Franciscan Spirituality

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

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

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

Br. Bill Short offers a few areas in which our Franciscan tradition offers the possibility of speaking a “new” language in today’s Church and society. Like the White Mountain Apaches, we face the erosion of our Franciscan culture and language today. We experience the pressure of the surrounding society, both civil and ecclesiastical, that most often speaks a dominant language that we slowly internalize. We may be the last speakers of the Franciscan language. Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: Give an Account of the Hope That Is Within You

Eloi Leclerc, in his book Francis of Assisi: Return to the Gospel, describes the historical period into which Francis was born as one in which humanity, coping with complex changes, had become forgetful of its covenant with God. He describes Francis’ ability to discern these critical changes through the lens of the Gospel and call people to required conversion as his unique contribution to history. Leclerc reminds us that this gift today — eight centuries later — “still possesses a potential for renewal and rejuvenation.” Can the vibrant creativity with which Francis lived his original evangelical experience — his radical walking in the footprints of Jesus — be retrieved today? Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: Francis of Assisi – Return to the Gospel

This biography presents Francis not as charismatic or as a man of the rule, but focused on his own times and in his relationship with his brothers. We have here a synthesis of spirituality revealing an entire life experience. How does one begin to describe the spirituality of the Poverello, a man who has touched the lives of people for over eight centuries? Decades later the question is still being debated as reflections and discussion of the uniqueness of Francis’ spirituality gain importance. Continue Reading Custodians of the Tradition: The Spirituality of Francis of Assisi