. Carefully check whether you have done all this since early age. If your conscience tells you that you have, place the credit not upon yourself, but upon a gift of God, and render thanks to Him. If you find that you have failed once or more in one, or many, or even all of these affec tions, either lightly or grievously, out of levity and igno rance or with certain knowledge, take up the spirit of virtue with unutterable groanings, and try to reconcile yourself with God, making amends to Him, so that, with the peni
Rom. 8:26 tent, you may chant and sing: I am very near to falling, and my grief is within me always.
Ps. 37:18
5. A sorrowing spirit will cleanse the soul and please God only if it comes with two companions: the fear of divine judgment, and the flame of inner desire. You may regain a humble heart through fear, a devout heart through desire, and an immaculate heart through remorse.
Fear, therefore, the judgments of God, for they are like the mighty deep. Have a great fear, lest, by repenting not enough, you still be displeasing to God; have a greater fear, lest you repeat your offense: have the greatest fear, lest you finally lose God, eternally lacking light, eternally burn ing in fire, eternally gnawed by worms, if you do not feel sincerely penitent and do not die in the state of final grace.
Sing with the prophet: My flesh shudders with dread of ibid. 35:7 ibid. 118:120
You, and l fear Your ordinances.
6. Lament, also, and grieve over the sins you com mitted. Have great sorrow for having wasted all the good that you had divinely received; have a greater sorrow for having offended Christ who was born and crucified for you; have the greatest sorrow for having insulted God. By
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transgressing His laws, you have dishonored His majesty, refused His truth, offended His goodness, and plunged the whole universe into dishonesty, deformity, and disorder.
By opposing the divine statutes, commands, and judgments, you have abused all that was to serve you for the sake of God: nature, Scripture, justice, mercy, gratuitous gifts, and ]er. 6:26* promised rewards. After carefully considering all this, make thee mourning as for an only son, a hitter lamentation; let
Lam. 2:18 tears run down like a torrent day and night; give thyself no rest, and let not the apple of thy eye cease.
7. Desire, finally the godly gifts, and with the flame of divine longing, rise up to God who so patiently sustained you a sinner, waited so long for you, and led you so mercifully to repentance, granting pardon, infusing grace, and promising a crown. But offer Him also a payment, or rather, accept from Him as a means of repayment the Ps. 50:19 sacrifice of a contrite spirit, a heart contrite and humbled through bitter remorse, sincere confession, and adequate satisfaction. Desire intensely that God be well-pleased through a generous imparting of the Holy Spirit; desire more intensely to conform to God through an exact imi tation of Christ crucified; desire most intensely to know
God by seeing the eternal Father face to face, so that you ibid. 41:3 may truly sing with the prophet: Athirst is my soul for God, the living God. When shall I go and behold the face of God?
8. For this inner spirit of fear, sorrow, and desire to be safely preserved within you, you must train yourself ex ternally in all manner of moderation, justice, and godliness.
Ti. 2:12 You must do as the Apostle recommends: Rejecting ungod liness and worldly lusts, . . . live temperately and justly and piously in this world.
THE GOVERNMENT OF THE SOUL
Train yourself, therefore, in every kind of moderation until, as the Apostle writes, your moderation be known to all men. Moderation consists in sparingness as applied to food and clothing, wake and sleep, work and rest; in the avoidance of excess in any of these. Again, moderation consists in discipline, meaning the measured use of silence and speech, sadness and joy, mercy and severity, as the circumstances demand and right reason dictates. Finally, moderation consists in propriety in the ruling, ordering, and restraining of acts, movements, gestures, dress and clothing, and bodily members and senses, as required by moral decency and regular observance. You must act as one of those to whom the Apostle writes: Only let all things be done properly and in order.
Phil. 4:5
1 Cor. 14:40
9. Train yourself also in the practice of justice, so that these prophetical words may truly apply to you: In the cause of truth and for the sake of justice, etc. ... I mean complete justice, through zeal for the honor of God, ob servance of the divine laws, and desire for the neighbor's salvation: well-ordered justice, through obedience to su periors, fraternity with equals, and emendation of inferiors: perfect justice, through assent to all truth, support of all goodness, and opposition to all evil by thought and word and deed — by never doing to another what you would not wish to have done to you, and never denying another what you yourself would like to obtain. Be you a perfect fol lower of those to whom it is said: "Unless your justice ex ceeds that of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter
Ps. 44:5
Mt. 5:20 the kingdom of heaven.''
10. Finally, train yourself in the practice of godliness, for as the Apostle writes, godliness is profitable in all re spects, since it has the promise of the present life as well
1 Tm. 4:8
ST. BONAVENTURE —OPUSCULA H
as of that which is to come. I mean godliness as applied to divine worship, expressed through the attentive, devout, and reverent reciting of the canonical hours, through con fession and bewailing of daily sins, through reception of the most holy Sacrament at the appropriate times, and through daily attendance at Mass. — Godliness as applied to the salvation of souls through helping them, now by fre quent prayer, now by edifying conversation, now by chalAp. 22:17 lenging example, so that he who hears may say: "Come!"
But this should be done with wise restraint so as not to endanger your own salvation. — Godliness as applied to meeting corporal needs, through patient assistance, through friendly consolation, through humble, gay, and merciful service, so that you may fulfill the divine law as set forth
Gal. 6:2 by the Apostle: Bear one another's burdens, and so you will fulfill the law of Christ. The best way to attain these perfections is, I believe, by keeping in mind the Crucified, cf. Ct. 1:13 so that your Lover may be for you a sachet of myrrh, resting upon the bosom of your mind; and may the One blessed for ever and ever grant this to you. Amen.
Letter Containing Twenty-five Points to Remember Ep is tola Continens viginti quinque memorialia Spiritual Counsels Addressed to a Friar
LETTER CONTAINING
TWENTY-FIVE POINTS TO REMEMBER
Prologue Friar Bonaventure, to his beloved in Christ, Friar N., his true brother in the Lord, who has put off the old man, and who desires to live for Christ and die to the world:
Eph. 4:22
ELOVED brother in the Lord:
Before we parted, you most insistently begged me to send you an occasional letter of spiritual counseling. I know, brother, that what you ask heaps live coals upon my head. The kindness of your insistence, however, and the hu mility of your request, melted my hardened pride, so that I promised to do as you wished, although, dear and be cf. Prv. 25:22 loved brother, it would be far better for me to receive such advice from you than to give it to you. But as the pres sure of your devotion forces me to become foolish in this matter, I will attempt, as much as is in my power, to do what you expect of me. I will not set down for you any topic other than those I intended to write about for my own good, plain and simple as they may be. Many of these you are well acquainted with: that is why, my dear est friend, I call upon your charity. cf. 2 Cor. 12:11
Experience proves beyond doubt that it is impossible for a man to serve God perfectly unless he endeavors to divorce
ST. BONAVENTURE —OPUSCULA H
himself completely from the world. If we wish, therefore, to follow our Lord and Saviour, we must obey the prophet's voice and loose the hands of wickedness, undo the bundles that oppress. Our steps, then, disengaged from any worldly pursuit, are made free to follow the Redeemer: for, as the Apostle says, no one serving as God's soldier entangles
Isa. 58:6* 2 Tim. 2:4 himself in worldly affairs.
