Key Takeaways
1. God's Identity: Humble, Self-Giving Love
The humility of God is really about God’s relationship to the world and God’s fidelity to the world, even when everything in the world seems to fail.
God's true nature. The profound mystery of God, often perceived as distant or incomprehensible, is best understood as humble love. This isn't a quality God possesses, but the very essence of who God is—a boundless, self-giving love that constantly reaches out to creation. Francis of Assisi, a "vernacular theologian," grasped this not through intellectual study, but through deep prayer and personal encounters, particularly with the crucified Christ.
Encountering humility. Francis discovered God's humility in unexpected places, transforming his perception of the world. His encounter with the crucified Christ in San Damiano wounded his heart with compassion, leading him to see God's presence in the most marginalized, like lepers. This radical shift allowed him to embrace what was once repulsive, finding "sweetness of soul and body" in acts of mercy.
Hidden in plain sight. God's humility means God is not a distant, powerful ruler, but intimately present in the ordinary and fragile. This presence is often hidden from those with "hardened hearts" or "diseased eyes," but revealed to those who seek with spiritual vision. Francis saw God's "sublime humility" in the Eucharist, where the Lord of the universe hides "under an ordinary piece of bread," inviting us to pour out our hearts and be exalted by Him.
2. The Trinity: A Dance of Self-Diffusive Love
If we really believe that God is love and this love is the love of the Father for the Son united in the Spirit, then we must also believe that we are part of this wonderful, awesome, incredible relationship of love.
Love's inherent plurality. God, as ultimate goodness and love, cannot exist in isolation; love inherently seeks to share itself. This necessitates a plurality within God, leading to the Trinitarian understanding of Father, Son, and Spirit. The Father is the "fountain fullness" of self-diffusive goodness, eternally expressing Himself in the Son (the Word), and their mutual love breathes forth the Spirit, forming a dynamic, continuous outpouring of love.
Creation within divine love. Our existence, and that of all creation, is not an external afterthought but emerges from and unfolds within these Trinitarian relations. We are "little words" uttered by God, finite expressions of the infinite Word. This means we are immersed in God's love, not separated by space or time, and our being is sustained by this eternal, dancing love.
God's inherent humility. The self-emptying (kenosis) of the Father in eternally generating the Son reveals God's intrinsic poverty and humility. This isn't a quality God acquires, but the very essence of His nature as love—a turning toward the Other, a complete self-gift. This divine humility is the foundation for God's relationship with us, drawing us into His infinite embrace.
3. Incarnation: God's Profound Embrace of Creation
For Bonaventure, Incarnation signifies a God who humbly bends down to lift us up.
Beyond sin's remedy. The Incarnation, the Word made flesh, is not primarily a remedy for human sin, but a positive act of love and the completion of the cosmos. From eternity, God willed Christ to come in highest glory, desiring a creature who could fully respond in love. This perspective, championed by Franciscan theologians like Scotus and Bonaventure, sees the Incarnation as God's profound "bow," stretching divine arms to embrace all creation.
Christ, the "Book of Life." Jesus is the "Book of Life," revealing the ultimate nature of God and humanity. Francis, by "reading" this book through prayer and imitation, saw Christ's presence in lepers, birds, and all creatures, recognizing their shared origin in God's goodness. This "insight" transformed his self-knowledge, liberating him to embrace God's love and the world.
Creation's "yes" to God. The universe, created through the Word, has always possessed the capacity to receive God. The Incarnation is the culmination of this potential, a "perfect fit" between divine and human natures. Christ completes the order of creation, but this completion is ongoing, requiring our participation to "christify" the universe through our actions of love, making God's humble presence known.
4. Christ: The Cosmic Blueprint and Goal of All Existence
Christ is the meaning of what the universe and we are about.
The Word as cosmic center. Christ, the Word of God, is the central principle, meaning, and goal of the entire universe. Everything is created through Him and finds its ultimate purpose in Him. This "cosmic Christology" views Jesus not merely as a historical figure, but as the incarnate Word who, through His death and resurrection, takes all humanity and creation into the life of God.
Unity in diversity. For Bonaventure, Christ's centrality doesn't erase differences but unifies them. He is the "luminous web" binding all things, the "One in the many." Each person and creature, as a "little word" of God, uniquely expresses Christ. This "decentered-centeredness" means Christ is "everywhere" because every center is, in some way, a Christ-center, celebrating the manifold beauty of creation.
Beyond exclusivity. Understanding Christ as the meaning of all creation challenges exclusive Christologies. It implies that other religious traditions, embodying core values like love and compassion, contribute to the "fullness of Christ." The Christian task is not to convert others to a narrow view of Christ, but to recognize Christ's presence in all peoples, cultures, and the earth itself, fostering unity through selfless, compassionate love.
5. God's Action: Faithful Love in an Evolving Universe
God’s power is the fidelity of God’s humble love that allows creation to follow its own internal laws and designs.
Beyond the "God of the gaps." In an ancient, evolving universe characterized by chance, complexity, and unpredictability (as revealed by modern science), God is not a "fix-it" deity or a "God of the gaps" who intervenes to explain unknowns. Instead, God's "action" is His eternal, faithful love, which allows creation its freedom and autonomy. This divine self-limitation (kenosis) creates space for the world to genuinely become itself.
