Salve, Regina, Mater Misericordiae.
Today we celebrate the feast of St. Bonaventure,
the great bishop, cardinal, and doctor of the Church.
St. Bonaventure was born in the year 1221 in Bagnorea in central Italy,
just five years before the death of St. Francis.
And it was actually through St. Francis that St. Bonaventure received his name.
When he was just four years old, he was sick,
and the doctors couldn't figure out what it was or how to cure him.
So they just left him for dead pretty much.
Well, his mother heard that St. Francis was preaching in the area,
and so she brought her son to have St. Francis pray over him.
And so St. Francis prayed, and he was immediately cured.
And St. Francis exclaimed,
O Buona Ventura, that is, O blessed things to come.
And so from that time forward,
the little boy was called St. Bonaventure.
So as a young man, he entered the Franciscan order,
following the vocation given him by God,
pursued studies for the priesthood,
and displayed eminent intellectual qualities.
He was a genius.
And so at the age of 28, after his ordination,
he was then sent to teach at the University of Paris,
where, at the same time, he was called St. Bonaventure.
And he was called St. Bonaventure.
And he was called St. Bonaventure.
And at the same time, St. Thomas Aquinas happened to be teaching.
And so, really, what a glory of the church
when we think about St. Bonaventure and St. Thomas
both teaching at the same university at the same time.
What an incredible blessing for those students
who happened to be there at the time.
St. Bonaventure was known also to be good friends of St. Louis,
King of France, St. Louis IX.
He also held many important offices in the Franciscan order.
He, of course, was made minister general at one point of the entire order.
He was also ordained a bishop against his own will,
but being forced to accept out of humility,
he did eventually accept out of obedience
and was given the diocese of St. Louis.
The diocese of Albano,
which Castel Gandolfo, the pope's summer residence,
is right there.
I believe it is actually in the diocese of Albano.
And also the Argeneralit, the house of Argeneralit,
in Italy at Rocca di Papa is right there nearby.
Not actually in the diocese of Albano,
but in the bordering diocese of Frascati.
Then, St. Bonaventure was called also to direct the Council of Lyon in 1274.
And it was during this council
in which he was very much responsible
for the reconciliation of the Greeks,
the Orthodox Greeks at the time.
Although eventually the reconciliation didn't last,
nonetheless they were reconciled,
reconciled for a certain period of time.
Now, notwithstanding all of his important duties
and everything that he was involved with,
with leading the order,
being the bishop of a diocese,
he also made time to write great theological works.
And it's seen in the works of St. Bonaventure,
one thing that is very evident
is his ardent love for God.
And for this reason,
St. Bonaventure is known as the Seraphic Doctor
because he has that burning, ardent love of the seraphim.
And so it allows us,
or gives us an opportunity to reflect on love for God,
this virtue of charity towards God,
which really is the essential thing in our lives.
It's the whole reason why we're made.
It is why we are here on earth.
Principle.
Principle.
Principle.
Principle.
To love God,
as our Lord says in the Gospel.
This is the greatest and the first commandment.
You shall love the Lord your God
with your whole heart
and with your whole soul
and with your whole mind.
That should be our number one goal
every time we wake up in the morning.
We should be intent on loving God more today
than we did yesterday.
This,
should be our principle desire.
And now let's consider this virtue,
the love for God,
with respect to the other virtues
and with respect to sin.
Okay, love for God,
of course, is the most important virtue,
but it's not the only virtue.
But nonetheless,
without love for God,
the other virtues really aren't virtues at all.
In order for patience, perseverance, kindness,
for all of these other things to be considered true virtues,
they have to be animated by love for God.
And as we know,
the more love for God that there is in the soul,
the more that love for God animates these other virtues that we practice,
the more meritorious they are,
the more brightly they shine.
Whereas,
if there is no love for God,
and the worldly man still manages to be patient,
to be kind in a worldly sense,
those aren't true virtues,
and they are not meritorious for salvation.
As St. Paul says in his letter to the Corinthians,
And if I should distribute all of my goods to feed the poor,
and if I should deliver my body to be burned,
and have not charity,
it profiteth me nothing.
That is,
philanthropy cannot save us.
We have to love God
and do all of our good works
out of love for God.
Now,
we should also remember
love for God with respect to sin.
That is,
true love for God
excludes all sin.
We cannot sin
and at the same time say that we love God.
Because we can't commit mortal sin.
And we should do,
really,
we shouldn't be committing fully deliberate venial sins either
if our love for God is ardent.
Mortal sin, of course,
excludes love for God,
destroys charity in the soul.
Whereas,
deliberate venial sin wounds it.
So our love for God can't be perfect
if we're committed,
if we're committing fully deliberate venial sins either.
Saint Bonaventure says,
with regard to this,
To love God means to wish God well.
But every sin is something evil,
an offense against God.
Hence,
sin cannot coexist
with the true love of God.
And so,
just as the greater the love for God in the soul,
the more resplendent are the virtues,
the more meritorious the virtues are,
so the same thing,
the greater the love for God in the soul,
the greater effort there will be
to avoid anything displeasing to God,
to avoid all sins.
And so,
may Saint Bonaventure intercede for us this day
and increase our love for God.
In the name of the Father,
and of the Son,
and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Amen.
Thank you.