2. Let us not permit our hearts to be concerned with any created good, except as long as such goods move us with feelings of love and charity. When the manifold charm of temporal goods is given too much attention, not only does it distract the spirit and disturb the mind's happy peace: as it arouses the imagination, it actually destroys this peace by sadly vexing it with violent commotions.
Let us, instead, drop the load of earthly love; let us run to the One who invites us, who refreshes the soul and pro vides peace . . . which surpasses all understanding.
Phil. 4:7
3. "Come to Me," He said, "all you who labor and are burdened, and 1 will give you rest." O Lord, what need have You? Why do You call? What do You have in common with us? Oh, true voice of kindness! "Come to Me," He says, "and I will give you rest." Oh, admirable condescension of our God! Oh, love beyond words! Who Mt. 11:28 else has ever done so much? Who hath ever heard or seen anything like this? Behold: He invites His enemies, He exhorts the guilty, He attracts the ungrateful! "Come to Me, all you," He says, "and learn from Me: take My yoke upon you, . . . and you will find rest for your souls." Oh, most sweet and pleasing words! Oh, divinizing words, keener than any two-edged sword; heart-wringing words
Isa. 66:8* Mt. 11:28
Heh. 4:12 filled with extreme delight, extending even to the division of soul and spirit! ihid.
TWENTY-FIVE POINTS
Wake up, now, O Christian soul, to a love so kind, to a flavor so sweet, to a fragrance so delightful! Anyone un able to perceive all this is most certainly ill, bereft of rea son, at the threshold of death.
O my soul, please, be set afire, be fattened, be sweet ened by the mercy of your God, by the kindness of your
God, by the love of your Spouse! Be set afire by the fer vor of your Beloved; be fattened with His love; be sweet ened with His savor. Let none prevent you from entering, holding, and tasting!
4. What more could we seek, expect, or desire? In this one Good we possess all Good. And yet, alas, what in credible folly, what wretched weakness, what hateful mad ness: we are called to rest and choose hard labor, we are offered relief and prefer pain, we are promised joy and desire sorrow! Oh, most pitiful weakness, most wretched perversity! We have become almost like brute matter, al most worse than idols which have eyes and do not see, ears and do not hear, reason and do not understand, taking bit ter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. cf. Ps. 113:5
Isa. 5:20* 5. O God, where shall we turn to make up for such perversity? Where shall we turn to atone for so great an offense? We have not the means within us, O God, we need Your gift. You alone can correct us, you alone can atone for our sins: for You alone do know how we are formed, You, our Salvation and Redemption! This You bring about but in those who, seeing themselves cast down in their wretchedness, turn to You as to their only chance of rising.
Ps. 102:14
6. Let us, then, lift up the eyes of our mind directly to God and see where we now lie: for a man unaware that he has fallen is not much interested in getting up. Knowing
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA II
our fall, let us cry out loudly from the abyss to the Lord, that He may extend to us the helping hand of His mercy, which is never shortened that it cannot save.—Let us not lose our confidence which has a great reward. — Let us.. . draw near with confidence to the throne of His grace — re ceiving as the final issue of our faith, the salvation of our cf. Ps. 129:1
Isa. 59:1 * Heb. 10:35 ibid. 4:16
1 Pt. 1:9 souls. Let us not delay: life is calling us, salvation await ing us, trials compelling us to enter. What are we doing?
Why such sloth? What is detaining us? Let us therefore hasten to enter into that rest of eternal delight in which are great things and inscrutable, marvelous things without number. Let our hearts ascend to that Jerusalem which is cf. Lk. 14:23
Heb. 4:11
Jb. 5:9
Gal. 4:26 cf. ]er. 51:50 above; let us sigh for our fatherland, rise up toward our mother, — enter into the powers of the Lord, and behold our merciful King reigning over this mother: let our hearts melt in His mercies!
Gal. 4:26
Ps. 70:16* 7. Let us give thanks wholeheartedly to the One who deigned to overlook our ingratitude, not withholding from us the kindness of His mercy, but granting us the desire cf. Gn. 24:27 to run on the way of His commands, where no man may run if he has not the desire. Let us not underestimate this cf. Ps. 118:32 gift, but deem it great, since the greatest prophet said that he longed for it: My soul is consumed with longing for Your ordinances at all times. But this very longing may slacken because of the tepidity that results from our un concern and carelessness. That is why I thought it good to write down in this letter of exhortation a few things worth remembering: they will indicate what to avoid and what to do. Let us regain strength and consider these points every day, fruitfully and wholeheartedly: let us grow tire lessly in virtue and grace within God's love, until we attain the perfect desire of the everlasting hills.
Ps. 118:20
Gn. 49:26*
TWENTY-FIVE POINTS
We shall first cover eight points of a general nature, then some others on particular topics.
THINGS TO REMEMBER, IN GENERAL
These things are certain abilities that must be proved in the young, as so many ladders of virtue by which they may certainly attain the perfection of goodness and the summit of glory, provided they use them faithfully. To wit: holy modesty in word and action, reserve in speech, prompt obedience, assiduous prayer, avoidance of idleness and laxity, pure and frequent confession, eagerness to serve, and flight from worthless company. These virtues are like glowing pearls that make their owner gracious in the eyes of God, of the angels, and of men. When it pleased Him who from your mother's womb set you apart and called you by His grace, to reveal His Son in you, leading you out of the wretched servitude of Egypt into the freedom . . . cf. Wis. 1:3 cf. Gal. 1:15,16 Rom. 8:21 of the sons of God, you already started to walk upon the way of the new man, upon a path of humility traced be tween those of fear and of love. Now, reaching higher levels by this path of humility, you shall be able to train yourself in loftier matters, some of which are listed below, as being specially worthy of remembrance.
THINGS TO REMEMBER, IN PARTICULAR
1. First of all, if you wish to walk in the footprints of the Saviour, place all your hope in the lord, and none whatsoever in the consolations of the world.