The "strange attractor." Rather than a rigid controller, the triune God acts as a "strange attractor," constantly luring creation toward its optimal good. This attractive, loving power is the energy input into the space-time continuum, enabling novelty and self-organization. God's power is not coercive "power over," but sovereign love that empowers, remaining intimately involved yet transcendent.
Trust in divine fidelity. This understanding of God's humble love invites us to abandon the pursuit of complete knowledge and control, embracing uncertainty and paradox. Like Francis of Assisi, who trusted God's goodness in every direction, we are called to live in the freedom of love, accepting creation's messiness and trusting in God's unwavering faithfulness. This allows the world to move toward its ultimate goal: unity in Christ.
6. Suffering: The Vulnerable Heart of God's Compassion
The cross reveals to us the heart of God because it reveals the vulnerability of God’s love.
Love's vulnerability. The world's suffering—from war and illness to personal grief—is not met by a disinterested God. Instead, God's humble love is profoundly vulnerable, sharing in the pain of creation. Francis's compassion for lepers, born from his encounter with the crucified Christ, exemplifies this. He saw God's "quivering heart" in the wounded flesh of others, transforming suffering into a pathway to deeper love.
Suffering ex abundantia. God does not suffer from deprivation (ex carentia), as if lacking something essential. Rather, God suffers ex abundantia—out of the fullness of His boundless love. The cross is the ultimate revelation of this divine compassion, where God "humbly bends down" to the lowest possible level, plunging into human darkness to embrace and transform suffering into new life.
The cross as transformation. The cross is not merely a consequence of sin, but a profound expression of God's unconditional love, a "divine crucifixion" inherent in the self-emptying love of the Trinity. It signifies God's intimate involvement, a "foolish nearness" that blurs boundaries between human and sacred. Through Christ's suffering, God's love becomes a healing power, inviting us to participate in this costly love by bearing the wounds of the world.
7. Pluralism: Christ's Presence in Every Face and Creature
The Christian who lives in Christ does not try to make the other into another Christ. Rather, the one who lives in Christ realizes that in the uniqueness of the individual or creature, Christ is that other.
Global consciousness. In our increasingly globalized world, marked by diverse cultures, religions, and peoples, Christians face the challenge of understanding Christ's meaning beyond exclusive boundaries. The "second axial period" demands a shift from tribal or individualistic consciousness to a global, ecological, and cosmic awareness, recognizing humanity's shared history and interconnectedness.
Christ in the "other." The Incarnation means God is intimately present in all creation. Francis's ability to see "Brother Sun" and "Sister Water," and to recognize a "brother" in the Muslim Sultan Malek al-Kamil, demonstrates that Christ's presence transcends religious and cultural divides. This "contuition"—a deep, intuitive grasp of the divine trace in every unique being—reveals God's goodness shining through all things.
Unity of difference. Christ as the center of the universe does not imply a totalizing sameness, but a "unity of difference." Each person and creature, in its unique "thisness" (haecceitas), reflects God's love and, therefore, Christ. To live in Christ is to embrace this diversity, seeing the face of God in the stranger and recognizing that all are "one in Christ Jesus," not by erasing identity, but by uniting in compassionate love.
8. Christian Vocation: To "Christify" the World
Yes, the universe is in evolution toward the fullness of Christ but it is the task of Christians to help personalize the universe in the love of Christ.
Co-creators with God. The Christian vocation is to actively participate in "Christogenesis"—the ongoing "coming-to-be" of Christ in the universe. This means not fleeing the world, but immersing ourselves in it, recognizing that the fullness of the Incarnation depends on our actions. We are called to "christify" the world by embodying Christ's selfless, compassionate love in all aspects of life.
Poverty as openness. To "christify" the world requires a "poverty of being"—a recognition that everything is a gift and a renunciation of possessiveness. This spiritual poverty creates space in our hearts for the "other," fostering a "phenomenology of embrace" where we open ourselves to strangers and even enemies. It's about transcending ego-centeredness to become relational beings, mirroring God's own self-giving love.
Eucharistic living. Living a "eucharistic life" means embodying Christ's broken body given for others, uniting separated bodies through suffering love. It's a commitment to forgiveness, reconciliation, and peace, creating a new future where divisions are healed. This "costly discipleship" means being willing to lay down our lives, like Christ, for the sake of others, allowing God's love to "sound through" our lives and transform the world.
9. Divinization: Becoming God's Image Through Love
To be “divinized” is to become “like God,” to participate in the infinite goodness of God?
Image of the Image. We are created as "image of God," but Christ is the one true Image, the perfect likeness of the Father. To be divinized means to become "like God" by conforming to Christ, not through intellectual pursuit or technological immortality, but through a harmonious union of body and spirit, expressed in compassionate love. This is a universal call, as the image of God is the unity of all persons in Christ.
The path of costly love. Divinization is not an ethereal state but a radical commitment to living like Christ: serving the poor, touching the sick, challenging injustice, and ultimately, being willing to offer one's life for the gospel. Francis's stigmata, a visible sign of his union with the crucified Christ, symbolizes this "costly love"—a burning desire to share in Christ's suffering for the salvation of others.
Resting in God's love. This "death in Christ" means surrendering to the dominance of God's grace, allowing His humble love to live in us. It's a transformation that purifies our love, enabling us to descend to serve our neighbor and embrace the world's suffering. Only by receiving God's glory and becoming vessels of passionate love can we fulfill our destiny as co-lovers and co-creators, bringing the universe to its completion in God's infinite, unifying love.
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