Writings on the Spiritual Life

III: The Threefold Spiritual Journey into Wisdom

Writings on the Spiritual Life 41 and thought-forms that relied on a blending together of, among other things, Stoic ethics, Platonic metaphysics, Aristotelian logic, and the work of the early Christian theologians152 Later generations, even in the face of significant advances in all fields of knowledge, have found his understanding of the noble dignity of the human person and humanity’s capacity for self-transcendence to be insightful, compelling, challenging, and of great enduring value. This is not to suggest, however, that his “medieval” understanding and categories are always adequate or helpful. As will be seen in the next section of this introduction, each generation of readers must be sensitive to the challenges of textual interpretation. With effort, it is a manageable task that holds rich promise of leading others to knowledge, understanding, and the “true wisdom” wherein there is knowledge and love coming through experience. III: The Threefold Spiritual Journey into Wisdom “In the glory [of heaven],” there is a threefold endowment wherein the gift of wisdom consists “in the possession of eternal peace, in the clear vision of the highest truth, and in the full enjoyment of ultimate goodness or charity.”153 All the saints, holy ones, and blessed of God are granted this gift in the state of glory. They are“at rest in God”as in the heavenly Jerusalem. 152 See, for example, Andrew Louth, “The Body in Western Catholic Christianity,” in Mysticism and Social Transformation, ed. Janet Ruffing (NY: Syracuse University Press, 2001), 111. 153 Threefold Way, ch. III, n. 1. Writings on the Spiritual Life 42 In the state of human pilgrimage, the human person is created capable of and oriented to experience a measure of the wisdom that has been promised to all in glory (beatitudo). However, those who desire through merit to arrive at this blessed state ... must be modeled after this threefold likeness – in so far as it is possible in this life – in order to have: the savory taste of peace, the splendor of truth, and the sweetness of charity.154 Bonaventure urges every person, therefore, to (1) cooperate with the gift of grace, (2) use rightly155 the soul’s powers, and (3) make every effort “to arrive at this blessed state” through merit,156 that is, pursue a truly spiritual way of living through the imitation of Christ. A person merits to approach this “blessed state,” he tells us, in the measure that one’s “spirit (anima) is made hierarchical – ­ that is, has been purified, illumined, and perfected – through the reformation of the image, through the theological virtues, the enjoyment of the spiritual senses, and the ecstasy of rapture.”157 These are some of 154 Threefold Way, ch. I, n. 1. 155 Right, upright, righteousness, straight, and the like are word images used consistently by Bonaventure to image the stance of the human person whose whole self, body and soul, are in their proper relationship with their source and end, God. 156 Threefold Way, ch. III, n. 1: see also Itinerarium, ch. I, n. 8 (Hayes, 53). The performance of good moral acts (meritorious acts) should “proceed from right intention” and are “deserving of eternal reward.” The performance of these acts is understood to be “rooted in sanctifying grace” and to make one worthy to receive – merit – a greater measure of the free gift of the sanctifying grace in which they are rooted. The will by choosing rightly and persevering to the end “makes what belongs to grace its own.” See Breviloquium, pt. V, ch. 2, nn. 1-5 (Monti, 173-78). 157 Itinerarium, ch. IV, n. 4 (Hayes, 101). Writings on the Spiritual Life 43 the different frameworks within which he identifies the practical challenges at the heart of the spiritual journey. In this section, attention will be focused on Bonaventure’s understanding of how the soul is made hierarchical. It will include a consideration of the concept of hierarchy and the three hierarchizing activities – purgation, illumination, and perfection – through which the soul is reformed in cooperation with the gift of grace. While these categories were used by numerous spiritual writers, Bonaventure articulated a nuanced understanding of them within the larger framework of his theology of the spiritual life. If one hopes to read him correctly, one will have to afford him an opportunity to speak on his own terms and within his own categories. This presumes, of course, a measure of familiarity with some...