2. Try to rid yourself thoroughly of every vice and evil concupiscence—-as much as is humanly possible. Thus, cf. 1 Cot. 5:7
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA H
cf. Rom. 6:4 having purged out the old leaven of every sin and evil, you will walk after Christ in newness of life. If you do not first break the chains of sin, your soul, weighted down in darkness, shall be unable to ascend to heaven.
3. Cast off every external bond, and with all your soul
BIND YOURSELF TO GOD.
4. Out of love for the Most High, support with patience every worldly persecution; better yet, accepting them with gladness if you can, rejoice in nothing but the pains of christ. Renounce all temporal pleasures, and find happiness in these pains, seeing them as intended for the cleansing of your sins and the profit of your soul.
5. Knowing that you have offended the Creator of your own being and of all other things, call no creature to account.
6. Despise yourself, and wish to be despised; love holy poverty, and let your personal belongings be as simple, cheap, and few as possible. But do not demand the same of others: rejoice and be happy, instead, over any satisfaction your brethren may receive. Assist and serve them; think that they deserve every consolation, except when, God forbid, you see any one offending the Divinity so obviously that there is no possible excuse: in which case, let your heart be filled with as much compassion and anguish as it can contain.
7. Live at all times in the fear of god. With all your might, absolutely reject as deadly poison every bland ishment of the world, every honor, glory, and favor, every glitter of vanity. Remain alert and watchful: do not trust yourself for a minute. When, at last, you have obtained a complete victory over yourself, no enemy, within or with out, shall harm you.
TWENTY-FIVE POINTS
8. Out of love for the Lord of all things —in heaven, on earth, and in hell —who assumed for our sake the nature of the lowliest slave, and in that nature willingly submitted to the power of men, humiliate yourself and consider every man your master; consider yourself truly the servant of all; and in all human matters see yourself as a slave.
Thus, you shall live in lasting peace and tranquility with all, and you shall be completely free of scandal.
9. Avoid anything spiritually useless: that is, be not concerned or entangled in any way with things external or internal in which you find no profit for your soul; and let no one involve you in such things. There is here a wonderful mystery that will always remain closed to the inexperienced.
10. Curb your eyes, your mouth, all your senses, in every way you can, so that never again you may desire to see, hear, or touch anything but what is good for your soul. Apply also to your tongue such complete restraint that you never speak except to give answer, or when com pelled by necessity or by an evident advantage. Even then, cf. Ps. 38:2 speak in a low voice if possible; speak with reverence, fear, and sweetness of mind, always avoiding prolixity, and do ing your best to curtail the occasions of speech.
11. Out of desire for blessed and holy solitude, esteem highly the practice of vigils, using them as a means of offering your prayers to God with fervent devotion, deep humility, and careful attention to what you are saying.
12. When you are called upon to participate in the di vine office, ESTABLISH WITHIN YOURSELF SO GREAT A PEACE that, forgetting all worldly disturbance and fixing your mind intently upon the heavenly mysteries, you may recite it with devotion, reverence, and joy. As if you were part
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA II
of the host of angels, and together with them, you may then offer praise to God in His presence.
13. At all times, keep in high and loving reverence
THE GLORIOUS QUEEN, THE MOTHER OF OUR LORD. Turn
to her as to the safest harbor in all your needs and troubles, begging for her protection. Take her as your advocate, devotedly and confidently putting your case into her hands, for she is the Mother of Mercies. Give her every day some special and particular proof of your reverence: and, in order that your devotion may be accepted and your reverence well received, with every power of your body and soul, preserve immaculate within you the whiteness of her purity, trying with every effort of your will to follow her example of humility and meekness.
14. Everywhere, avoid all women and young boys, out side the case of necessity or obvious utility. Wherever you live, choose unto yourself a father, a holy man, dis creet, kind, and pious, expert rather in the art of life than in that of speech, able to instruct and inflame you with the love of God through effective and burning words and examples; one to whom you may turn for spiritual support in every need.
15. Making the greatest effort to cast out all coldness of spiritual sloth and dejection, which open the way of con fusion that "leads to death,"1 live at all times in a state of inner as well as outer peace and tranquility. Never oppose or contradict anyone in any way; agree, instead, with everyone in everything, as long as no damage is done to God s glory or to the salvation of your soul.
16. Conform all your affections and intentions to the will of god. Endowed as you are by God with the grace of purity and innocence, let all things edify you,
TWENTY-FIVE POINTS
and let nothing in this world be harmful to your soul. Be not infected with the filth of others, adding iniquity to iniquity by being unduly perturbed over their defects, lest, in your desire to rescue them from the deep, your own soul sink in even deeper waters. Covering, instead, with kind ness and charity all those things in regard to which you can do nothing without damage to yourself, abandon them to that supreme Wisdom who knows how to draw good out of evil. Thus, by the Lord's grace, you will be able to find an occasion of spiritual progress in everything, good and evil alike.
17. Guard your heart with all possible care, and de vote it to spiritual exercises alone, so that, devoid of the images of visible things and detached from every creature, it may freely concern itself with the Creator of all.
18. Considering in all men the image and likeness of the divine Majesty, love all men with the affection of your inner heart—particularly the weak and those who need your support —as long as this does not distract you harm fully from your own spiritual good. Act as a good mother who loves and fosters her beloved and only son. cf. 2 Kgs. 1:26
19. Keep your mind continually turned toward god so that your every work, and all your activities, physi cal and mental, may be prayers. Render every service, most of all the more humble, with as much burning love as if you were serving Christ in person. And this, indeed, you can and should believe to be the truth, for He Himself said in the Gospel: "As long as you did it for one of these, the least of My brethren, you did it for Me.''
Mt. 25:40
20. Show honor and reverence to all men, out of both duty and devotion. Endeavor always to keep intact the rule of holy obedience, as you would the apple of your
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA H
eye, not only in matters of certain or possible importance, but even in the slightest details. Obey not only prelates and all those above you, but also all those below you, submitting yourself to everyone in a spirit of self-denial for the sake of Christ. In all things good and indifferent, always try to follow the wish of others. Never be a burden to anyone, but, loving all in the charity of Christ, make yourself agreeable to all men in general. Avoid particular kindness, friendship, and familiarity. Try your very best never in any way or for any reason, through word, deed, or gesture, directly or indirectly to be the cause or occasion of bitterness, hatred, complaining, injustice, disturbance, grumbling, slander, scandal, flattery, or any such thing.
