Longing, the Holy Spirit, and St. Bonaventure
The Church celebrates the Feast of St. Bonaventure, Bishop and Doctor on July 15 with a beautiful selection in the Office of Readings from his book The Journey of the Mind to God ; a treatise about the ascent of the soul to the Lord. St. Bonaventure describes this ascent, this longing for the Lord as something that is possible only with the assistance of the Lord himself. The key to unlocking this flood of grace - of divine assistance, is prayer. St. Bonaventure tells us, "This divine aid is available for all who seek it with a truly humble and devout heart, that is by sighing for it in this vale of tears by fervent prayer. Prayer is the mother and origin of every upward striving of the soul." The enemy #1 of this ascent to God is sin. "Sin", according to St. Bonaventure, "deforms nature." Once again, the antidote to sin that he prescribes is prayer and the living of a holy life. He encourages detachment in order to pursue this journey towards God say...