MEMORIAL OF SAINT BONAVENTURE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH ~ FEAST DAY: JULY 15TH: Today, we celebrate the Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Through the intercession of our Blessed Mother Mary and Saint Bonaventure on this feast day, we humbly pray for the sick and dying, especially those suffering from terminal diseases and we also pray for those suffering from bowel disorders, cancers and other terminal diseases, we pray for God’s divine healing upon them. We pray for those going through difficulties during these challenging times, for the poor and the needy, for peace, love and unity in our families and our world. And we continue to pray for the Church, the Clergy, for persecuted Christians, for the conversion of sinners, and Christians all over the world.🙏
SAINT BONAVENTURE, BISHOP AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH: St. Bonaventure (1221–1274) widely known as “The Seraphic Doctor”, was born at Bagnorea in Tuscany, Italy in 1221. This frail child was originally given the name of John (Giovanni), at baptism but received the name of Bonaventure in consequence of an exclamation of St. Francis of Assisi. As a child he became seriously ill and was in danger of death until his mother brought him to St. Francis of Assisi, who was then living in the region as a mendicant friar. She promised God she would endeavor to have the child take the habit of the Franciscan Order, if he were cured. Her prayer was granted, the child was cured, and Saint Francis himself gave him his new name. It is said that St. Francis healed the child and afterward exclaimed, “O buona ventura (O good fortune)!” when he prophetically perceived how great the child would one day become, and this is how he began to be called Bonaventure. Saint Francis died a few months later, not without foreseeing the future of this little one, destined to be a seraph of love like himself. Saint Bonaventure is titled the Seraphic Doctor, from the fervor of divine love which breathes in his writings. At the age of twenty-two St. Bonaventure entered the Franciscan Order. Having made his vows, he was sent to Paris to complete his studies in Theology under the celebrated Doctor Alexander of Hales, an Englishman and a Franciscan. After the latter’s death he continued his course under his successor, John of Rochelle. In Paris he became the intimate friend of the great St. Thomas Aquinas. The two friends graduated together, each insisting that the other be the first to receive honors. St. Bonaventure is regarded as one of the great philosophers and theologians of the Middle Ages, earning the name “Seraphic Doctor.” Like St. Thomas, he enjoyed the friendship of the holy King, St. Louis. Sanctity and learning raised Bonaventure to the Church’s highest honors, yet at heart he was ever the poor Franciscan friar, who practiced and taught humility and mortification. Saint Thomas Aquinas asked him one day from what source he drew his great learning; he replied by pointing to his crucifix. Another time Saint Thomas found him in ecstasy while writing the life of Saint Francis. The Angelic Doctor said, while retiring quietly, Let us leave a Saint in peace, to write of a Saint!
In 1257, at about the age of thirty-five St. Bonaventure was chosen General of his Order, the superior of the Friars Minor. In this position, which he filled for 17 years, he brought peace and order and restored a perfect calm where peace had been disturbed by internal dissensions. His impact was so great that today he is sometimes referred to as the second founder of the Franciscans. Taking on the position after a period of extraordinary expansion for the order, St. Bonaventure worked to preserve a spirit of unity. He calmed the threat of internal dissension that arose over differences in interpreting the message of St. Francis of Assisi. Central to this work was his understanding that the study of philosophy and theology did not oppose the call to poverty that was so central to Franciscan spirituality. St. Bonaventure proposed a unified and collected text regulating the daily life of the Friars Minor. The text was accepted and ratified in 1260 by the General Chapter of the Order in Narbonne. He did much for his Order and composed the life of St. Francis. Wishing to present an authentic image of the life and teaching of their founder, he zealously collected documents about St. Francis of Assisi and heard testimonies of those who had actually known him. From this information, he compiled a biography of the saint that was adopted as his official biography by the General Chapter of the Friars Minor in 1263. St. Bonaventure also wrote numerous mystical and ascetical treatises, most famously, “The Soul’s Journey into God.” He also assisted at the translation of the relics of St. Anthony of Padua.
He was nominated Archbishop of York by Pope Clement IV, but he begged not to be forced to accept that dignity. In 1273, he was appointed by Pope Gregory X obliging him to take upon himself a greater one, as Cardinal and Bishop of Albano, one of the six suffragan Sees of Rome. The Pope also asked him to help prepare the Second Ecumenical Council of Lyons, an ecclesial event aimed at re-establishing communion between the Latin and Greek Churches. St. Bonaventure worked to prepare the Ecumenical Council, but never saw its completion. Before his death he abdicated his office of General of the Franciscan Order. He died on July 15, 1274, while he was assisting at the Second Council of Lyons, which worked for the reunification of the Catholic Church with the Eastern Orthodox churches. Dante had already included him among the inhabitants of his “Paradise”. He was canonised on April 14,1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the Church in the year 1588 by Pope Sixtus V. He’s Patron Saint of bowel disorders. His feast day is celebrated on July 15th.
In his General Audience on March 3, 2010, Pope Benedict XVI spoke about the life of St. Bonaventure. He called to mind the great works of literature, art, philosophy and theology that were inspired by the Christian faith during the time period in which the saint lived. “Among the great Christian figures who contributed to the composition of this harmony between faith and culture Bonaventure stands out, a man of action and contemplation, of profound piety and prudent government,” Pope Benedict said. The Pope called on the faithful to take note of “the central role that Christ always played in Bonaventure’s life and teaching,” and to imitate the way in which “the whole of his thinking was profoundly Christocentric.”
“Meditation on Christ in His humanity is corporeal in deed, in fact, but spiritual in mind. . . . By adopting this habit, you will steady your mind, be trained to virtues, and receive strength of soul….Let meditation of Christ’s life be your one and only aim, your rest, your food, your desire, your study.” ~ St. Bonaventure
PRAYER: Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, just 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. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever… Amen🙏
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