21. Try, as much as possible, to hide your virtues from everyone, and the spiritual graces which divine mercy deigned to bring about in you or through you; hide also your tribulations and battles, your virtuous intentions and the like. This, however, does not apply to those matters which properly must be revealed to the priest when you go to confession, or which, for the sake of spiritual gain, you may wish to disclose to a special and proven friend whose advice and counsel would be valuable to you. Be careful always and everywhere to steal some time for your regular prayer and holy meditation so that you may sit solitary and rise up to heaven.
Lam. 3:28* 22. Detached from everything, free of all earthly desire, and setting no store by any creature, strive toward your creator with so great an effort of your spirit and so burn ing an ardor of your heart that, as if forgetful of all lesser things, whatever you do, wherever you are, and whatever the business you pursue, you may think of God always, day and night, at every instant and every hour, believing
TWENTY-FIVE POINTS
and realizing that you are most verily in His presence, and knowing that He looks upon you from everywhere. Think of it with great reverence, with fear and trembling, with supreme attention and the most ardent love. With bitter tears, beg forgiveness for your sins as you lie prostrate at the feet of His immense majesty. Wounded with Him, weeping and covered with tears, pierced with the sword of compassion for the most sacred sufferings of the Son of God, appear before His cross. Place before your own crookedness the standard of rectitude of His whole life.
Give thanks to Him as you recall His countless and im mense favors. Prompted by the goad of ardent love for Him, behold Him in every creature. Considering His power, wisdom, goodness, and mercy, praise Him lavishly in all
His works. Attracted by longing for your heavenly home, sigh for Him with pitiful groanings. Seeing the depth of His boundless love for us, swoon in Him through the ex cessive joy and wonder of your heart and soul. Once the unfathomable depth of divine mercy has been revealed to you, throw yourself upon Him in an excess of love, and dissolve entirely in tears as you see God holding, lifting, attracting you, and as you see yourself ungrateful in all things. Carefully considering the most hidden, profound, admirable, secret, and stupendous sentences of His justice, worship Him in all things with the greatest love, with im mense fear and trembling. Remain faithful and constant, discreet, pliable, and humble. Before all else, bear within your soul and body the permanent and living memory of His most sacred passion.
23. Be careful to guard yourself at all times against the cf. Isa. 21:18 deceits of the ancient enemy who often disguises himself as 2 Cor' 11:14 an angel of light, and sets up snares, and places nets in all
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA H
the fairways of men, in the hope of capturing their souls.
Take the greatest precautions against him; like the spar row, flee the hunter's trap; be so pure and so little in your own eyes that even his finest mesh would fail to hold you.
You shall escape without damage only if you have become Israel, and if you constantly behold God with the eyes of Ps. 120:4 your mind, for indeed He neither slumbers nor sleeps, the guardian of Israel.
24. Faithful to your holy resolve, burning with the sa cred fire of heavenly wishes, keeping the mind and body clean, innocence unstained, and the conscience tender, be most careful never to be so foolish as to fail in any of these. Indeed, if you wish to observe such things with greater care and perfection, examine your ways seven times every day, either before or after each canonical hour, considering and weighing most attentively whether
Col. 1:10 from hour to hour you have walked worthily of God and 1 Tm. 6:14 without stain along the paths of justice. Since no man ever observes discipline and justice so perfectly as to be free of all negligence and omission, have recourse to the laver of penance, and accuse yourself frequently with sor row and groaning. In this self-accusation or confession, which must be complete, truthful, and pure, unveiled by any excuse, dissimulation, or defense, explain in an orderly fashion all your defects before your regular confessor as you would before God, telling him first your sins of omis sion as regards your duties toward God, particularly con cerning the two kinds of prayer, the mental and the vocal; next, your failures in the observance of justice toward your neighbor; finally, the sins you committed through insuffi cient custody of your senses, and of your affections and thoughts related to them.
TWENTY-FIVE POINTS
Contrition and satisfaction should always accompany such a confession. You should regret your offenses, not only the great, but also the small, and through this regret, avoid repeating the same sin, always seeking to eliminate causes and occasions of sin, much as you may be attached to them. For as the Saviour says, the eye that causes scan dal—that is, the occasions of sin —must be plucked out, although such occasions may appear delightful to us in spite of their painful consequences. There is here, there fore, a battle hard to fight: in all matters in which a serv ant of God finds no advantage to his soul, he must be blind, deaf, mute, and insensitive.
If you wish to care more attentively still and to burn more fervently in obedience to the divine precepts and in conformance with the divine discipline they require, in such matters as we have spoken of and in any other, endeavor with a sincere mind lengthily and lovingly to meditate at least once between morning and night upon the five points that follow: life so short, the road so treacherous, death so uncertain as to its time of coming, the reward of the vir tuous so great, the punishment of the wicked so dreadful.
Your service, then, shall not be without fear, nor your joy without trembling.
25. Lastly, after having done all things well by the grace of God, DEEM YOURSELF AN UNPROFITABLE SERVANT and Lk. 17:10 a sinner, unworthy of any favor of God. Keep your faith strong, however: be filled with divine charity, and with the most confident hope that the merciful heart of the all-forgiving Father shall be opened to you.
When in the depth of your humility you shall have laid a solid foundation of faith: when you shall have erected the dazzling walls of constant and burning love adorned
ST. BONAVENTURE —OPUSCULA H
with the depiction of every virtue; when you shall have raised the glorious roof of hope for beatitude fervently desired: then, all things being now in order, the loftiest
Inhabitant of heaven, the Host of faithful souls, whose Prv. 8:31 delight is to be with the sons of men, shall deign to live with you in your present exile until you are clothed in the land of heavenly bliss with the glorious mantle of immor tality, and, together with all the saints, you deserve to behold with joy the light of His countenance. In this you shall find supreme happiness and unending delight, the end and consummation of your every desire.
CONCLUSION
Beloved brother, be sure of this: if you fail to renounce yourself perfectly, you shall be unable to follow in the Saviour's steps; in order to obtain His grace, you must strive and labor without cease; if you do not continuously knock at His door, you shall be unable to go in to the place where the mind is at peace; and if you do not stand constantly in the fear of God, your house shall soon fall to ruin.
But if you do practice these things faithfully and con stantly, I hope that the Saviour, in His mercy, shall make you worthy of His grace at the present time, and that, in times to come, you shall obtain glory in His company.
Amen.
Beloved, if I wrote all this, it is not that I thought you might need it: rather, I gathered these ideas for my own sake, seeing how unstable I am, and thought of sharing them with you, my faithful helper, whose great fervor and solicitude would supplement what might be missing by
TWENTY-FIVE POINTS
reason of my tepidity and neglectful unconcern—all the more so as I know that you agree with most of my opin ions, and find pleasure in these simple developments. I beg you, therefore, beloved in Christ, to accept these thoughts with the same love as that with which I am sending them to you. By training yourself in heavenly concerns, make the most of all I have said, of this discipline that seems for the present to be a matter not for joy but for grief, so that afterwards it may yield the most peaceful fruit of justice.
