BONAVENTURA
Primitive Christian Worship

Bonaventura

I will now briefly call your attention to the devotional works of the celebrated Bonaventura. He is no ordinary man; and the circumstances under which his works were commended to the world are indeed remarkable. I know not how a Church can give the impress of its own name and approval in a more full or unequivocal manner to the works of any human being, than the Church of Rome has stamped her authority on the works of this her saint. In the "Acta Sanctorum", [Antwerp, 1723, July 14, p. 811-823.] it is stated, that this celebrated man was born in 1221, and died in 1274. He passed through all degrees of ecclesiastical dignities, short only of the pontifical throne itself. He was of the order of St. Francis, and refused the archbishopric of York, when it was offered to him by Pope Clement the Fourth, in 1265; whose successor, Gregory the Tenth, elevated him to the dignity of cardinal bishop. His biographer expresses his astonishment, that such a man's memory should have been so long buried with his body; but adds, that the tardiness of his honours was compensated by their splendour. More than two centuries after his death, his claims to canonization were urged upon Sixtus the Fourth; and that Pope raised him to the dignity of saint; the diploma of his canonization bearing date 18 kalends of May, 1482, the eleventh year of that pope's reign. Before a saint is canonized by the Pope, it is usually required, that miracles wrought by him, or upon him, or at his tomb, be proved to the satisfaction of the Roman court. We need not dwell on the nature of an inquiry into a matter-of-fact, alleged to have been done by an individual two hundred years before; and whose memory is said to have lain buried with his corpse. Among the miracles specified, it is recorded, that on one occasion, when he was filled with solemn awe and fear at the celebration of the Lord's Supper, God, by an angel, took a particle of the consecrated host from the hands of the priest, and gently placed it in the holy man's mouth. But, with these transactions, I am not anxious to interfere, except so far as to ascertain the degree of authority with which any pious Roman Catholic must be induced to invest Bonaventura as a teacher and instructor in the doctrines of Christianity, authorized and appointed by his Church. The case stands thus: -- Pope Sixtus IV. states in his diploma, that the proctor of the order of Minors, proved by a dissertation on the passage of St. John, "There are three that bear record in heaven," that the blessed Trinity had borne testimony to the fact of Bonaventura being a saint in heaven: the Father proving it by the attested miracles; the Son, in the WISDOM OF HIS DOCTRINE; the Holy Spirit, by the goodness of his life. The pontiff then adds, in his own words, "He so wrote on divine subjects, THAT THE HOLY SPIRIT SEEMS TO HAVE SPOKEN IN HIM." [Page 831. "Ea de divinis rebus scripsit, ut in eo Spiritus Sanctus locutus videatur."] A testimony referred to by Pope Sixtus the Fifth. This latter pontiff was crowned May 1, 1585, more than a century after the canonization of Bonaventura, and more than three centuries after his death. By his order, the works of Bonaventura were "most carefully emendated." The decretal letters, A.D. 1588, pronounced him to be an acknowledged doctor of Holy Church, directing his authority to be cited and employed in all places of education, and in all ecclesiastical discussions and studies. The same act offers plenary indulgence to all who assist at the mass on his feast, in certain specified places, with other minor immunities on the conditions annexed. [Page 837.] In these documents Bonaventura is called the Seraphic Doctor; and I repeat my doubt, whether it is possible for any human authority to give a more full, entire, and unreserved sanction to the works of any human being than the Church of Rome has given to the writings of Bonaventura. And what do those works present to us, on the subject of the Invocation and worship of the Virgin Mary? Taking every one of the one hundred and fifty psalms, Bonaventura so changes the commencement of each, as to address them not as the inspired Psalmist did, to the Lord Jehovah, the One only Lord God Almighty, but to the Virgin Mary; inserting much of his own composition, and then adding the Gloria Patri to each. It is very painful to refer to these prostitutions of any part of the Holy Book of revealed truth; but we must not be deterred from looking this evil in the face. A few examples, however, will suffice. In the 30th psalm. "In thee, O Lord, have I trusted; let me not be confounded for ever," &c., the Psalter of the Virgin substitutes these words: [In te, Domina, speravi; non confundar in aeternum, &c. &c. In manus tuas, Domina, commendo spiritum meum, totam vitam meam, et diem ultimum meum. -- P. 480.] "In thee, O Lady, have I trusted; let me not be confounded for ever: in thy grace take me. "Thou art my fortitude and my refuge; my consolation and my protection. "To thee, O