08/10/2024 – “God is mocked, so that you may be honored; flogged, so that you may be consoled; crucified, so that you may be set free; the spotless Lamb is slaughtered, so that you may be fed; the lance brings forth water and blood from his side, so that you may drink …. O Lord Jesus Christ, who for my sake did not spare yourself: wound my heart through your wounds, inebriate my spirit with your blood, so that wherever I may go, I may continually have you before my eyes as the crucified… and may be able to find nothing else but you.” John Bonaventure (1217 – 1274) -“Soul’s Journey” – page 97.
A quote of a quote – I read this through “A Water from a Deep Well” by Gerald L. Sittser, Chapter 7, “Union – The Spirituality of the Mystics”, page #176. This book is rich, there is so much to share… tough choices…
And to me, this quote has a strong connecting tie to “The Holy Suffering of the Saint”, the Oswald Chambers devotional for the day. I will repeat the concluding paragraph: “Look at God’s incredible waste of His saints, according to the world’s judgement. God seems to plant his saints in the most useless places. And then we say: ‘God intends for me to be here because I am so useful to Him.’ Yet Jesus never measured His life by how or where He was of the greatest use. God places His saints where they will bring the most glory to Him, and we are totally incapable of judging where that may be.”
I think I am beginning to unravel the paradox what Jesus told His disciples: “Unless, you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:3). Just trust and obey!
And here is a biography of the messenger:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Bonaventure
Soli Deo Gloria!