Through the sweet flavor of devotion, may you possess even now in your soul the awareness of this delightful ex pectation. May your soul be nourished with fat and rich
Heb. 12:11 foods in Christ Jesus our Lord, to whom, in your pious prayers, please commend me who am dry and many-worded instead of devout. And to Him, honor and glory, worship and power, for ever and ever. Amen. cf. Rom. 16:27 cf. 1 Pt. 4:11
HERE ENDS THE LETTER
CONTAINING TWENTY-FIVE POINTS TO REMEMBER
Non-Scriptural References
Non-Scriptural References Reductio 1. "Eruditio didascalica," II, 21. - - - - - 14
2. "De arte poetica," w. 333, 343. - - - - 14 3. Cf. Hugh of St. Victor, "Eruditio didascalica," II, 23. - 14
4. Cf. ibid..15
5. Cf. 4; 5:6, 7; VII, 15:21; XII, 16:32. 16
6. Cf. Bonaventure, "Breviloquium," II, 3f. - - - 16 7. Cf. Bonaventure, "Quaestiones de scientia Christi," q.
4, ad 11; I "Sent.," d. 3, p. I, q. 1, ad 2. - - 16 8. Cf. Bonaventure, "Itinerarium," 3:2; Augustine, "De civitate Dei," VIII, 4, et alia. ----- 17
9. Augustine, loc. cit.; cf. Bonaventure, "Itinerarium," 5:7. 17
10. Augustine, op. cit., XI, 25. ----- 18 11. Cf. Aristotle, "Metaphysica," VI, text. 2; XI, c. 6 (V, c.
1; X, c. 7); Boethius, "Dialog. I, in Porphyr." (in principio); "Comment, in Porphyrio," I, (in principio). - 18
12. Cf. Aristotle, "Metaphysica," I, text. 6; text. 25ff. (c. 6, c. 9); Augustine, "LXXXIII Quaestiones," q. 46; Bona venture, I "Sent.," d. 1, p. I, a. 1, q. 1, ad 3; ibid., ad 4; ibid., dub. 2. - - - - - - - 18 13. Cf. Hugh of St. Victor, op. cit., II, 20; Isidore, "Etymologiarum," II, 24 (in fine). - - - - 19
14. Cf. Bonaventure, "Breviloquium," Prologue, 4. - - 19 15. Cf. ibid., II, 2; "Itinerarium," 7:1. - - - - 20
16. Cf. Bonaventure, "Itinerarium," 2. - - - - 22 17. Cf. Bonaventure, "Breviloquium," 3:9. - - - 23
18. Cf. ibid., 5:6. - - - - - - - 23 19. Cf. Seneca, "Epistola 65 ad Lucilium." - - - 24
20. "Glossa ordinaria" on psalm 61:12, taken from Augus tine. ---------24 21. Cf. Bonaventure, "Breviloquium," II, 12 in fine. - 24
22. Cf. ibid., V, 7..25
23. Aristotle, "Ethica," II, 4. - - - - - 25 24. Ibid., "Rhetorica," I, 16ff., (6ff.); "Ethica," II, 3. - 25
25. Ibid., "Perihermeneias," I, 1. - - - - - 26 26. Augustine, "In epistolam Joannis." tr. 3, n. 13. - - 27
27. Developed by Bonaventure in "Quaestiones de scientia Christi," q. 4. - - - - - - - 28 28. Cf. Bonaventure, II "Sent.," d. 18, a. a., q. If. - - 28
Page
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA II
29. Cf. Aristotle, "Physica," V, text. 7 (c. 1); "De generatione et corruptione," text, llff (c. 3); "Metaphysica,"
VII, text. 22ff. (VI, c. 7)..28
30. Augustine, "De Trinitate," VI, 10:11. - - - 28 31. Cf. Bonaventure, II "Sent.," d. 17, a. 1, q. 2, ad 6; d. 19, a. 1, q. 1..29
32. Cf. ibid., "Breviloquium," IV, 1, 4. - - - - 29 33. Cf. ibid., II, 3, 4. - - - - - - - 29
34. Cf. Alfredus Anglicus, "De motu cordis"; Costa-BenLuca, "De differentia animae et spiritus"; Hugh of St.
Victor, "De unione corporis et animae." 30
35. Anselm, "De conceptu virginali et originali peccato," 3; "Dialogus de veritate," 12. ----- 30 36. Plato, "Parmenides." ------ 30 37. Cf. Bonaventure, "Breviloquium," I, 8. - - - 30
38. Cf. Augustine, passim. - - - - - - 31 39. Cf. ibid., "Enarrationes in psalmos," Ps. 50, n. 15; Ber nard, "Sermones in Cantica," sermon 24, n. 5ff.; Bona venture, "Breviloquium." - - - - - 31 40. Cf. Bonaventure, "Breviloquium," V, 4. - - - 31
41. The theme of this work seems to be based on Hugh of St. Victor's "Expositio in hierarchiam caelestiam Dyonisii," II, 1. ------- 32
For a complete study on this work, see:
"St. Bonaventure's DE REDUCTIONE ARTIUM AD THEOLOGIAM, A Commentary with an Introduction and Translation" by Sister Emma Therese Healy — Franciscan Institute, Saint Bonaven ture University, Saint Bonaventure, N. Y., 1955.
There are a few inaccuracies in the translation, but the commen taries are interesting and illuminating.
Soliloquy prologue Page 1. Augustine, "De doctrina Christiana," II, 31:34; "De vera religione," 18:35; "De natura boni," 1. - - 36
2. Augustine, "De civitate Dei," XXII, 30:5. - - 38 3. Cf. Bernard, sermon 11 "In cantica," 5. - 38
4. Ibid.. 6. - -- -- -- - 38
NON-SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
CHAPTER I
Page Cf. Ambrose, sermon 4 "In psalmo 118:27," n. 12. Ibid. --------Bernard, "De consideratione," II, 3:6. - 1.
"Meditationes piissimae de cognitione humanae conditionis," 1:1; found among the works of Bernard.
John Chrysostom, "Homiliae," 25:4.
Ambrose, "Hexaemeron," VI, 8:50. Cf. note 4, 5:14. Anselm, "Proslogion," 1.
Cf. note 4. Cf. "Tractatus de caritate," 18:41; found among the works of Bernard. Also, Hugh of St. Victor, "De arrha animae," Migne, P. L., t. 176.
