Memorial of Saint Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor of the Church
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Bonaventure, a Franciscan theologian, and philosopher who lived in the 13th century. He was renowned in his time for his intellect and his prolific writings. Although he had a great deal of knowledge, he always stressed that wisdom was more important than academic learning. In his Journey of the Mind to God, he writes that wisdom is nothing we can attain on our own. Instead, it is revealed by the Holy Spirit to each person and to the Church collectively. Ultimately, St. Bonaventure avers that such revelation can occur through a desire to know Christ as a lover more than a teacher. He states, “Seek the answer in God’s grace, not in doctrine; in the longing of will, not in the understanding; in the sighs of prayer, not in research; seek the bridegroom, not the teacher.” We come to wisdom through a personal, loving encounter with God in prayer and not merely through books or lectures.
In our Christian life, the intellect holds a prized place. We disciples – which translates to students – are doing good when we learn. However, being a good disciple isn’t the same as being a good student in the academic sense. Christianity is not a subject akin to math, science, or literature. It is not merely trying to understand the Bible in its context or trying to reconstruct the historical Jesus. These are good, but these will not make us good disciples necessarily. These will make us good scholars. As St. Bonaventure points out, we “seek the bridegroom, not the teacher.” That is, it is better to know Christ than to know about Him. St. Ignatius echoes St. Bonaventure by stressing the importance of knowing Christ interiorly – as one knows a friend. To know Christ only happens through prayer, and we can take some time every day to get to know him a little more personally.