The Sunday Sermons of St. Bonaventure

Introduction to the Sunday Sermons of Saint Bonaventure

inTroduCTion To The SUNDAY SERMONS of sainT bonavenTure broTher bonavenTure as PreaCher In his wide-ranging, engaging, and eminently readable chronicle, Salimbene de Adam notes that Bonaventure’s secretary, Brother Mark of Montefeltro, did not hesitate to chide and challenge the General Minister before a sermon : Also, whenever Brother Bonaventure, the General Minister, had to preach to the clergy, Brother Mark would go to him and say to him, ‘You are merely a hired servant, and at another time, when you preached, you didn’t even know what you were saying, and I hope you will do the same now.’ Brother Mark said this, however, to provoke him to speak better, in accord with what is written in Ecclesiasticus 22:24: He that pricks the eye, brings out tears, and he that pricks the heart, brings forth understanding. Nevertheless Brother Mark wrote down all of Brother Bonaventure’s sermons and wished to have them.1 Despite his critique, Brother Mark so treasured his friend’s words that he endeavored to preserve them. His efforts could be dismissed as merely indicative of deep 1 Salimbene de Adam, Cronica I, edited by G. Scalia, CCCM cxxv (Turnhout: Brepols, 1998), 471. The Sunday SermonS of ST. BonavenTure 12 personal friendship, if an extensive textual tradition did not confirm a widespread appreciation for Bonaventure’s homiletic abilities. As Nicole Bériou notes, the abundance of his extant sermons indicates a pattern of frequent preaching, which was greatly appreciated in his day. The evidence is convincing. Due to the monumental editorial efforts of Jacques Bougerol and others, readers may avail themselves of 381 authentic sermons2 in the critical editions of the Sunday Sermons,3 Seasonal Sermons,4 and Diverse Sermons.5 In addition to this textual wealth, there are also three series of university sermons, the Collations on the Ten Commandments,6 the Collations on the Seven GiftsoftheHolySpirit,7 andtheCollationsontheSixDays.8 The textual testimony to Bonaventure’s preaching suggests many of his brothers, like Mark of Montefeltro, wanted to keep his words for themselves. Beyond the extant homilies, echoes of the General Minister’s ministry are perceptible as well in the personal accounts of not only Salimbene, who heard him preach to the brothers in Bologna on temptation,9 but also Peter Olivi, who re2 Nicole Bériou, L’avènement des maîtres de la Parole: La prédication à Paris au XIIIe siècle, vol. 1 (Paris: Institut d’Études Augustiniennes , 1998), 105. 3 Sancti Bonaventurae Sermones dominicales, edited by Jacques Guy Bougerol (Grottaferrata: Collegio S. Bonaventura, 1977). 4 Sancti Bonaventurae Sermons de tempore, edited by Jacques Guy Bougerol (Paris: Les Éditions Franciscaines, 1990). 5 Sancti Bonaventurae Sermons de diversis, vols. 1-2, edited by Jacques Guy Bougerol (Paris: Les Éditions Franciscaines, 1993). 6 Collationes de decem praeceptis, 507a-532b in Doctoris Seraphici S. Bonaventurae opera omnia. 10 volumes (Quaracchi: Collegium S. Bonaventurae, 1882-1902). References to the writings of Bonaventure, unless noted otherwise, come from Doctoris Seraphici S. Bonaventurae opera omnia, 10 volumes (Quaracchi, 1882-1902), and are cited by volume and page number. For the English translation see WSB VI. 7 Collationes de septem donis Spiritus sancti, (V, 457a-503b). 8 Collationes in hexaëmeron, (V, 329a-449b). 9 Salimbene de Adam, Cronica II, edited by G. Scalia, CCCM cxxva (Turnhout: Brepols, 1998), 865. InTroducTIon 13 membered Bonaventure’s homily in the Parisian chapter on Francis as the sixth angel of the Apocalypse.10 The interest of the brothers in Bonaventure’s instruction is matched by his interest in their formation. As Master Regent at the University of Paris in 1255, he eagerly engaged young brothers, who were preparing for their twofold ecclesial mission of preaching and confessing, through the medium of his own sermons. His subsequent election as General Minister in 1257 only served to heighten Bonaventure’s concern vis-à-vis the spiritual development of the Minorite or Franciscan Order. Crisscrossing Europe on at least nine different occasions within seventeen years, he traveled on foot to visit convents as near as Paris and as distant as Rome to encourage the brothers.11 The Seasonal Sermons alone contain 54 sermons delivered to his conferees gathered in chapter .12 Given the intimate, familiar nature of this prayerful setting, these sermons are particularly indicative of the spiritual directives the General Minister wished to impart to those in his charge.13 While striving to encounter the brothers personally when possible, Bonaventure also guided...