Cf. note 4. Cf. Augustine, "De Trinitate," 2:4 and 4:6 for this thesis. More particularly, "De spiritu et anima," 18; found among the works of Augustine. Also, Marcus
Aurelius Cassiodorus, "De anima," 2.
10.
11.
12.
"De diligendo Deo," 6; found among the works of Augustine. Also, Hugh of St. Victor, "De arrha ani mae," Migne, P. L., t. 176, cols. 960f. and 954.
"De diligendo Deo," 4.
Augustine, "Confessionum," III, 6:11.
Bernard, sermon 2 "De dedicatione ecclesiae," 2.
"Meditationes piissimae," 1:2; cf. note 4. Roman Missal, procession of the feast of the Purifica tion of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Hugh of St. Victor, "Homiliae," 2 "In Ecclesiasten." Cf. Anselm, "Meditationes," 14:2. Also, Gregory,
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
"Moralium," XX, 38:73, and XXII, 3:5. Gregory, "Moralium," XXVI, 44:70. Cf. Hugh of St. Victor, "De arrha animae," Migne,
P. L„ t. 176, col. 955..
Cf. "Meditationes piissimae," 6:16; cf. note 4. Cf. note 22. Ibid. --------This is actually a paraphrase of Augustine, "De libero arbitrio," 16:43. ------Cf. Bernard, sermon 81 "In cantica," 1. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," II, homily 35:1.
Cf. Gregory, "Moralium," XXXII, 1:1, and 35:1.
Cf. Anselm, "Meditationes," 3. - - - -
21.
22.
23.
24.
25.
26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
ST. BONAVENTURE —OPUSCULA H
31. This is actually from Anselm. "Meditationes," 13, which was used also as a source for part of sections 12 to 15.
32. This, and the whole of the following paragraph, is a paraphrase of Augustine, "Confessionum," 27:38.
33. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," homily 36:1.
34. Augustine, "Confessionum," II, 2:4.
35. Cf. ibid., VII, 5:11. ------ 36. Augustine, sermon 82 "De verbis Domini," 11:14.
37. Gregory, "Moralium," XXXI, 43:84. - 38. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," I, homily 13:5.
39. Ambrose, "Epistolae," 1:3; "Roman Breviary," Feast of St. Agnes, Jan. 21. - 40. "De contritione cordis," 2; found among the works of Augustine. -------- 41. Cf. Gregory, "Moralium," X, 24:42. - 42. Cf. ibid., XXXI, 38:77..
43. "Meditationes piissimae," 15:38; cf. note 4.
44. Ibid., 40. - -- -- -- - 45. Cf. ibid., 3:7. - 46. Cf. Bernard, sermon 24 "in cantica," 6. - 47. Bernard, sermon 48, 1-2, ibid. - - - - 48. Cf. Pope Leo the Great, sermon 26:3. - 49. Eadmer, "De sancti Anselmi similitudinibus," 99; found among the works of Anselm. - - - - - 50. Anselm, "Orationes," 63. - 51. Ibid. --------- 52. Ibid. --------- 53. This was not found by the Quaracchi editors in the works of Anselm. ------ 54. "Meditationes piissimae," 9:23; cf. note 4.
55. Cf. Bernard, sermon "In nativitate beatae Mariae virginis," 7. This passage seems actually to be taken from Arnaldus, or Ernaldus Bonnaevallis. Cf. Migne, P. L., t. 189, col. 1726..
56. Bernard, homily 2 "Super: Missus est," 17.
57. Anselm, "Orationes," 52. _____ 58. Ibid., 51. - 59. First sentence is from "Panegyrico ad beatam Virginem deiparam," a sermon found among the works of Ber nard; the second, from Bernard, sermon 4 "In assumptione beatae Mariae virginis," 8. - 60. Anselm, "Orationes," 52. _____ 61. Bernard, sermon 2 "De adventu Domini," 5. - 62. Augustine, "Epistolae," 55, 5:8. -
NON-SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
63. Bernard, sermon 3 "In ascensione Domini," 2. - - 64 64. Gregory, "Moralium," XXXIV, 23:54. - - - 64
65. Augustine, "De catechizandis rudibus," 22:40. - - 64 66. "Contra quinque haereses," 6; found among the works of Augustine. - -- -- -- 65 67. Augustine, sermon 208 (in appendix):7. 65
68. Gregory Nazianzen, "Orationes," 38:20. - - - 65 69. According to the Quaracchi editors, Thomas of Hiber nia, in his "Manipulo florum," attributes this passage to Bernard, "in a certain sermon," not found. - - 66
70. Roman Missal, paschal prayer "Exultet," by Gregory. - 67 71. Bernard, sermon 51 "In Cantica," 6. - - - 67
72. Bonaventure, III, "Sententiarum," d. 16, a. 2, q. 3, at tributes this to chancellor Philip, but it is attributed elsewhere to Bernard. ------ 67 73. Bernard, sermon 22 "De diversis," 5 and 6. - - 68
