Bonaventure > Quotes

“To know much and taste nothing-of what use is that?”
― St. Bonaventure

“In things of beauty, he contemplated the One who is supremely beautiful, and, led by the footprints he found in creatures, he followed the Beloved everywhere”
― St. Bonaventure

“In all your deeds and words you should look upon this Jesus as your model. Do so whether you area walking or keeping silence, or speaking, whether you are alone or with others. He is perfect, and thus you will be not only irreprehensible, but praiseworthy.”
― St. Bonaventure

“Since happiness is nothing else than the enjoyment of the Supreme Good, and the Supreme Good is above us, no one can enjoy happiness unless he rises above himself.”
― Saint Bonaventure, The Journey of the Mind into God

“As “pride is the beginning of all sin,” (Eccl. x, 15) so humility is the foundation of all virtue. Learn to be really humble and not, as the hypocrite, humble merely in appearance.”
― Saint Bonaventure, Holiness of Life

“Strange, then, is the blindness of the intellect, which does not consider that which it sees first and without which it can know nothing.”
― Bonaventure, Bonaventure: The Soul's Journey into God / The Tree of Life / The Life of St. Francis

“was whispered unto his spirit that spiritual merchandise hath its beginning in the contempt of the world, and that the warfare of Christ is to be begun by victory over self.”
― Bonaventure, The Life of St. Francis

“I had liefer that thou shouldst strip the altar of the glorious Virgin, when our need demandeth it, than that thou shouldst attempt aught, be it but a little thing, against our vow of poverty and the observance of the Gospel. For the Blessed Virgin would be better pleased that her altar should be despoiled, and the counsel of the Holy Gospel perfectly fulfilled, than that her altar should be adorned, and the counsel given by her Son set aside.”
― Bonaventure, The Life of St. Francis

“it was whispered unto his spirit that spiritual merchandise hath its beginning in the contempt of the world, and that the warfare of Christ is to be begun by victory over self.”
― Bonaventure, The Life of St. Francis

“and, by the merits of the Mother of Mercy, he did himself conceive and give birth unto the spirit of Gospel truth.”
― Bonaventure, The Life of St. Francis

“Once when the Brethren asked whether it were his will that the clerks that had been already received into the Order should devote themselves unto the study of Holy Scripture, he made answer: “It is indeed my will, yet for so long alone as they follow the example of Christ, Who, we read, prayed more than He read, and for so long as they do not lose their zeal for prayer, nor study only that they may know how they ought to speak; rather let them study that they may be doers of the word, and, when they have done it, may set forth unto others what they too should do.”
― Bonaventure, The Life of St. Francis

“All ye nations, clap your hands: sing in jubilee to the glorious Virgin. For she is the gate of life, the door of salvation, and the way of our reconciliation. The hope of the penitent: the comfort of those that weep: the blessed peace of hearts, and their salvation. Have mercy on me, O Lady, have mercy on me: for thou art the light and the hope of all who trust in thee. By thy salutary fecundity let it please thee: that pardon of my sins may be granted unto me.”
― St Bonaventure, The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure

“We, therefore, pray
to the most kind Father
through you, his only-begotten Son,
who for us became man, was crucified and glorified,
that he send us
out of his treasures
the Spirit of sevenfold grace
who rested upon you in all fullness:
the Spirit, I say, of WISDOM,
that we may taste the life-giving flavors
of the fruit of the tree of life,
which you truly are;
the gift also of UNDERSTANDING,
by which the intentions of our mind are illumined;
the gift of COUNSEL,
by which we may follow in your footsteps
on the right paths;
the gift of FORTITUDE,
by which we may be able to weaken the violence
of our enemies’ attacks;
the gift of KNOWLEDGE,
by which we may be filled with the brilliant light
of your sacred teaching
to distinguish good and evil;
the gift of PIETY,
by which we may acqire a merciful heart;
the gift of FEAR,
by which we may draw away from all evil
and be set at peace
by submitting in awe to your eternal majesty.
for you have wished
that we ask for these things
in that sacred prayer which you have taught us;
and now we ask to obtain them,
through your cross,
for the praise of your most holy name.
to you,
with the Father and the Holy Spirit,
be honor and glory,
thanksgiving, beauty and power,
forever and ever.
Amen.

