Introduction
Kataphatic
The one true master
The man of peace
The Father of lights and Eternal Father
Primary being
Good
Apophatic
Peace beyond all understanding
Simple and perfect
Boundless
Conclusion
Kataphatic theology is when positive terms are used to describe God while Apophatic theology uses negative terms to describe God. Saint Bonaventure was a Franciscan friar (Noone and Houser 1), the Cardinal Bishop of Albano, the seventh (Bonaventure 54; prologue 2) Minister General of the Franciscan order (Friar Minor) and in 1482 was canonized as a doctor of the Church (the Seraphic Doctor). He is credited with several writing in the middle ages (Robinson 1). The most famous writings of Bonaventure are Commentary on the Sentences of Lombard (four volumes), Commentary on the Gospel of St Luke (one volume), and other seven commentary volumes (Robinson 1). Other smaller works include: Itinerarium mentis in Deum (The Mind's Road to God), Breviloquium (Brief or short Reading), De Triplici via (The Triple Way), Soliloquium de quatuor mentalibus exercitiis (Soliloquy on the Four Spiritual Exercises), and Lignum vitae (The Tree of Life). Augustine and Ps-Dionysius the Areopagite had an influence on Bonaventure’s writings. Bonaventure always tried to integrate reason and faith into his theology.
Bonaventure referred to Jesus Christ as the “one true master” (Noone and Houser 1). He believed that all knowledge stems from faith, is strengthened through rational understanding and attains its peak through mystical union with God (Noone and Houser 1). Bonaventure’s view of Christ as the one true (Bonaventure 81) master is kataphatic. He brings Christ down in such a way that he speaks of Him in a positive light. Firstly, He acknowledges Christ as “one”, as a being, in the apophatic theology God is not one or three in one (Trinity). According to Bonaventure, the seraph’s two highest wings represent the way reason sees God as being one divine nature (Bonaventure 84 prologue5)and the way faith sees God as the trinity of persons (Bonaventure 84; prologue 6). The issue of God being one or trinity creates a form of duality. In the apophatic theology, there is dismantling of the Trinity and terms such as “one” because God is beyond number hood, duality and all description. Unlike Ps- Dionysius, Bonaventure tries to create a conceptual understanding of God. He tried to open the minds of the Franciscans to an intellectual and moderate course.
According to Bonaventure, Christ is “The man of peace” and God is the “Father of lights”, eternal Father (Bonaventure 53-54; prologue1). This is kataphatic. Here Bonaventure describes God as the “Father of light”, emits rays of light, to whom believer’s minds are drawn directly and intensely as they purge the desires of the flesh (Bonaventure 55; prologue3). Bonaventure goes into depth to describe that God abides in peace, and so does His throne. God advocates for peace, and even Christ extended peace to those who hated Him. Other kataphatic expressions include “primary being” (Bonaventure 98) and “good” (Bonaventure 95)
Bonaventure prays that believers be guided into the peace that surpasses all understanding. By doing so, Bonaventure moves from the kataphatic realm and acknowledges that there is a kind of peace humans cannot understand hence the apophatic realm. He understands that the experiences of the Divine and the Divine are ineffable. Bonaventure sees God as being absolutely perfect and simple, making all things exist (Bonaventure 84). This is in line with apophatic theology since God is not limited, and He is boundless. He also says that God is “within all things” yet “totally outside them” (Bonaventure 100). He believes that the attributes of God such as knowledge (Eternal light) are “measureless” and most “simple”, “brilliant” and “hidden” (Bonaventure 126). God is “all in all” (Bonaventure 101), “utterly simple” and “all embracing superabundance” (Bonaventure 98). Like Ps-Dionysius, Bonaventure believes and advocates for silence during meditation and entering into the darkness (full contemplation of God) (Bonaventure 116).
Bonaventure description of God in the Itinerarium mentis in Deum leans more to the kataphatic side than the apophatic side. However, he does recognize and acknowledge the great, boundless (unlimited) beyond understanding God, who is everywhere and nowhere, apophatic theology (Bonaventure 107). Therefore, generally speaking, Bonaventure’s Itinerarium mentis in Deum exhibits both kataphatic theology and apophatic theology, though at varying degrees.
Works Cited
Bonaventure, , and Ewert H. Cousins. The Soul's Journey into God: The Tree of Life; the Life of St. Francis. New York: Paulist Press, 1978. Print.
Noone, Tim and Houser, R. E., "Saint Bonaventure", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = <http://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2014/entries/bonaventure/>.
Robinson, Paschal. "St. Bonaventure." The Catholic Encyclopedia. Vol. 2. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907. 12 Jul. 2015 <http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02648c.htm>.
