St. Bonaventure met St. Francis of Assisi as a young boy, in fact, it is said that St. Francis miraculously cured Bonaventure of a serious disease. As a young man, Bonaventure joined the Franciscans, and it was immediately evident that he was a genius, he is one of the great intellects of the middle ages. He wrote the official biography of St. Francis’ life and you can still read it today, it’s a powerful and moving description of St. Francis’ life.
St. Bonaventure has been given a great honor in the Church; he is known as a Doctor of the Church. His great insight into the spiritual life and into theology really shapes the way we understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus.
St. Bonaventure wrote, “Whoever wishes to ascend to God must first avoid sin, which deforms our nature; he must pray to receive restoring grace; he must lead a good life, to receive purifying justice; he must meditate, to receive illuminating knowledge; he must practice contemplation, to receive perfecting wisdom.”
4 practices for a holy life.
1) Avoid Sin. To be a follower of Jesus Christ we must strive to be free from sin; from transgressions of the laws of God. Bonaventure said, sin deforms our nature. When we give ourselves over to sin, we abuse that gift of freedom God gave us. Anytime we are selfish, or impatient, or gluttonous, or slothful, or lustful we allow sin to cloud our intellect and weaken our wills.
2) Pray to receive restoring grace. Where sin deforms our nature; God’s grace restores our humanity. We pray that we can be open to all the way God wishes to bestow his grace upon us; especially reception of the Sacraments. So when we come to Mass, we should be prayerful that God uses this time to purify and restore us.
3) Meditate to receive illuminating knowledge. To meditate is to think about our faith. Read the Scriptures think about what they mean. Think about the life of Jesus Christ. Think of what he teaches us by his own suffering. Each of us needs a period of meditation every day.
4) Practice contemplation. Contemplation means not so much thinking about God but focusing your heart and mind on God himself. This is the prayer of quiet that we need every day as well; to simply lift our attention to Him; and allow him to fill our heart with faith, hope, and love.
Through his holy life, he fed others through the example and fruits of his study, teaching, and prayers. He will do the same for us when we earnestly implore his heavenly assistance and intercession.
As we prayed in the opening prayer, that as we “celebrate the heavenly birthday of the Bishop Saint Bonaventure, we may benefit from his great learning and constantly imitate the ardor of his charity” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
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