Simply Bonaventure: An Introduction to His Life, Thought, and Writings

by Ilia Delio

` Simply Bonaventure may very well become the standard English introduction to Bonaventures thought for college and graduate school teachers and students.' Joseph P. Chinnici, OFM
Professor of Church History
Franciscan School of Theology Graduate Theological Union
Berkeley, California. Simply Bonaventure provides an introduction to the life, thought and writings of the medieval Franciscan, Bonaventure of Bagnoregio. The majority of the work is devoted to Bonaventures theology, which is summarized according to his own metaphysical scheme of origin (God), purpose (creation), and destiny (goal of creation). His trinitarian, Christocentric theology is highly relevant to a global world and to the postmodern Christian experience. Sr. Delios work is the first to provide a comprehensive view of Bonaventures theology, together with an introduction to his life and writings, and to place his theology in dialogue with contemporary human experience. `With this book Ilia Delio has provided a long needed introduction to Bonaventures thought. But she has done more than merely open the door to Bonaventures world. Because of the depth of her own mature scholarly and spiritual insight, her book can enrich not only beginners but seasoned Bonaventure scholars as well'. Ewert Cousins
Editor and Translator
of the Bonaventure volume
in the Classics of Western Spirituality

Genres: Spirituality, Religion, Nonfiction, Theology, Christian, Medieval

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Ilia Delio, OSF is a Franciscan Sister of Washington, D.C. and American theologian specializing in the area of science and religion, with interests in evolution, physics and neuroscience and the importance of these for theology. She was born in Newark, New Jersey and is the youngest of four children.


Fordham University
Ph.D., Historical Theology
M.A. Historical Theology

Rutgers University Healthcare and Biomedical Sciences
Ph. D., Pharmacology

Seton Hall University
M.S., Biology

DeSales University
B.S., Biology

Reviews

[7jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives you a clear introduction to Bonaventure's thoughts and teachings, giving also a short biography and examples of his writings. From the latter ones I can see that for some this book would be the best place to start... Delio gives you a clear view of Bonaventure's main points that might be otherwise a bit of a hard work - especially good is the chapter called "Reductio" which brings the thoughts to their highest peak, in my opinion.
From here it's good to go to his books proper, but just owning this book would be enough, and most definitely is the best starting point. A joy to read, just like other books from Delio that I have read. Recommended.

[Charlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simply Bonaventure by Ilia Delio is a remarkably accessible and insightful introduction to the saint's thought. Bonaventure's triad of emanation, exemplarity, and consummation is expanded into a framework of nine chapters. Thus, the book has a satisfying sense of progress while acclimating the reader to Bonaventure's own rhythms. A short biographical introduction provides needed context.

Each chapter is short, around 15 pages, and ends with a few questions for reflection. This format makes the book ideal for reading in a college course or an informal book club. Simply Bonaventure also contains a selection of very short extracts of Bonaventure's writings and a spotty glossary, but these are not that useful.

Delio is strongest when distilling complex medieval themes into simple formulas. Her treatment of the Trinity, especially when she sticks close to Bonaventure's own formulations, is insightful. Her exposition of Christ as medium and exemplar, the coincidence of opposites, is electric. And her coverage of Bonaventure's mystical writings is quite moving, an adjective not often applicable to academic writing.

She is weakest in her occasional attempts at modern relevance. Her references to modern Catholic theologians are a bit forced, demonstrating her own knowledge more than helping the reader understand Bonaventure. Moreover, her references are all to a particular stripe of leftish Catholic writers (Karl Rahner, Catherine LaCugna, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Annie Dillard) that a bit too plainly mark her position on the Catholic spectrum and her training at Fordham. Strangely, major Catholic theologians who actually dealt with Bonaventure, such as Ratzinger and von Balthasar, are omitted. Moreover, her diagnoses of modern life are superficial glosses that detract from the book, almost spoiling the final chapter.

[Darryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on Bonaventure that I have read. Treats all the basic themes of Bonaventure well. Delio brings her Franciscan charism to the reading by applying a devotional feeling to Bonaventure's themes. Her ending on "Reductio" was masterful and brought everything together well(no pun intended). She has a heavy emphasis on the incarnation, and could have spoken about the cross more at times, considering its centrality. Bonaventure's theology of the circumincessio and the reductio(and his other themes), needs to be given more attention in the Church. I'm glad Delio and others are taking the works of the Seraphic Doctor, and making them available to the interested student of theology. One can see more clearly how St. Francis lived out what St. Bonaventure taught after reading this work. I'm guessing that this will be one the books on my shelf that I go back to over and over again.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am a fan of Ilia Delio. I became interested in her work with her exploration of Teilhard De Chardin's thought. I find Delio's writing to be clear and concise and her exploration of Teilhard helpful to me in improving my understanding of his thought and spirituality. She does the same for Bonaventure. The best part, for me, is tying Bonaventure into a theology/spirituality for today that also embraces Teilhard. Bringing the best of Catholic thought of the past into today is a true service. The past is tied to the present to the future. Having a systemic approach that makes the intellectual connections is so important. This is the genealogy of Catholic thought and spirituality that, whether we know it or not, informs who we are and who we will become.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disappointed, not so much with the information about Bonaventure and his thought and writings, but with the immediate impact that this had on the Franciscan Orders he came to lead. The fact that Bonaventure seemed to barely acknowledge the Order before he came to lead it gave me some insight as to how Franciscans went from a simple, radical discipleship of Jesus Christ after the example of St Francis to a complex, theological, theoretical as much as practical, religious order under the control and direction of churchmen and theologians. The book itself was well-written and informative, and the questions at the end of each chapter were very engaging. A useful read but it had an unexpectedly negative impact.