Lady, have I cried, while my heart was in heaviness; and thou didst hear me from the top of the eternal hills. "Bring thou me out of the snare which they have hid for me; for thou art my succour. "Into thy hands, O Lady, I commend my spirit, my whole life, and my last day. -- Gloria Patri," &c. In the 31st psalm we read, "Blessed are they whose hearts love thee, O Virgin Mary; their sins shall be mercifully blotted out BY THEE...." [Beati quorum corda te diligunt, Virgo Maria; peccata ipsorum A TE misericorditer diluentur. -- P. 481.] In the 35th, v. 2. "Incline thou the countenance of God upon us; COMPEL HIM to have mercy upon sinners. O Lady, thy mercy is in the heaven, and thy grace is spread over the whole earth." [Inclina vultum Dei super nos. COGE illum peccatoribus misereri; Domina, in coelo misericordia tua, et gratia diffusa est super terram.] In the 67th, instead of, "Let God arise, and let his enemies be scattered," the Psalter of the Virgin has, "Let Mary arise, and let her enemies be scattered." [Exurgat Maria, et dissipentur inimici ejus. -- P. 483.] In the opening of the 93rd psalm there is a most extraordinary, rather, as it sounds to me, a most impious and blasphemous comparison of the Supreme God with the Virgin Mary, in reference to the very Attribute, which shines first, last, and brightest in HIM, -- His eternal mercy. Nay, it draws the contrast in favour of the Virgin, and against God. Most glad should I be, to find that I had misunderstood this passage; and that it admits of another acceptation. But I fear its real meaning is beyond controversy. "The Lord is a God of vengeance; but thou, O Mother of Mercy, bendest to be merciful." [Deus ultionum Dominus; sed tu, Mater Misericordiae, ad miserandum inflectis. -- P. 485.] The well known and dearly valued penitentiary psalm (129th) "De profundis," is thus addressed to Mary: -- "Out of the depths have I called to thee, O Lady: "O Lady, hear my voice. Let thine ears be attent to the voice of thy praise and glorifying: deliver me from the hand of my enemies: confound their imaginations and attempts against me. Rescue me in the evil day; and, in the day of death, forget not my soul. Carry me into the haven of safety: let my name be enrolled among the just." [De profundis clamavi ad te, Domina: Domina, exaudi vocem meam. Fiant aures tuae intendentes in vocem laudis et glorificationis tuae. Libera me de manu adversariorum meorum: confunde ingenia et conatus eorum contra me. Erue me in die mala: et in die mortis ne obliviscaris animae meae. Deduc me ad portum salutis: inter justos scribatur nomen meum. -- P. 489.] But, as the penitential psalms are thus turned, from Him to whom the Psalmist addressed them, so his hymns of praise to Jehovah, are made to flow through the same channel to the Virgin. And all nature in the sea, on the earth, in the heavens, and heaven of heavens, is called upon to praise and glorify Mary. Thus, in the 148th psalm, we read, -- "Praise our Lady of heaven, glorify her in the highest. Praise her, all ye men and cattle, ye birds of the heaven, and fishes of the sea. Praise her, sun and moon; ye stars and circles of the planets. Praise her, cherubim and seraphim, thrones and dominions, and powers. Praise her, all ye legions of angels. Praise her, all ye orders of spirits above." [Laudate Dominam nostram de coelis: glorificate eam in excelsis. Laudate eam omnes homines et jumenta: volucres coeli et pisces maris. Laudate eam sol et luna: stellae, et circuli planetarum. Laudate eam cherubim et seraphim: throni et dominationes, et potestates. Laudate eam omnes legiones angelorum. Laudate eam omnes ordines spirituum supernorum. -- P. 491.] The last sentence of the psalms is thus rendered, -- "Let every spirit [or every thing that hath breath] praise our Lady." To this Psalter are added many hymns changed in the same manner. One, entitled, "A Canticle, like that of Habakkuk iii." presents to us an address to the Virgin Mary, of the very words which our blessed Saviour most solemnly addressed to his heavenly Father. O Lord, I have heard thy O Lady, I have heard thy report, speech, and was afraid, &c. &c. and was astonished; I considered thy works, O Lady, and I was afraid at thy work. In the midst of the years thou hast revived it. I will confess to thee, O Lady, because thou hast hid these things from the wise, and hast revealed them to babes. Thy glory hath covered the heavens, and the earth is full of thy mercy. Thou, O Virgin, wentest forth for the salvation of thy people, for salvation with thy Christ [thy anointed]. O thou Blessed, our salvation rests in thy hands. Remember our poverty, O thou pious One. WHOM THOU WILLEST, HE SHALL BE SAVED; AND HE FROM WHOM THOU TURNEST AWAY THY COUNTENANCE, GOETH INTO DESTRUCTION. [Domina, audivi auditionem tuam, et obstupui: consideravi opera tua, et expavi, Domina, opus tuum: circa medium annorum vivificasti illud. Confitebor tibi, Domina: quia abscondisti haec a sapientibus: et revelasti ea parvulis. Operuit coelos gloria tua, et misericordia tua plena est