Friday, March 25, 2016

Lent XXXIX

...the gifts of the Holy Spirit are seven in number for the sake of helping us suffer in the same spirit as Christ. In accepting his passion, Christ was moved to endure his sufferings by the will of the Father, by the needs of humanity, and by the strength of his own virtue. He was moved by the will of the Father, which he knew through understanding, loved through wisdom, and reverenced through fear. He was moved by our needs, which he was led to understand through knowledge and for which he was led to show compassion through piety. Not least of all, he was moved by the strength of his own virtue, which counsel made capable of farsighted choice, and fortitude, of vigorous achievement.

Bonaventura, Breviloquium, Monti, tr. Franciscan Institute Publications (Saint Bonaventure, NY: 2005), p. 189 [Part V, Chapter 5, Section 6].