15 July 2020 - Wednesday of the 15th week of Ordinary Time - St Bonaventure - Matthew 11:25-27

      Today, we celebrate the feast day of St Bonaventure, a member of the Franciscan Order who is known as one of the great theologians and philosophers of the medieval period.  He perhaps is overshadowed by Thomas Aquinas, who was also at the University of Paris at the same time as Bonaventure.  

A. Bonaventure, who was five years old when Francis of Assisi passed away, is considered the second founder of the Franciscan order. He was General Minister of the Franciscan Order for almost two decades, navigating it through a difficult, challenging time.  He is most remembered by the Franciscans for joining together the simplicity and joy of St Francis of Assisi with the profound knowledge and spirituality of his own writings. 

B. Renowned for his great intellect, while in prayer before a crucifix, he came to realize the great love of Christ in his sacrifice, reflecting upon his true meaning as Franciscan and a scholar.  It always amazes me how many of the great theologians and scholars of our Church have great mystical epiphanies that overshadow their intellectual greatness in their lives of faith. Bonaventure died in 1274.  He was canonized in 1482 by Pope Sixtus IV and declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588 by Sixtus V.

      The Gospel we hear today is part of the Gospel that is proclaimed when we have the sacrament of the anointing of the sick.  We heard it proclaimed at our Sunday Mass a couple of weeks ago. I mentioned that Bonaventure was a man of great academic accomplishment, but also of deep faith.  There is a tension in the Gospel in what the wise and the learned have learned versus what is contained in the hearts of the children.  This is a real tension in our lives of faith as well: responding out of our minds, our knowledge and our intellect versus responding out of our compassion, joy, and enthusiasm that we have in our hearts.  There is a time for both, and we must temper the balance between these two sides of our faith.  Learning to open ourselves to new aspects of our faith is important to the way our faith grows and develops.  That is a lesson we can learn both from our Gospel message today and in the life of St Bonaventure.