terra. Egressa es, Virgo, in salutem populi tui: in salutem cum Christo tuo. O Benedicta, in manibus tuis est reposita nostra salus; recordare, pia, paupertatis nostrae. Quem vis, ipse salvus erit, et a quo avertis vultum tuum, vadit in interitum. -- G.P., &c.] The song of the Three Children is altered in the same manner. In it as well as in the Canticle of Zacharias, these prayers are introduced; "O Mother of Mercy, have mercy upon us miserable sinners; who neglect to repent of our past sins, and commit every day many to be repented of." [Miserere, misericordiae Mater, nobis miseris peccatoribus, qui retroacta peccata poenitere negligimus, ac multa quotidie poenitenda committimus.] The Te Deum is thus lamentably perverted: "We praise thee, Mother of God; we acknowledge thee, Mary the Virgin. [Te Matrem Dei laudamus; Te Mariam Virginem profitemur.] "All the earth doth worship thee, spouse of the eternal Father. "To thee all Angels and Archangels, Thrones and Principalities, faithfully do service.... "To thee the whole angelic creation with incessant voice proclaim, "Holy! Holy! Holy! Mary, parent, mother of God, and virgin!... "... Thou with thy Son sittest at the right hand of the Father.... "O Lady, SAVE THY PEOPLE, that we may partake of the inheritance of thy Son. "And rule us and guard us for ever.... "Day by day we salute thee, O pious One; and we desire to praise thee in mind and voice even for ever. "Vouchsafe, O sweet Mary, now and for ever, to keep us without sin. "Have mercy upon us, O pious One; have mercy upon us. "Let thy great mercy be with us, because we put our trust in thee, O Virgin Mary. "In thee, sweet Mary, do we hope, defend thou us eternally. "Praise becomes thee, empire becomes thee; to thee be virtue and glory for ever and ever. Amen." [SALVUM FAC POPULUM tuum, Domina, ut simus participes haereditatis Filii tui, Et rege nos et custodi nos in aeternum. Dignare, Dulcis Maria, mine et semper nos sine delicto conservare. Miserere, Pia, nobis! miserere nobis! Fiat misericordia tua magna nobiscum, quia in te, Virgo Maria, confidimus. In te, Dulcis Maria, speramus, nos defendas in aeternum. Te decet laus, te decet imperium, tibi virtus et gloria in saecula saeculorum, Amen.] Can this by any the most subtle refinement be understood to be a mere request to her to pray for us? The Athanasian Creed is employed in the same manner; and it is very remarkable that the Assumption itself of the Virgin into heaven is there specified as one of the points to be believed on pain of losing all hopes of salvation. "Whosoever will be saved, before all things it is necessary that he hold firm the faith concerning the Virgin Mary: which except a man keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.... [Quicunque vult salvus esse, ante omnia opus est ut teneat de Maria firmam fidem.] "Whom at length He took up (assumpsit) unto heaven, and she sitteth at the right hand of her Son, not ceasing to pray to her Son for us. [Quam demum ipse in coelum assumpsit, et sedit ad dexteram Filii, non cessans pro nobis Filium exorare.] "This is the faith concerning Mary the Virgin, which except every one believe faithfully and firmly he cannot be saved." [Haec est fides de Maria Virgine: quam nisi quisque fideliter firmiterque crediderit, salvus esse non poterit.] In the Litany addressed to her, these sentences are found. "Holy Mary, whom all things praise and venerate, pray for us, -- be propitious, -- spare us, O Lady. "From all evil deliver us, O Lady. "In the devastating hour of death, deliver us, O Lady. "From the horrible torments of hell, deliver us, O Lady. "We sinners do beseech thee to hear us. "That thou wouldest vouchsafe to give eternal rest to all the faithful departed, we beseech thee to hear us. &c. &c." [Sancta Maria, quam omnia laudant Et venerantur, ora pro nobis. Propitia esto. Parce nobis, Domina. Ab omni malo libera nos, Domina. In hora mortis devastante libera nos, Domina. Ab inferni horribili cruciamine libera nos, Domina. Peccatores te rogamus, audi nos. Ut cunctis fidelibus defunctis requiem AEternam donare digneris, te rogamus, audi nos.] I will add to this catalogue of prayers and praises to the Virgin, only the translation of one prayer more from the same canonized Saint; it contains a passage often referred to, but the existence of which has been denied. It stands, however, in his works, vol. vi. page 466. "Therefore, O Empress, and our most benign Lady, by THY RIGHT OF MOTHER COMMAND thy most beloved Son [JURE MATRIS IMPERA tuo dilectissimo Filio], our Lord, Jesus Christ, that He vouchsafe to raise our minds from the love of earthly things to heavenly desires, who liveth and reigneth." Now let any man of common understanding and straightforward principles say, whether any, the most ingenious refinement can interpret all this to mean merely that Bonaventura invoked the Virgin Mary to pray for him, or for his fellow-creatures. It looks as though he were resolved on set purpose to exalt her to an equality with the Almighty, when we find him not once, not