Wednesday, July 15, 2020, Memorial of Saint Bonaventure (today’s lectionary)
Let the little children
I always loved this guy’s name. Treasure Island, Robinson Crusoe, Mutiny on the Bounty, Where the Wild Things Are … bonnie ventures! So why wouldn’t I want to know more about him. Besides, he was nearly the contemporary of St. Francis, and in his own careful and logical way set Francis’ words and wisdom down for the ages.
Bonni was born five years after Francis died. For many years he was a popular professor at the University of Paris. Just as for his teacher Francis, Jesus was the center of everything for Bonaventure. His mystical writing continues to enchant us today.
Google loves him, just listen to Bonni’s words:
“The best perfection of a religious man is to do common things in a perfect manner.”
“Every creature is a divine word because it proclaims God.”
“To know much, but taste nothing … of what use is that?”
“In things of beauty Francis contemplated the One who is supremely beautiful, and led by the footprints he found in creatures, he followed the Beloved everywhere.”
Francis did not eat much. Many of the saints just did not get fat. They were feasting on other things.
The Lord will send among his fat ones leanness,
And instead of his glory there will be kindling
Like the kindling of fire
Francis and Bonaventure followed the footsteps of his creatures.
The Lord will not abandon his people
Woe unto us if we forget that God’s eyes and ears are open, and he sees what we might not want to be seen.
But shall he who shaped the ear not hear?
Shall he who formed the eye not see?
Shall he who shapes nations not chastise them?
We need God’s knowledge every day of our lives.
Lord, You reveal even to little ones the
Mysteries of the Kingdom
ESPECIALLY to the little ones. Watch a child play. Watch Miles, for example, stand in awe and touch a garbage truck. Watch Jasper crawl with abandon exactly into places he should not go, his eyes open wide in exaltation. They learn, they learn, they learn. God is so good to the little ones.
You hide your wisdom from the learned
And reveal it to the childlike.
O Father, such as been your gracious will.
(Isaiah 10, Psalm 94, Matthew 11)
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