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Chapter Thirteen
THE SACRED STIGMATA
1It was a custom for the angelic man Francis
never to rest from the good,
rather, like the heavenly spirits on Jacob's ladder, a
he either ascended into God
or descended to his neighbor.
For he had so prudently learned
to divide the time given to him for merit,
that he spent some of it working for his neighbor's benefit
and dedicated the rest
to the tranquil excesses of contemplation.
Therefore,
when he emptied himself
according to the demand of times and places
to gain the salvation of another,
leaving the restlessness of the crowds,
he would seek the secrets of solitude and a place of quiet,
where freeing himself more freely for the Lord,
he would shake off the dust that might have clung to him
from the time spent with the crowds.
Therefore,
two years before he returned his spirit to heaven,
after a variety of many labors,
he was led by divine providence
to a high place apart called Mount La Verna.b
- The image of Jacob’s ladder, Gn 28:12, appears frequently in Bonaventure’s writings. It refers to the stages of prayer (Regula Novitiorum II 8), understanding Scripture (Breviloquium, Prol 3), progressing in virtue (Breviloquium V 6), ascending into God from the sensible to the mystical (Itinerarium I 9), a life of contemplation (Collationes in Hexaëmeron XXII 24). Above all, it refers to Christ (Christus Unus Omnium 14) and, in light of Francis’s life, to Francis himself (Itin VII 3): "He [Saint Francis] is set forth as an example of perfect contemplation, just as previously he had been of action, like a second Jacob-Israel. And thus, through him, more by example than by word, God would invite all truly spiritual men to this passing over and this transport of soul."
- In order to appreciate the depth of this image of Mount La Verna as a "high place apart," it is helpful to read Bonaventure’s commentary on the Transfiguration in his Commentary on Luke’s Gospel IX 46-60 (VII, 23-235). The mountain is seen as the summit of an excellent life, as ideal for prayer and contemplation, for divine apparitions, instructions, and for resting in God.
Legenda Maior, Fontes Franciscani, p. 889-890
Caput XIII
- De stigmatibus sacris.
1 1Mos erat angelico viro Francisco
numquam otiari a bono,
quin potius instar spirituum supernorum in scala Iacob
aut ascendebat in Deum,
aut descendebat ad proximum.
2Nam tempus sibi concessum ad meritum dividere
sic prudenter didicerat,
ut aliud proximorum lucris laboriosis impenderet,
aliud contemplationis tranquillis excessibus
dedicaret.
3Unde
cum secundum exigentiam locorum et temporum
alienae condescendisset
procurandae saluti,
inquietationibus derelictis turbarum,
solitudinis secreta petebat locumque quietis,
quo liberius Domino vacans,
extergeret, si quid pulveris sibi ex conversatione hominum adhaesisset.
4Biennio itaque
antequam spiritum redderet caelo,
divina providentia duce,
post labores multimodos
perductus est in locum excelsum seorsum, qui dicitur Mons Alvernae.