Bonaventure described the Great Chain of Being both in a historical and a linear way—but also in terms of cosmic connectedness along the way. He was following Paul in Colossians: “In his body lives the fullness of divinity, and in him you will find your own fulfillment” (2:9–10) or “There is only Christ: He is everything, and he is in everything” (3:11). We were created in unity, proceed forward insofar as we are in unity, and return to God’s full gift of final unity, according to Bonaventure’s reading of the Gospels. It is grace before, during, and after.
