COLLECT
Da, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus, ut, beati Bonaventurae episcopi natalicia celebrantes, et ipsius proficiamus eruditione praeclara, et caritatis ardorem iugiter aemulemur.
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.
FIRST READINGEphesians 3:14-19
Brothers and sisters:
I kneel before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named,
that he may grant you in accord with the riches of his glory
to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner self,
and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith;
that you, rooted and grounded in love,
may have strength to comprehend with all the holy ones
what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge,
so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
RESPONSORIAL PSALM119:9,10,11,12,13,14
R./(12b) Lord, teach me your statutes.
How can a young man be faultless in his way?
By keeping to your words. R./ Lord, teach me your statutes.
With all my heart I seek you;
let me not stray from your commands. R./ Lord, teach me your statutes.
Within my heart I treasure your promise,
that I may not sin against you. R./ Lord, teach me your statutes.
Blessed are you, O Lord;
teach me your statutes. R./ Lord, teach me your statutes.
With my lips I declare
all the ordinances of your mouth. R./ Lord, teach me your statutes.
In the way of your decrees
I rejoice as much in all riches. R./ Lord, teach me your statutes.
ALLELUIAMt 23:9b,10b
Unus est Pater vester, cæléstis est; et mágister vester unus est, Christus.
You have but one Father in heaven,
and one master, the Christ.
GOSPELMatthew 23:8-12
Jesus spoke to the crowds and to his disciples:
"Do not be called 'Rabbi.'
You have but one teacher, and you are all brothers.
Call no one on earth your father;
you have but one Father in heaven.
Do not be called 'Master';
you have but one master, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant.
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled;
but whoever humbles himself will be exalted."
From The Journey of the Mind to God, by St. Bonventure
(Cap. 7,1.2.4.6: Opera omnia 5, 312-313)
Mystical wisdom is revealed by the Holy Spirit
Christ is both the way and the door. Christ is the staircase and the vehicle, like the "throne of mercy over the Ark of the Covenant," and "the mystery hidden from the ages." A man should turn his full attention to this throne of mercy, and should gaze at him hanging on the cross, full of faith, hope and charity, devoted, full of wonder and joy, marked by gratitude, and open to praise and jubilation. Then such a man will make with Christ a "pasch," that is, a passing-over. Through the branches of the cross he will pass over the Red Sea, leaving Egypt and entering the desert. There he will taste the hidden manna, and rest with Christ in the sepulchre, as if he were dead to things outside. He will experience, as much as is possible for one who is still living, what was promised to the thief who hung beside Christ: "Today you will be with me in paradise."
For this passover to be perfect, we must suspend all the operations of the mind and we must transform the peak of our affections, directing them to God alone. This is a sacred mystical experience. It cannot be comprehended by anyone unless he surrenders himself to it; nor can he surrender himself to it unless he longs for it; nor can he long for it unless the Holy Spirit, whom Christ sent into the world, should come and inflame his innermost soul. Hence the Apostle says that this mystical wisdom is revealed by the Holy Spirit.
If you ask how such things can occur, seek the answer in God’s grace, not in doctrine; in the longing of the will, not in the understanding; in the sighs of prayer, not in research; seek the bridegroom not the teacher; God and not man; darkness not daylight; and look not to the light but rather to the raging fire that carries the soul to God with intense fervour and glowing love. The fire is God, and the furnace is in Jerusalem, fired by Christ in the ardour of his loving passion. Only he understood this who said: "My soul chose hanging and my bones death." Anyone who cherishes this kind of death can see God, for it is certainly true that: "No man can look upon me and live."
Let us die, then, and enter into the darkness, silencing our anxieties, our passions and all the fantasies of our imagination. Let us pass over with the crucified Christ "from this world to the Father," so that, when the Father has shown himself to us, we can say with Philip: "It is enough." We may hear with Paul: "My grace is sufficient for you;" and we can rejoice with David, saying: "My flesh and my heart fail me, but God is the strength of my heart and my heritage for ever. Blessed be the Lord for ever, and let all the people say: Amen. Amen!"
RESPONSORY1 John 3:24; Sirach 1:8,9
All who keep God's commandments live in God
and God lives in them.
- We know that he dwells in us,
by the Spirit he has given us.
In his Holy Spirit God created wisdom,
which he has poured forth upon all creation
and has offered to those who love him.
- We know that he dwells in us,
by the Spirit he has given us.
COLLECT
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.