St. Bonaventure’s Franciscan Legacy – Jul 15 – Homily – Fr John Lawrence
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Fr. John Lawrence gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on July 15, 2025, the feast day of St. Bonaventure, on how the Seraphic Doctor profoundly shaped the Franciscan order and the Church through his theological wisdom, spiritual writings, and leadership in uniting Christians.
Father narrates the life of St. Bonaventure, born around 1217 in Bagnoregio, who, after a miraculous healing through St. Francis, joined the Franciscans in 1243. He studied at the University of Paris under Alexander of Hales, becoming a leading theologian. Father highlights Bonaventure’s love for St. Francis’s way of life, likening it to the Church’s origins with simple fishermen and learned doctors, reflecting the mission to rebuild the Church through penance. Bonaventure’s Christocentrism, rooted in the Passion of Christ, earned him the title Seraphic Doctor. Father notes his friendship with St. Thomas Aquinas, their defense of mendicant orders, and Bonaventure’s role as minister general, reforming the Franciscans. In 1273, he became a cardinal and bishop, and in 1274, he helped unite East and West at the Council of Lyon. Father cites Revelation 11:4, comparing Bonaventure and Aquinas to the two olive trees and candlesticks enlightening the Church. Bonaventure died on July 15, 1274, and was canonized in 1482, declared a Doctor of the Church in 1588. Father emphasizes Bonaventure’s purity, as Alexander of Hales noted, seemingly free from original sin’s effects, aligning with the Church’s teaching on grace (CCC 405).
Revelation 11:4 - NAB - Two Olive Trees and Candlesticks - https://bible.usccb.org/bible/revelation/11?4
Catechism of the Catholic Church #405 - Original Sin and Grace - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p1s2c1p7.htm#405
Catechism of the Catholic Church #771 - The Church as Mystery - http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p1.htm#771
Franciscan Media - Profile of St. Bonaventure - https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-bonaventure
Catholic Encyclopedia - St. Bonaventure - https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02648c.htm
Wikipedia - St. Bonaventure Biography - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bonaventure
Vatican - Pope Benedict XVI on St. Bonaventure - https://www.vatican.va/content/benedict-xvi/en/audiences/2010/documents/hf_ben-xvi_aud_20100303.html
00:00 - Introduction
00:11 - Early Life and Healing
00:58 - Paris Theological Studies
02:13 - Franciscan Vocation
02:50 - Reforming the Church
04:31 - Aquinas and Bonaventure
07:05 - Mendicant Orders Defense
09:23 - Uniting East and West
Ave Maria!
Mass: St. Bonaventure - Feast - http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=169
Readings: Tuesday 15th Week of Ordinary Time - http://usccb.org/bible/readings/071525.cfm
1st: exo 2:1-15
Resp: psa 69:3, 14, 30-31, 33-34
Gsp: mat 11:20-24
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