[John Laliberte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sr. Delio covers so much ground in this foundational book. I feel I need to go back and re-read her three-book series on Christ / God within the whole scope of evolutionary thought. Sr. Delio’s powerful theological description and reflection on Bonaventure providing new understanding to our contemporary challenges but also clarifying the historical milestone that shed light on our evolution as a people of faith continually improving our knowledge of God’s presence and power in our world and the universe.
Totally enjoyed this book – like her previous book, it has helped me see the wonders of God’s love for us and all of humankind.

[Ed Wojniak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bonaventure said, "Knowledge and love are the rings of the ladder by which one ascends to God." His writings, as summarized by Delio, portray that well. I appreciate this very good book and Bonaventure's theology for their devotional, inspirational, and optimistic qualities. I especially like the way in which Bonaventure exalts the Incarnation to the status of redemptive power, in and of itself.

[Alberto Lagomarsini · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen libro que hubiera sido excelente si no hubiera introducido su hipótesis favorita del falso-yo aplicado a San Buenaventura. Lo demás está muy detallado y correcto, pero saca de contexto la obra al tratar de analizarlo con una teoría a destiempo. Que pena.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

This a nice introduction to the work of Bonaventure that helped to clarify some of the denser source material I've been dipping my toes into.

[Adam · Rating 4 out of 5]

As Ilia Delio recounts in her introduction to the highly accessible Simply Bonaventure, this book was born of an idea conceived one day in the office of the esteemed scholar of Franciscan spirituality, Ewert Cousins. He handed her an incomplete manuscript which was titled "The Essential Bonaventure‚" and for seven years Delio hoped she could somehow bring the fundamental concept of this manuscript to completion. Simply Bonaventure, while different in structure and scope, succeeds in achieving Cousins' basic objective: opening the door to Bonaventure's thought and inviting those unfamiliar to enter into his world.

Delio structures her book in a way that is both appropriate to her intended goal, the accessibility of Bonaventure's theology, as well as fittingly appurtenant to the essence of his thought. She divides her work into three major sections: Bonaventure's life, Bonaventure's thought, and Excerpts of Bonaventure's writings.

The first section concerns itself with the little that can be said of Bonaventure's life. As Delio notes, the lack of any official biography or unbiased eyewitness accounts make an accurate portrait of his life difficult to reconstruct. Thus, Delio attempts to give us a fairly reasonable overview, albeit quite succinct, of Bonaventure's adult life. She recounts how the young Giovanni di Fidanza entered the University of Paris and in time would eventually be elected as the Minister General of one of the fastest growing religious orders in medieval Europe, the Franciscans. Throughout this brief account, she deftly braids the chronology of his major written works so that we have a clear picture of the historical context that gave rise to the thought contained there within. This was an intelligent way to prepare the reader for the next major section dealing with Bonaventure's thought.

This section takes up the bulk of Simply Bonaventure and is organized and subdivided perspicaciously according to the circular pattern of Bonaventure's thought: emanation, exemplarity, and consummation. After introducing these concepts, Delio thoughtfully transposes these three existential movements into questions that contemporary readers might better understand: 1) Where have we come from? 2) What are we doing here? 3) Where are we going?

The first of these questions is answered in a triad of chapters on the Trinity, Creation, and Humanity. The second of these questions is answered in another triad of chapters on the Incarnation, the Soul's Journey to God, and the Imitation of Christ. I expected the last triad of chapters to follow this pattern by answering the third question relating to consummation. However, for whatever reason Delio broke from this natural expectation and instead provided two chapters on Contemplation and Peace which explore the centrality of Christ in the Christian life and then a chapter titled "Reductio" where the last question is finally answered. Nevertheless, Delio satisfactorily brings to light the answer to these existential questions underlying Bonaventure's thought and, in the end, not only is it quite insightful but it is also fairly inspiring to say the least.

One aspect of Simply Bonaventure that I was pleasantly surprised to find was a series of reflections. Tucked away at the end of each chapter, Delio provides the reader with four or five groupings of questions that are intended to help one contemplate the content of that chapter. In addition, she includes at least one or two biblical texts to further aid in the reader's reflection. The effect these had on the overall import of the book cannot be overstated. They enable it to transcend the simple categories of biography or historical theology to something that is more devotional in nature, something more present to the reader both in heart as well as in mind. Moreover, this devotional component is very apropos to Bonaventure's belief that all knowledge must begin and end with Christ who is the basis of all metaphysics.

Finally, the last section presents the reader with a half-a-dozen select writings from the overall Bonaventure corpus. These short excerpts are arranged in chronological order to illustrate the various voices Bonaventure assumed as theologian, mystic, and religious leader. Unfortunately, this selection falls somewhat short of what I expected. Both the brevity and the choice of excerpts did not do what the rest of Simply Bonaventure did for me in really capturing the spirit of Bonaventure's thought. The excerpts lacked context and proper introduction. I would have rather seen a few lengthier selections with a separate introduction and notes for each one. Nevertheless, Delio does provided us a taste of his writings and her book would not be as complete an introduction without them. Anyone looking to draw from one of the deep wells of Christian thought, thought that continues to be relevant to our modern world, will not be disappointed with this excellent foray into one of the thirteenth century's greatest minds, Bonaventure of Bagnoregio.

[David Lindberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

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