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Franciscan Intellectual Tradition

Custodians of the Tradition: Selected Writings – Christ through the Eyes of Francis and Clare

Franciscan spirituality and theology has long taken an approach that finds its creative insights from the spirituality of St. Francis and St. Clare. Their spirituality led the great theologians of the Franciscan movement to develop a style that has a number of distinctive traits. This is particularly true in the area of Christology. Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: Selected Writings – Christ through the Eyes of Francis and Clare

Custodians of the Tradition: Francis of Assisi “Theologian?”

A theologian is the one who contemplates and scrutinizes visible and invisible reality, using the Word of God as a starting point — then Francis is both. What he allows us to glimpse in his writings authorizes us to say that he proposes an authentic general outline of a theology whose center is the Trinitarian God in love with the human person. Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: Francis of Assisi “Theologian?”

Custodians of the Tradition: A Franciscan Language for the 21st Century

We are heirs to an intellectual patrimony that spans eight centuries, with a worldview that can offer fresh responses to questions posed in our society and church today. We have resources to share, and a responsibility to share them with those who are searching for “good news” in our day. Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: A Franciscan Language for the 21st Century

Custodians of the Tradition: John Duns Scotus – Retrieving a Medieval Thinker for Contemporary Theology

The value of Thomas Aquinas, the thirteenth-century Dominican theologian, may perhaps lay not so much in the answers he offered for certain questions, but rather in the questions he raised and the way in which he raised them. I would like to make something of the same argument for John Duns Scotus. I suggest that we look at Scotus not so much for original and new answers to contemporary questions (although there are certainly original insights in Scotus, as I will note later), but rather for the manner in which Scotus viewed all that exists. Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: John Duns Scotus – Retrieving a Medieval Thinker for Contemporary Theology

Custodians of the Tradition: The Cosmos, a Symbol of the Divine

Scientific knowledge about the cosmos is not the whole picture for us. Even the best positive knowledge and explanation of things does not necessarily tell the whole story. Knowing is not all there is; explanation does not account for everything. Reality is multi-dimensional, and the human reaction to reality is similarly multi-dimensional. Before we engage in scientific knowledge, we relate to the cosmos in other ways. One of these ways is through the human imagination. Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: The Cosmos, a Symbol of the Divine

Custodians of the Tradition: The Franciscan Intellectual Tradition – Contemporary Concerns

What is the “Franciscan Intellectual Tradition”? Can it be a public voice in today’s church, today’s post-modern world? Is the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition about book-learning, academic study; or about a set of theologically informed values, based on the theological intuitions of Francis of Assisi, that comprise a distinct view of the world? Initially the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition had a profound influence on the shape of Franciscan evangelical life. The writings of Celano and Bonaventure formulated a synthesis of evangelical life and evangelical theology. This synthesis collapsed in later years leaving an elite school of thought divorced from the tradition of Franciscan life. The Franciscan Intellectual Tradition then developed as a “tradition within a tradition”. Recently efforts have been made to renew the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition in light of Franciscan evangelical life. Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: The Franciscan Intellectual Tradition – Contemporary Concerns

Custodians of the Tradition: Insights for a Value-Centered Life from the Franciscan Tradition

The Franciscan spiritual-intellectual tradition offers an “optimistic and positive” understanding of what it means to be human. Its emphasis on the inherent goodness of our common “humanity and fragility” is rooted in Francis’ Admonition V. Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: Insights for a Value-Centered Life from the Franciscan Tradition

Custodians of the Tradition: The Franciscan View of the Human Person – Some Central Elements

Some theologies of the past focused primarily on the grandeur of God’s holiness. Franciscan theology certainly does not miss the holiness of God. Francis could never forget the remarkable humility of God in taking on human form in Jesus. Franciscan theologians focus on how God is present in and through the human person, and in our routine, mundane and ordinary lives (incarnational theology). Francis, Clare, Bonaventure, Scotus — each in his or her own way — tell the story of the human only in relationship with God. Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: The Franciscan View of the Human Person – Some Central Elements

Custodians of the Tradition: A Franciscan View of Creation – Learning to Live in a Sacramental World

Creation is a mystery. How it came into existence, why it is here are questions that scientists struggle to answer today. By exploring the role of creation in the life of Francis, as well as in the theology of Bonaventure and Scotus, we are able to address some of the important questions that confront us today such as: What is our fundamental relationship to nature? Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: A Franciscan View of Creation – Learning to Live in a Sacramental World