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Introduction 33 ostolic life are spiritual men in the tradition of Elijah. In the Commentary on the Gospel of Saint Luke, the defining virtue of Bonaventure’s viri spirituales is humility, since Christ and the apostles before them were willing to be seated among the lowly at the wedding banquet. 80 Hands lifted high in expectation of divine providence; they are to raise their eyes in reflection, their voices in preaching, and their hands in good works. 81 Like Mary and Martha, they must learn how to serve and be served; namely, how to integrate the active and contemplative dimensions of the spiritual life within their ministerial activities. 82 The Sunday Sermons continue Bonaventure’s insistence on prayerful reflection and apostolic preaching. Especially evident in the prothemes is the call to prayer, which accompanies the careful depiction of the characteristics proper to the Minorite preacher. 83 Similar to one presiding at liturgy, the preacher plays a pivotal role in inviting, animating, and directing the community gathered for prayer. The prothemes of the Sunday Sermons demonstrate how Bonaventure consciously constructs the identity of Minorite preachers at prayer. The specificity of Bonaventure’s project is further demonstrated by an examination of the extant prothemes of the Sunday Sermons with those found in the other major sermon colurban. The Sunday Sermons reflect this geographical and cultural reality, thus functioning almost like an ad status collection for second generation urban Minorites. 80 Comm Lc, c. 9, n. 89 (VII, 245a). For an English translation see WSB VIII, 895-96. 81 Comm Lc, c. 21, n. 49 (VII, 536b). For an English translation see WSB VIII, 2013-14. 82 Comm Lc, c. 10, n. 75 (VII, 276a). For an English translation see WSB VIII, 1005-07. 83 Most of what follows in this section is based on Timothy J. Johnson “The Prothemes of Bonaventure’s Sermones dominicales and Minorite Prayer” in <strong>Franciscan</strong>s at Prayer, 95-122, edited by Timothy J. Johnson. The Medieval <strong>Franciscan</strong>s 4 (Leiden: Brill, 2007), where this theme is developed more extensively. BTTSXII.indd 33 11/20/07 12:18:11
34 The Sunday Sermons of St. Bonaventure lections, the Sermons de tempore, or Seasonal Sermons, and Sermons de diversis, or Diverse Sermons, attributed to him by Bougerol. Of the seventeen prothemes among the two hundred and ninety-five sermons in the Seasonal Sermons, the only one explicitly referring to the role of preacher and audience is in the First Sunday of Advent, which Bonaventure preached to the Parisian university community gathered at the Dominican convent in Paris, on November 29, 1254 or November 28, 1255. 84 The remaining prothemes are primarily simple invitations to prayer markedly devoid of the elegance and sophistication proper to the Sunday Sermon prothemes. 85 While there may have been other prothemes in the original sermons that formed the basis for the Seasonal Sermons, it is entirely possible that the copyist chose to see them as unnecessary, and thus eliminated them. The Diverse Sermons count thirty-one prothemes among sixty-two sermons. Eight prothemes treat the question of preaching and requisite preparation of those called to proclaim the divine word before inviting the congregation to pray. 86 While the audiences certainly vary widely for the Diverse Sermons, these particular prothemes are found in sermons Bonaventure delivered among the Parisian Minorites, such as the Feast of Saint Stephen the Martyr, 87 and other sermons elsewhere for similar educated clerics, who more often than not are brothers of the Seraphic Doctor, fellow mendicants like the Preachers, or educated clerics at the University of Paris. 88 84 Sermo 3, Sermons de tempore, 47-50. 85 Sermons de tempore, 27. 86 In the Sermones de diversis, see: Sermo 5, 119-20; Sermo 8, 147; Sermo 35, 460-61; Sermo 39, 517-18; Sermo 45, 605; Sermo 55, 724; Sermo 55 Collatio, 728-29; and Sermo 57, 749-50. 87 Sermo 5, Sermones de diversis, 119-20. 88 Rubrics for Bonaventure’s sermons often offer external evidence indicating the place where he preached and the audience present. For example, see the rubric of Sermo 115 in the Sermones de tempore BTTSXII.indd 34 11/20/07 12:18:12
Page 2 and 3: WORKS of ST. BONAVENTURE The Sunday
Page 4 and 5: Works of St. Bonaventure The Sunday
Page 6 and 7: Table of Contents Introduction.....
Page 8 and 9: Abbreviations and Short Titles CCCM
Page 10 and 11: PG PL PLS Bonaventurae, 1882-1902.
Page 12 and 13: Introduction to the Sunday Sermons
Page 14 and 15: Introduction 13 membered Bonaventur
Page 16 and 17: Introduction 15 Preaching in Paris
Page 18 and 19: Introduction 17 vidual members. 27
Page 20 and 21: Introduction 19 manner of ministry,
Page 22 and 23: Introduction 21 utilizes it rather
Page 24 and 25: Introduction 23 ber of the Parisian
Page 26 and 27: Introduction 25 dated from 1258-126
Page 28 and 29: Introduction 27 al Minister, Haymo
Page 30 and 31: Introduction 29 portion of the enti
Page 32 and 33: Introduction 31 Preaching, Prayer a
Page 36 and 37: Introduction 35 Of all his sermon c
Page 38 and 39: Introduction 37 affections, and ben
Page 40 and 41: Introduction 39 in the grace preach
Page 42 and 43: Introduction 41 wisdom, so that wit
Page 44 and 45: Introduction 43 suggests Bonaventur
Page 46 and 47: Introduction 45 Sermons from the ou
Page 48 and 49: Introduction 47 of Montefeltro, Bon
Page 50 and 51: Introduction 49 “… all sacramen
Page 52 and 53: Introduction 51 elements essential
Page 54 and 55: Introduction 53 ter of Zion, King S
Page 56 and 57: Introduction 55 by conformity with
Page 58: Introduction 57 through the salvifi

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