74. Cf. Bernard, sermon 61 "In Cantica," 3. - - - 69 75. Cf. Hugh of St. Victor, "De arrha animae," P. L., t.
176, col. 963.. 70
76. Bernard, sermon 2 "In dominica I post octavam Epiphaniae," 3. - -- -- -- -70
77. Cf. Bernard, sermon "In dominica VI post Pentecosten,"
3-5..70
78. "De spiritu et anima," 17; cf. "De diligendo Deo," 9f., and "Soliloquium animae ad Deum," 13f., all three found among the works of Augustine. Cf. also Anselm,
"Meditationes," 7:2, where the first sentence occurs. - 71 79. Ibid..71
80. Bernard, "De diligendo Deo," 1:1.- - - - 71 81. Bernard, sermon 20 "In Cantica," 4, with excerpts from sermons 15:6 and 14:4. - - - - - - 72 82. Augustine, "Confessionum," X, 6:8. - - - 73
83. Cf. Augustine, "Sermones," 350:3. - - - - 73 84. "In manuali," 12; found among the works of Augustine. 73
85. Ibid..73
86. Jerome, "Commentaria in epistolam ad Galatos," III, 5:14 and 22. -------73 87. Bernard, sermon 42 "De diversis," 3; cf. "De conversione ad clericos," 8:14. Also, "De diligendo Deo,"
16 in fine, found among the works of Augustine. - 73 88. Augustine, "Confessionum," IV, 9:14. - - - 74
89. Ibid., X, 29:40.. 74
90. Gregory, "Moralium," X, 21:39. 74
91. Ibid., 6:10..75
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA II
CHAPTER II
1. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," II, homily 30:2. - 77 2. Cf. Augustine, "Enarrationes in psalmos," Ps. 30, 3-8. 77
3. Gregory, "Moralium," XXXII, 20:38. - - - - 77 4. Cf. Bernard, sermon 42 "De diversis," 3. - - - 78
5. Gregory, "Moralium," VT, 6:8. - - - - 78 6. "Meditationes piissimae," 3:9; cf. ch. 1, note 4. - - 79
7. Bernard, "Epistolae," 103:2. ----- 79 8. Cf. "Declamationes," 11:2. (Excerpts by Gaufridus from the sermons of Bernard, found among his works.) 79
9. Bernard, sermon "De conversione ad clericos," 21:37. 79
10. Ibid. ---------80 11. Chrysostom, "Homiliae XXXIX in Matthaeum," ho mily 21:19.80
12. Augustine, "Epistolae," 26:2. ----- 80 13. Bernard, "De consideratione," II, 7:14. 80
14. Gregory, "Regula pastoralis," III:4. 81
15. Gregory, "Epistolae," VII, 7. - - - - - 81 16. "Declamationes," XXVII, 32. Cf. note 8. - - - 81
17. Actually, from Rabanus Maurus, "De magorum praestigiis." - - - - - - - - 81 18. Cf. Algazel, Philosophia, II, 5:5 (Venice, 1506). - 81
19. Cf. Jerome, "Epistolae," 53:9. 81
20. Cf. Anselm, "Orationes," 2. - - - - - 81 21. Anselm, "Liber exhortationum," in fine. 82
22. Augustine, "Enarrationes in psalmos," Ps. 53, 9. - 82 23. "De salutaribus documentis," 10; found among the works of Augustine. ------ 82 24. Bernard, "Epistolae," 104:3, in fine. - 83
25. Jerome, "Epistolae," 14:2. - - - - - 83 26. Chrysostom, "Homiliae XVII ex variis in Matthaeum locis," vol. II, p. 403, col. 4 (Venice, 1583). - - 83
27. Cf. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," II, homily 28:3. 83
28. Jerome, "Epistolae," 22:17. ----- 83 29. Cf. Bernard, sermon 5 "In ascensione Domini," 8; also,
Gregory, "Moralium," XVIII, 9:16. - - - - 83 30. Gregory, "Moralium," I, 25:34. 84
31. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," I, homily 10:43. - 84 32. Augustine, "Sermones," 174:4. - - - - 85
33. Augustine, "Epistolae," 138, 2:14. - - - _ 85 34. Cf. Jerome, "In Ecclesiasten," 2:2, and 4:13-16. - 85
35. Augustine, Tractatus CXXIV in Ioannis evangelium,"
Page
NON-SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
36. Cf. note 21 above. ------ 37. Bernard, sermon 4 "In vigilia nativitatis Domini," 1.
The second sentence is from sermon 4 "Super psalmum:
Qui habitat," 2. Cf. sermon 5 "In ascensione Domini,"
8 and 14; and "De diligendo Deo," 4:11.
38. Cf. sermon 9 "De verbis Domini in coena," 3; found among the works of Augustine. This does not seem to be by him. -------- 39. Cf. ch. I, note 46. - 40. "Epistola ad fratres de Monte Dei," I, 8:23; found among the works of Bernard. - 41. "De spiritu et anima," 14; found among the works of Augustine. -------- 42. Cf. Aristotle, "Ethica," 7.
43. Augustine, "De Trinitate," IV, 20:28. - 44. Cf. ch. I, note 10. ----- - 45. Bernard, sermon 1 "In festum omnium sanctorum," 10.
46. Hugh of St. Victor, "De arrha animae," Migne, P. L., t. 176, col. 970. - .
47. Cf. Bernard, sermon 5 "In ascensione Domini," 13.
48. Cf. Benedict, Prologue to the Rule. - 49. Actually, Anselm, "Meditationes," 13.
50. Augustine, "Confessionum," I, 5:5. - 51. Augustine, "Sermones," 105, 1:1; cf. "De spiritu et anima," 6, in fine. Cf. note 41.
52. Cf. Augustine, "De vera religione," 12:24f., and "De agone christiano," 9:10. - 53. Actually, Bernard, sermon 85 "In Cantica," 5. - 54. Cf. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," I, homily 14:1.
CHAPTER III
Page 1. Cf. Isidore, "Synonymorum," I, 48f. This is actually found word for word in Bernard, sermon "De conversione ad clericos." ------ 96
2. "Meditationes piissimae," 2:5, 6. Cf. ch. I, note 4. - 96 3. Gregory, "Moralium," VIII, 10:25. - - - - 96
4. Cf. Gregory, "Epistolae," VII, 29 "Ad Andream." - 96 5. "Sermones ad fratres in eremo," 49; found among the works of Augustine. ------ 96 6. "De spiritu et anima," 49; found among the works of Augustine. --------97 7. Cf. Bernard, sermon 7 "De adventu Domini," 1. - 97
8. Bernard, "De laude novae militiae," 1:2. - - - 97
ST. BONAVENTURE —OPUSCULA II
9. Bernard, "Epistolae," 105. - - - - - 97 10. This was not found in Seneca by the Quaracchi editors. 97
11. Bernard, loc. cit. -------98 12. "Tractatus de interiori domo," 22:46; found among the works of Bernard. Also, Anselm, "Meditationes," 2. - 98
13. Anselm, "Meditationes," 2. ----- 99 14. Ambrose, "In Lucam," II, 3, 9:76. - - - - 99
15. Cf. Jerome, "Epistolae," 66:10. - - - - 99 16. Bernard, "De consideratione," V, 12:25. - - - 100
17. Bernard, sermon 42 "De diversis," 6. - - - 100 18. "De salutaribus documentis," 49; found among the works of Augustine. - - - - - -100 19. "Meditationes piissimae," 3:10; cf. ch. I, note 4. - 101
20. Augustine, sermon 229 (in-appendix):4. - - - 101 21. Gregory, "Dialogorum," IV, 44. - 101
22. Innocent III, "De contemptu mundi," III, 9. - - 101 23. Anselm, "Meditationes," 2 in fine, and 3 in fine. - 101
24. Bernard, sermon 54 "In Cantica," 8. - - - 102 25. Chrysostom, "Homiliae," 23:8. - 102 26. Cf. ibid., 7. - - - - - - - - 102 27. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," I, homily 12:4. - 102
28. Actually, Pomerius, "Vita contemplativa," III, 12:3. - 102 29. Bernard, "Epistolae," 1:12. - - - - - 103
30. Augustine, "Sermones," 196 (in appendix):6. - - 103 31. Augustine, "Epistolae," 153, 6:19. - - - - 104
32. Seneca, "De dementia," I, 24. - 104 33. Augustine, "De Trinitate," I, 2:4. - - - - 104
34. "De contritione cordis," 2; found among the works of Augustine. Also, Anselm, "Meditationes," 11, in fine. 105
35. Gregory, "Moralium," XX, 31:61. - - - - 105 36. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," II, homily 25:2. - 106
37. Cf. ch. II, note 47. - - - - - - 106
CHAPTER IV
Page 1. Augustine, "De catechizandis rudibus," 25:47. - - 107 2. Eadmer, "De sancti Anselmi similitudinibus," 71; found among the works of Anselm. - - - - - 108
3. "Glossa ordinaria" on James 1:2, quoting Bede. - 108 4. Cf. Jerome, "Epistolae," 52:10. - 108
5. Cf. "Meditationes piissimae," 6:17. Cf. ch. I, note 4. 109
6. Jerome, "Epistolae," 22:41, in fine. - - - - 109 7. Augustine, "De Trinitate," IV, 20:28. - - - 109
NON-SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES
8. Bernard, "De praecepto et dispensatione," 20:61. - 109 9. Bernard, "Apologia ad Guillelmum," 10:25. - - 110
10. Cf. Jerome, "Epistolae," 22:41. - - - - 111 11. Augustine, "De civitate Dei," XXII, 30:4. - - 111
12. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," II, homily 37:1. - 112 13. Bernard, "De conversione ad clericos," 21:37. - - 112
14. "Meditationes piissimae," 4:11; cf. ch. I, note 4. - 113 15. "Soliloquia," 35; found among the works of Augustine.
