Bonaventure: The Soul's Journey into God, The Tree of Life, The Life of St. Francis (The Classics of Western Spirituality)

I'm still on the fantastic introduction, but so far it is a good book. Just to note though, I received a copy with the older cover. I prefer it over the one shown in the picture, and it seems to have all the same content. However, I figured I would let anyone reading this know.

Bonaventure tells how Francis loved his followers and had immense compassion for them. The print size is very good , makes reading with older eyes a pleasure.

I paged through the reviews & didn't see any comments on the translation, so I thought I'd add some. This is an EXCELLENT translation! I have another older translation of what the translator called The Journey of the Mind to God. (Cousins calls it The Soul's Journey into God.) I could barely make sense of the older translation - very dry & academic. I thought it was pretty awful, even on the second reading. Cousins however is very readable. Further, Cousins uses what he calls sense lines, which transforms some of the prose into poetry. All of a sudden this stuff makes sense!! I can follow it & deeply feel what Bonaventure is saying. The Tree of Life becomes a wonderful meditation & Francis's life bursts into prayer & praise! I had heard good things about Bonaventure & my older translation made me think he was just a heady professor type. This edition has given me a real appreciation for Bonaventure's faith & gifts as a writer.

Great spiritual reading for anyone interested in Western mysticism. Noy only do you get meditations to make your mind soar on the mystery of Christ in the "Tree of Life", but you also get a "skeleton" of the mystical life in the "Soul's Journey into God". I only wish I had more background into the mystics, but for anyone with a background in the gospels, be they Protestant or Catholic, this book will be highly informative. I have yet to read the third part of the book, which is a biography of St. Francis. Needless to say I was pleased. Along with the forward by a Franciscan scholar, you get three classical works in one.For someone really intersted in a life of prayer, meditative and contemplative, this is a must-have.

Great book. Great read. Only issue is that the listing states that this is English/Latin, but only contains the English.

I love St Bonaventure. He wonderfully describes the nature of God's earthly kingdom and outlines God's plan of salvation in 'The Soul's Journey..." In the' tree of life', St Bonaventure unites many phrases from the Bible into a whole to explain God's plan. The passages about Jesus' coming in the Last Judgement are soul stirring . I have started to read the Biography of St. Francis; the first page is magnificent and could serve as the beginning of a formation lesson. Overall, a highly recommended book.

I did not receive the book as described.If you are planning to order this book it might be helpful to know that most of the scripture references are useless unless you have a the Latin Vulgate. The references are quoted from that text and not the standard Bibles most of us have access to.The book is only in English. The quality is standard paperback and not worth the $29 price tag.That being said, it is nice to have the three pieces of St Bonaventure’s work in one collection. The translation is relatively easy to follow (considering the era it is translated from).

The best way to understand Pope Francis, in my view, is to read a biography of St. Francis, such as St. Bonaventure's here, written 34 years after the great saint's death. There you will find the same extreme love for the poor and of poverty, the same romanticism and sense of adventure in the love of Christ, the same wrestling with the devil, and the same apostolic spirit. Study St. Francis to know Francis. At the same time read St. Bonaventure's account of the ascent to God through discerning his image and vestiges in creatures to see how philosophical wisdom and mystical insight are inseparable in genuine Franciscan spirituality.

Of all the great Christian mystics, St Bonaventure is probably one of the least known and most forgotten, yet judging by the works included in this volume, he was preeminent as a man of great spiritual wisdom. Known variously as 'the Prince of Mystics', 'the Seraphic Doctor' and 'the Devout Teacher', in his day he was a key exponent of Franciscan spirituality and a campaigner for a healing of the schism between the Roman and Greek Churches. His devoutness and open mindedness is surely beyond dispute.This beautifully translated collection of his key works includes his masterpiece 'the Soul's Journey Into God' which deals with Bonaventure's vision of the seven stages whereby the human soul can move into ever closer union with God through Christ. Rendered as a mix of poetry and prose (a masterstroke by the translator who truly liberates Bonaventure's ideas for the modern reader in doing so), each chapter shows the profound influence not only of St Francis but in the highest ideas of the Neo-Platonic mystics of Christianity from both the Eastern and Western Churches. Bonaventure's spirituality combines the best of St Dionysius the Areopagite and the interior journey of Augustine with the loving vision of St Francis, finding God first in Nature, then in the interior world of the human soul, then united with God in contemplation of the person of Christ, who himself bound together human nature with the Divine. Instead of a vision of guilt and sin, Bonaventure's concept of the Mystic Union is profoundly humanistic while profoundly spiritual and God-centred. A masterwork of humane mysticism which does the Christian tradition proud.The other two works - the Tree of Life and the Life of St Francis - are also wonderfully rich in style and content. The excellent Classic Of Western Spirituality have unearthed and made accessible another great treasure of Western mysticism. Another feather in their cap.

Medieval theology at its most mystically beautiful. Devotion and wisdom in a tapestry of prose and verse. - The Rev'd Dr Thomas Plant, author of "The Catholic Jesus"

Franciscan Theology