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St. Bonaventure’s journey

toward the merciful GodCarlos Salto Solá

Prayer of his Holiness Pope Francisfor the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy

Lord Jesus Christ, you have taught us to be merciful like

the heavenly Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him.

Show us your face and we will be saved. You are the visible face of the invisible Father,

of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy:

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Let the Church be your visible face in the world,

its Lord risen and glorified.

Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us

with its anointing,

so that the Jubilee of Mercy

may be a year of grace from the Lord,

and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm,

may bring good news to the poor,

Carlos Salto Solá

proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed,

and restore sight to the blind.

We ask this of you, Lord Jesus,

through the intercession of Mary,

Mother of Mercy;

you who live and reign with the Father

and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

Amen.

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St. Bonaventure of Bagnoregio

Carlos Salto Solá

Bonaventure was born at Bagnoregio c. 1217

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• He moved to Paris in 1236 to begin the study of the arts

• In 1243 he entered the Franciscan Order, choosing the name Bonaventure

• From 1253 to 1257 he worked as regent master for the school of the Franciscans at Paris

Carlos Salto Solá

• He was elected General Minister of the Franciscans on February 1257

• The following years he travelled widely to visit the friars in Germany, England, Spain and Italy

• He continued preaching to the friars, the Poor Clares, and different groups of people. He did not stop his activity as a writer

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In 1273, Bonaventure was named CardinalBishop of Albano by

Pope Gregory X

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He died on July 15, 1274 during the celebration of the Council of Lyon

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Principal works

• Soliloquium

• Threefold Way

• Tree of Life

• Sunday Sermons

• Breviloquium

• The Soul’s Journey into God

• The Major Legend of St. Francis

• Collations on the Six Days of CreationCarlos Salto Solá

Spiritual life

is characterized

by dynamism

It can be considered

as a journey divided

into several stages

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Human being

is called homo viator,

a person who walks,

an itinerant

Jesus Christ is the model

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“The mercies of the Lord I will sing forever, because I find in me seven mercies,

whereby I most clearly recognize his inestimable compassion”

(Soliloquium 1,41)

God's mercy is so abundant that it is not just one, but many: “The mercies of the Lord”

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“First, he spared me from my sins.

Second, he did not immediately condemn me when I sinned,

but while I prolonged my iniquities, he prolonged his compassion”

Divine mercy is greater than all our sins

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“Third, he changed my heart, so that what had previously been bitter

become sweet for it”

St. Francis’s own experience…

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“The Lord gave to me, Brother Francis, thus to begin to do penance; for when I was in sin it

seemed to me very bitter to see lepers, and the Lord Himself led me amongst them

and I showed mercy to them.And when I left them, that which had seemed to

me bitter was changed for me into sweetness of body and soul. And afterwards I remained a

little and I left the world” (Testament of St. Francis)

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“Fourth, in his mercy he took me back when I repented”.

“Fifth, he gave me the strength to restrain myself and correct my ways”

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“Sixth, he gave me grace for obtaining merit.

Seventh, he gave me the hope of obtaining it” (Soliloquium 1,41)

Divine mercy helps us to look at the future

with hope and without fearCarlos Salto Solá

“Christ is the true exemplar of all mercy

and justice, because all the ways of the

Lord Christ, the King of kings,

are mercy and truth”

(The Sunday Sermons 20,8)Carlos Salto Solá

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“So that any sinner, no matter how great, should not despair out of fear.

On the contrary, one ought to recover strength and trust

in the kind mercy, which quickly forgives,

totally forgets, and lovingly takes back”

(The Sunday Sermons 20,8)

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“When faced with the gravity of sin, God responds with the fullness of mercy. Mercy will always be greater than any sin, and no one can place limits on the love of God who is ever ready to forgive”

(Pope Francis, Misericordiae vultus 3)

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“Beloved, let us love one another, because love comes from God.

In this is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us… God is love”

(1 John 4:7.10.16)

What makes us Christians?

“We have come to know and to believe in the love God has for us”

(1 John 4:14)

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Do you believe in God’s love?

Do you believe that God’s mercy “will always be greater than any sin”?

Can you be merciful like the Father of mercies is merciful?

