Rome, 5 January 2023. The funeral Mass for the Supreme Pontiff Emeritus Benedict XVI took place today.
Br Massimo Fusarelli, Minister General of the Order of Friars Minor, joining in the grief for the loss of the Pope Emeritus, recalled his closeness to Franciscan places and Franciscan theology, especially through his research on St Bonaventure of Bagnoregio, Seraphic Doctor.
"As a young man, Joseph Ratzinger deepened St Bonaventure's theology of history with a new reading," said Br Massimo. "We would like to remember him briefly when we say goodbye to him, entrusting him to the Father's mercy and taking up his legacy as Franciscans.
St Bonaventure emphasises "the historical character of scriptural statements". Indeed, the life of the Church is like "a seed that grows in time" (Lectures on the work of the six days of creation). Similarly, Holy Scripture is seen as the earth that produces shoots (cf. Gen 1:11) in a manifold way insofar as it produces in the soul "a teeming of life" (Coll. XIV, 1).
"From an objective point of view, Scripture is certainly complete, but its meaning is to be found in a continuous development that winds its way through history and has not yet ended" (J. Ratzinger, St Bonaventure, p. 29). Today, we can explain many things that the Fathers were not yet able to express since what for them was still in the obscurity of the future for us represents a past that is already accessible.
From Scripture, therefore, new knowledge is continually developing. In it, something is still happening. This phenomenon, this story will go on as long as there is a story. In Sacred Scripture, new meanings are discovered, the "multifaceted theories", which are like drops in the infinite ocean. Sacred Scripture contains the future that can only be interpreted if one knows the past. These "multifaceted theories" with unlimited meanings are like the seeds enclosed in the fruit. And who can comprehend them all since a single seed gives rise to forests that, in turn, produce infinite seeds? So it is, of the "seeds of meaning" of Holy Scripture that "with time, are involved in a constant process of growth" (ibid.).
Nevertheless, much still remains obscure. "This represents for the theologian, the interpreter of Scripture, an important awareness: it shows him that in his interpretation, he cannot prescind from history, neither that of the past nor that of the future. In this way, the interpretation of Scripture becomes a theology of history, an illumination of the past as prophecy of the future" (ibid., p. 30).
Let us welcome this ever-valid lesson, which also helps us deepen our understanding of our Franciscan charism.
Thank you, Joseph-Benedict!