-From Prayer “To Obtain the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit” included at the closing The Tree of Life”
― Bonaventure, Bonaventure: The Soul's Journey into God / The Tree of Life / The Life of St. Francis

“We must beg the Holy Spirit, with ardent longing, to give us these fruits. The Holy Ghost alone knows how to bring to light the sweetness hidden away under the rugged exterior of the words of the Law. We must go to the Holy Ghost for interior guidance.”
― Saint Bonaventure, Holiness of Life

“Hear my prayer, O Lady: upon a firm rock establish my mind. Be thou to me a tower of strength: protect me from the face of the cruel destroyer. Be thou to him terrible as an army in battle array: and may he fall living into the depths of hell. For thou art shining and terrible: a cloud full of dew, and the rising dawn. Thou art beautiful and bright as the full moon: thy sacred aspect is as when the sun shines in its strength.”
― St Bonaventure, The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure

“Have mercy on me, O Lady: for thou art called the Mother of Mercy. And according to thy mercy: cleanse me from all my iniquities. Pour forth thy grace upon me: and withdraw not from me thine accustomed clemency. For I will confess my sins to thee: and I will accuse myself of all my crimes before thee. Reconcile me to the Fruit of thy womb: and make peace for me with Him who has created me.”
― St Bonaventure, The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure

“Deliver me, O Lady, from all evil: and from the infernal enemy defend me. Against me he hath drawn his bow: and in his craftiness he hath laid snares for me. Restrain his evil power: and powerfully crush his craft. Turn back his iniquity on his own head: and let him speedily fall into the pit which he hath made. But we will rejoice in thy service: and we will glory in thy praise.”
― St Bonaventure, The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure

“inquires into the very principle of the pleasure the sense derives from the object.”
― Bonaventure, Works of Bonaventure: Journey of the Mind To God - The Triple Way, or, Love Enkindled - The Tree of Life - The Mystical Vine - On the Perfection of Life, Addressed to Sisters

“When the similitude is seen as active and impressive, the impression will be well proportioned if the impressing agent fills a need of the receiver, that is, sustains and nourishes him,”
― Bonaventure, Works of Bonaventure: Journey of the Mind To God - The Triple Way, or, Love Enkindled - The Tree of Life - The Mystical Vine - On the Perfection of Life, Addressed to Sisters

“a similitude may be well proportioned in three respects. When it is seen as containing the species or form, the proportion will be called beauty, for “beauty is nothing else but harmonious proportion,” or a “certain arrangement of parts together with harmony in the colors.”
― Bonaventure, Works of Bonaventure: Journey of the Mind To God - The Triple Way, or, Love Enkindled - The Tree of Life - The Mystical Vine - On the Perfection of Life, Addressed to Sisters

“Only then can our intellect be said truly to grasp the intelligible content of propositions, when it knows with certitude that they are true; and such certitude implies awareness that our intellect is not deceived in such grasping. The intellect, indeed, knows that this truth cannot stand differently, that this truth is unchangeable. But since our mind itself is subject to change, it could not perceive this truth as shining unchangingly, except in the beam of a certain light which is absolutely changeless, and which therefore cannot possibly be created and so subject to change. Thus, our intellect understands in the true Light that enlightens every man who comes into the world, the true Light of the Word who was in the beginning with God.”
― Bonaventure, Works of Bonaventure: Journey of the Mind To God - The Triple Way, or, Love Enkindled - The Tree of Life - The Mystical Vine - On the Perfection of Life, Addressed to Sisters

“When the similitude is seen as containing potency or power, the proportion is called pleasantness,”
― Bonaventure, Works of Bonaventure: Journey of the Mind To God - The Triple Way, or, Love Enkindled - The Tree of Life - The Mystical Vine - On the Perfection of Life, Addressed to Sisters

“Incline thine ear, O Lady, to hear my prayers: and turn not away from me the beauty of thy face. Turn our mourning into rejoicing: and our tribulation into joy.”
― St Bonaventure, The Psalter of the Blessed Virgin Mary by St Bonaventure

“no one can attain beatitude unless he rises above himself, not in body but in heart. Yet we cannot rise above ourselves unless a superior power lifts us up. No matter how well we plan our spiritual progress, nothing comes of it unless divine assistance intervenes. And divine assistance is there for those who seek it humbly and devoutly, who sigh for it in this vale of tears by fervent prayer.”
― Bonaventure, Works of Bonaventure: Journey of the Mind To God - The Triple Way, or, Love Enkindled - The Tree of Life - The Mystical Vine - On the Perfection of Life, Addressed to Sisters

“pleasure consists in the meeting of an object and subject which are mutually adequate; and since in the Similitude of God alone is the notion of the perfectly beautiful, joyful, and wholesome, fully verified; and since He is united with us in all reality and intimacy, and with a plenitude that completely fills all capacity: it is clearly evident that in God alone is true delight, delight as in its very Source. It”
― Bonaventure, Works of Bonaventure: Journey of the Mind To God - The Triple Way, or, Love Enkindled - The Tree of Life - The Mystical Vine - On the Perfection of Life, Addressed to Sisters