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“Whence the merciful God insistently calls, patiently expects, and clemently accepts sinners”

(The Sunday Sermons 28,3-5)

• insistently calls

• patiently expects

• clemently accepts sinners

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“The merciful God insistently calls”

“The mercy of God first appears in the insistence of an unmerited calling. Whence Matthew 9:13 says:

I desire mercy, not sacrifice, for I came not to call the just but sinners to penance”

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“The merciful God patiently expects”

“The mercy of God appears in the patience of lengthy waiting. When in fact a person sins,

one injures his Creator and even crucifies the Son of God within oneself. The person is therefore immediately worthy of total

destruction, if it were not for divine mercy, which with patience and forbearance

waits for one, as if not noticing the sins of the person”

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“The merciful God clemently accepts sinners”

“Divine mercy appears in the clemency of benign acceptance. Behold that the

Father of mercy, God, did not turn away from the company of his lost son

at the horror of past filthiness, rather he clemently receives him

with the kiss of peace and concord”Carlos Salto Solá

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The parable of the merciful Father (Luke 15:11-32)

“Whence it is notable that the son did penance when forced by certain necessity and nevertheless

his penance is accepted by God”

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The parable of the merciful Father (Luke 15:11-32)

“There was a man who had two sons… Note that this is the distinction between a son, a servant, and a hired man” (Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 15,31-52)

• A son serves out of love

• A servant serves out of fear

• A hired man serves out looking for a reward

How is my relationship with God? Am I a son/daughter, a servant or a hired man/woman?

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What is the last prayer we say before receiving Communion?

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“Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof…”

“Merciful like the Father, therefore, is the ‘motto’ of this Holy Year. In mercy, we find proof

of how God loves us. He gives his entire self, always, freely, asking nothing in return”

(Pope Francis, Misericordiae Vultus 14)Carlos Salto Solá

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“In fact, it says have mercy on me, in order to demonstrate that mercy is required interiorly in

the affections and exteriorly in works” (The Sunday Sermons 40,11)

• Mercy touches and transforms the whole human being, his interiority and his exteriority

• For mercy, in the same way as love, to be true must be manifested in works

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The parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37)

Who is my neighbor?

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“A scholar of the law said to Jesus: Who is my neighbor?”

• a neighbor by kinship

• a neighbor by religion

• a neighbor by natural assimilation (people love those who are close to them)

• a neighbor by compassion

“It is also manifest from this that with the word neighbor is understood

everyone who is needful of mercy”

(Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 10,60)Carlos Salto Solá

“A priest… when he saw him, he passed by…

A Levite… when he saw him, he passed by…

But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was moved with compassion at the sight” (Lk 10:31-33)

“A certain Samaritan, as he journeyed,

came upon him and seeing him,

with the eye of his benignity… was moved with mercy”

(Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 10,57)

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Human being has an oculus triplex, a triple eye

Physical eye

Spiritual eye

Contemplative eye

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“Saint Bonaventure went so far as to say that human beings, before sin, were able to see how each creature

‘testifies that God is three’. The Franciscan saint teaches us that each creature bears in itself a specifically Trinitarian structure so real, that it could be readily contemplated if

only the human gaze were not so partial, dark and fragile. In this way, he points out to us the challenge of trying to

read reality in a Trinitarian key”

(Pope Francis, Laudato si’ 239)

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How many works of mercy do we have to do in order to become merciful?

“But a Samaritan traveler who came upon him was movedwith compassion at the sight. He approached the victim,poured oil and wine over his wounds and bandaged them.Then he lifted him up on his own animal, took him to aninn and cared for him. The next day he took out two silvercoins and gave them to the innkeeper with the instruction,'Take care of him. If you spend more than what I have givenyou, I shall repay you on my way back'” (Lk 10:33-35)

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A Good Samaritan makes no calculations

when he/she has to love

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Bonaventure ends his reflection by inviting readers to follow the example of the Good Samaritan:

“But genuine mercy does not reside solely in theaffections, but also produces effects.Therefore, the text reads: And you, do in like manner. Andin this the law of God is fulfilled, when a neighbor who isneedy in whatsoever a way is assisted not only in wordand mind, but also in deed”

(Commentary on the Gospel of Luke 10,61)

Carlos Salto Solá

Carlos Salto Solá