Also, among the same works, sermons 65 and 67 "Ad fratres in eremo." - - - - - - -113 16. Cf. Gregory, "Moralium," XVIII, 54:91. - - 113
17. "Roman Breviary," Magnificat antiphon of second ves pers of the Feast of All-Saints. - - - - 114
18. Seneca, "Epistolae," 6:4. - - - - - 114 19. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," II, homily 37:1. - 115
20. Cf. note 2. Present quotation is from ch. 59. - - 115 21. Both sentences are from "De spiritu et anima," 57; cf. also Anselm, "Proslogion," 25. - - - - 115
22. Cf. Jerome, "Epistolae," 22:41. - - - - 115 23. Gregory, "Moralium," IV, 36:70; V, 46:80, etc. - 116
24. Ibid., V, 36:66.. 117
25. Cf. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," II, homily 34:10. 118
26. "Meditationes piissimae," 6:16; cf. ch. I, note 4. - 118 27. Cf.. Gregory, "Moralium," V, 1:1. - - - - 119
28. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," II, homily 37:1. - 119 29. Cf. Ambrose, "De Isaac et anima," 8:78. - 120
30. Anselm, "Cur Deus homo," I, 20. - 120 31. Cf. Bernard, sermon 4 "In festo omnium sanctorum," 6. 120
32. Cf. Gregory, "Moralium," XVIII, 48:77f. - - - 121 33. Cf. Augustine, "De civitate Dei," XXII, 30:1. - - 121
34. Cf. Augustine, "Epistolae," 143:6; 205:11 in fine, etc. 121
35. "De conflictu vitiorum et virtutum," 26; found among the works of Augustine. - - - - - -121 36. Cf. Augustine, "De civitate Dei," XI, 28; XXII, 20:3. - 121
37. Sermon 49 "Ad fratres in eremo," found among the works of Augustine. - - - - - -121 38. Cf. Anselm, "Proslogion," 25. - - - - 121
39. Augustine, "De Genesi ad litteram," XII, 35:68. - 122 40. Bernard, sermon 3 "In festo omnium sanctorum," 2, etc. 122
41. Augustine, loc. cit. - - - - - -122 42. Anselm, "Proslogion," 24 and 25. - 123
43. Caesarius, Bishop of Arles, "Homiliae," 9; cf. Migne, P. L„ t. 67, col. 1067.. 123
44. Bernard, sermon 11 "In Cantica," 6. - - - 124
ST. BONAVENTURE — OPUSCULA U
45. Cf. "De mirabilibus sacrae Scripturae," 7; found among the works of Augustine. - - - - - -124 46. Cf. note 2. Present quotation is from ch. 49. - - 124
47. Gregory, "Dialogorum," IV, 33. - - - 124 48. Actually, from "De triplici habitaculo,'' 6; found among the works of Augustine. - - - - - -124 49. Cf. Bede, "Homiliae," I, homily 70. The same idea is more clearly expressed in "De cognitione verae vitae,"
8; found among the works of Augustine. - - - 124 50. Augustine, "De libero arbitrio," III, 25:77. - - 125
51. Cf. Bernard, sermon "In dominica infra octavam assumptionis" etc., 15. Also, cf. Anselm, "Orationes,"
20. - .126
52. This is scattered throughout Anselm's "Orationes," 19; "Meditationes," 14:3; and "Orationes," 2. It is com plete in "Lamentationes in passionem Christi," found among the works of Bernard. - - - - - 127
53. Anselm, "Orationes," 20. - 127 54. Cf. Augustine, "De civitate Dei," XXII, 30:5. - - 128
55. Ibid., 1. - -- -- -- - 128 56. Anselm, "Proslogion," 24. ----- 129 The Six Wings of the Seraph Page 1. Cf. Isidore, "Etymologiarum," XIX, 19:9.- - - 133
2. Cf. Bernard, sermon 23 "In Cantica," 8. - - - 135 3. "Decretales Gregorii IX," "C. Canonum statuta" (1),
X. "De Constitutionibus," I, 2. - - - - 144 4. Cf. Bernard, op. cit., 2. - - - - - - 156
5. Gregory, "Homiliae in Ezechiel," I, homily 3:4. - 167 6. Gregory, "Homiliae in evangelia," I, homily 12:1. - 169
7. Bernard, sermon 49 "In Cantica," 5. - - - 172 8. "Missale Romanum," Preface of Christmas. - - 183
9. Gregory, "Moralium," XXXIV, 23:50. - 184 10. "Meditationes piissimae," 6:18; found among the works of Bernard. ------- - 194 Page 1. Cf. Bernard, letter .201
On the Five Feasts of the Child Jesus 2. Cf. Gregory, "Homiliae in Ezechiel," 1,5:6. - - 202
3. Cf. Isidore, "Synonymorum," II, 44. - - - 202 4. Bernard, sermon 3 "In festo omnium sanctorum," 2;
"Epistola ad fratres de Monte Dei," I, 8:23; found