casually, not in the fervent rapture of momentary excitement, but deliberately, through one hundred and fifty Psalms, applying to Mary the very words dictated by the Holy Spirit to the Psalmist, and consecrated to the worship of the one supreme God; and then selecting the most solemn expressions by which the Christian Church approaches the Lord of heaven and earth, our Father, our Saviour, our Sanctifier: employing too the very words of her most solemn form of belief in the ever-blessed Trinity, and substituting Mary's name for the God of Christians. On the words, "By thy right of mother command thy Son," beyond the assertion of the fact that there they are to this day, I wish to add nothing, because the very denial of their existence often repeated shows, that many Roman Catholics themselves regard them as objectionable. But, if such a man as Bonaventura, one of the most learned and celebrated men of his age, could be tempted by the views cherished by the Church of Rome, to indulge in such language, what can be fairly expected of the large mass of persons who find that language published to the world with the highest sanction which their religion can give, as the work of a man whom the Almighty declared when on earth, by miracles, to be a chosen vessel, and to be under the guidance of the Holy Spirit; and of whom they are taught by the infallible testimony of his canonization, that he is now reigning with Christ in heaven, and is himself the lawful and appointed object of religious invocation. I profess to you that I see no way by which Christians can hold and encourage this doctrine of the Invocation of Saints, without at the same time countenancing and cherishing what, were I to join in such invocation, would stain my soul with the guilt of idolatry. If the doctrine were confessedly Scriptural, come what would come, our duty would be to maintain it at all hazards, and to brave every danger rather than from fear of consequences to renounce what we believe to have come from God; securing the doctrine at all events, and then putting forth our very best to guard against its perversion and abuse. But surely, it well becomes our brethren of the Church of Rome, to examine with most rigid and unsparing scrutiny into the very foundation of such a doctrine as this; a doctrine which in its mildest and most guarded form is considered by a very large number of their fellow Christians, as a dishonouring of God and of his Son, our Saviour; and which in its excess, an excess witnessed in the books of learned and sainted authors, and in the every day practice of worshippers, seems to be in no wise distinguishable from the practices of acknowledged polytheism, and pagan worship. If that foundation, after honest and persevering examination, approves itself as based sure and deep on the word of God, and the faith and practice of the apostles and the Church founded by them from the first, I have not another word to say, beyond a fervent prayer that the God in whom we trust would pour the bright beams of his Gospel abundantly into the hearts of all who receive that Gospel as the word of life. But were they my dying words to my dearest friend who had espoused that doctrine, I would say to him, Look well yourself to the foundation, because I am, after long examination, convinced, beyond a shadow of doubt that the doctrine and practice of the Invocation of Saints and Angels is as contrary to the doctrine and practice of the primitive Church, as it is in direct opposition to the express words of Scripture, and totally abhorrent from the spirit which pervades the whole of the Old, and the whole of the New Testament of God's eternal truth. Primitive Christian Worship - Preface The Duty of Private Judgment Evidence of the Holy Scriptures Direct Evidence of the Old Testament Evidence of the Old Testament, Continued Evidence of the New Testament Evidence of Primitive Writers Evidence of Apostolic Fathers The Epistle of St. Barnabas The Shepherd of Hermas St. Clement, Bishop of Rome Saint Ignatius Saint Polycarp Evidence of Justin Martyr Evidence of Irenaeus Evidence of Clement of Alexandria Evidence of Tertullian Evidence of Origen Supplementary Section on Origen Evidence of St. Cyprian Evidence of Lactantius Evidence of Eusebius Apostolical Canons and Constitutions Evidence of St. Athanasius State of Worship at the time of the Reformation Service of Thomas Becket Council of Trent Present Service in the Church of Rome Worship of the Virgin Mary Evidence of Holy Scripture Assumption of the Virgin Mary Present Authorized Worship of the Virgin Worship of the Virgin, continued Bonaventura Biel, Damianus, Bernardinus de Bustis, Bernardinus Senensis,&c. Modern Works of Devotion among Roman Catholics Primitive Christian Worship - Conclusion J. Endell Tyler, B.D. Miracles of healing - Christian Miracles or Healing History of Russia: Christian Versus Barbarian History of Japan: Early Christian Martyrs The Jesus of History The Assyrian Origin of Devil Worshippers The Christ Of Dogma The early history of Constantinople