Franciscan Spirituality

Questo libro presenta la rilevanza del carisma e della tra-dizione francescana nell'affrontare le sfide socio-ambientali e comunicative della società globalizzata. La prospettiva fran-cescana si adatta bene al tipo di comunicazione orizzontale, intuitiva e interattiva che predomina nell'era digitale. France-sco d'Assisi è anche universalmente riconosciuto come un modello di dialogo e di ecologia integrale.

Recuperando il nucleo del proprio carisma, i francescani saranno in grado di "alimentare una passione per la cura del mondo" (217) e po-tranno favorire una comunicazione autenticamente umana.

Colette di Corbie vive nel XV secolo, un periodo difficile, segnato da gravi conflitti: la "Guerra dei cent'anni", una Chiesa lacerata dalla presenza di due, poi tre papi; la decadenza degli ordini monastici e la divisione nella Famiglia francescana. Questa donna, coraggiosa e ispirata da Dio, dà inizio ad una profonda opera di riforma, in seno all'Ordine dei Frati minori e a quello delle Sorelle povere; fonda nuovi monasteri ed è all'origine di una lunga discendenza di monache che si sono santificate alla sua scuola. Ha inciso a tal punto in quest'opera di Riforma, da essere indicata come la seconda fondatrice delle Clarisse.
Questo volume, attraverso un'armonia a più voci, ripercorre i momenti salienti e significativi della sua avventura evangelica, per coglierne la perenne ricchezza e attualità.

Indice
* Sorelle clarisse francesi del monastero S. Colette di Assisi, Introduzione (p. 7-9)
* André Vauchez, Colette di Corbie (p. 11-18)
* Ludovic Viallet, Colette di Corbie nel contesto delle riforme francescane del XV secolo (p. 19-36)
* Marie Colette Roussey, La spiritualità di santa Colette (p. 37-53)
* Thérèse Myriam Chaumont - Monica Benedetta Umiker, S. Colette di Corbie e l'Osservanza francescana: continuità e differenze (p. 55-89)
* Giuseppe Buffon, Conclusioni (p. 91-96)
* Indice dei nomi (p. 97-99)

On 28 May last year the title of Emeritus Professor was conferred  to Professor Leonhard Lehmann, when his didactic activity at our Franciscan Istitute of Spirituality came to a close. In that circumstance prof. Lehmann presented an illuminating study on: "Il significato della preposizione inter negli Scritti di Francesco d’Assisi". Modestly described by Lehmann, in the manuscript sent us, as «a lesson on the occasion of my departure», it is yet truly a “Lectio magistralis,” which dives into the "Scripta" of Francis, identifies the 25 times the preposition “inter” appears in them, and, supported by lexicographical research, recovers and highlights values specific to the spirituality of the Saint of Assisi.

Mi traduccion al español de "True Joy is not Always Perfect” New Theology Review Vol. 23 (2010), 78-80. Publicada aqui el 22 Octubre 2019
Una reflexión sobre el mito franciscano de la verdadera y perfecta alegría de San Francisco de Asís y mi propia experienza.

Primera traducción al español anotada y filológicamente revisada del "Memoriale" de Ángela de Foligno, una de las primeras voces femeninas que podemos leer en Occidente.

Texto de la contraportada:

"El Memorial o Libro de la Vida de Angela de Foligno (1242-1308) constituye una de las obras más importantes de la mística europea medieval. A pesar de no haber sido escrito por esta mujer analfabeta, una terciara franciscana de la Umbria, sino dictado a su guía espiritual, resuena su voz potente para expresar una experiencia inefable, una peregrinación que se inicia con su desnudamiento ante la cruz, según el ideal de pobreza de las nuevas corrientes espirituales, para concluir en el punto sublime de conciliación de los contrarios. Precursora de los grandes maestros de la mística renana como el Maestro Eckhart, su relato cautivó, entre otros muchos, a Georges Bataille que la bautizó como  “Dama de la Noche”.

The remarkableness and sanctity of Francis of Assisi is not an indication that he was immune to the same human fragility that we share. This is borne out if we refuse to settle for the piles of modern-day biography and go directly to the most important medieval source literature. In particular, Francis did not experience his stigmatization to be a confirmation of his perfect configuration to Christ, but rather a mercy from God who  was rescuing him from self-absorption.

One of the topics developed by the Clarissan abbess Isabel de Villena in her work "Vita Christi" was the politics. This text is framed in the cultural and political polemic known as "Querelle des Femmes" that was developed in the Late Middle Ages. The author vividly poses the issue "gender and sovereignty". She designs a complete political theory represented in a feminine paradigm: the Virgin is the theoretical and practical model of the “marvelous science” of human government. Strikingly, Mother Isabel offers this female model to any class of rulers, including men, who should look at themselves in that model, but especially those with institutional, secular or ecclesiastical, power. In order to develop these ideas, the Virgin is presented as the performer of the two main instances of power of that time embodying the functions of queen and female pope and offering a new basis to the “art of government” of the kingdoms and the Church.
Uno de los temas desarrollados por la abadesa clarisa Isabel de Villena en su obra "Vita Christi" fue la política. Esta obra se enmarca en la polémica política y cultural conocida como "Querella de las Mujeres", que se desarrolló en la Baja Edad Media. La autora plantea vívidamente el tema "género y soberanía". Diseña una teoría política completa encarnada en un paradigma femenino: la Virgen es el modelo teórico y práctico de la "ciencia maravillosa" del gobierno humano. Sorprendentemente, la madre Isabel ofrece este modelo femenino a cualquier clase de gobernantes, incluidos los hombres, que se deben mirar en él, pero especialmente aquellos con poder institucional, secular o eclesiástico. Para desarrollar estas ideas, la Virgen se presenta como la titular de las dos principales instancias de poder de aquel tiempo encarnando las funciones de reina y papisa y ofreciendo  un nuevo fundamento al "arte del gobierno" de los reinos y la Iglesia

September, 1219: as the armies of the fifth crusade besieged the Egyptian city of Damietta, Francis of Assisi and friar Illuminatus crossed over to the Egyptian camp to preach to the Sultan al-Malik al-Kâmil.  After a number of days, the two friars returned to the crusader camp, having apparently spoken with the Sultan, though we know very little about what was said.  This has not prevented writers from the thirteenth century to the twentieth, unencumbered by mere facts, from portraying  Francis alternatively as a new apostle preaching to the infidels, a scholastic theologian proving the truth of Christianity, a champion of the crusading ideal, a naive and quixotic wanderer, a crazed religious fanatic, or a medieval Gandhi preaching peace, love and understanding.  As for al-Kâmil, he is variously presented as an enlightened pagan monarch hungry for evangelical teaching, a cruel oriental despot, or a worldly libertine.  This study of the varying depictions of this lapidary encounter throws into relief the changing fears and hopes that Muslim-Christian encounters inspire in European artists and writers over eight centuries.

Le due storie della pecorella e dei due agnellini riscattati da Francesco e consegnati perché fossero custoditi e curati hanno dell’eccezionale per due principali motivi: sono state raccontate con grande ampiezza e vivacità unica-

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mente da Tommaso da Celano nella Vita prima, e poi riprodotte a livello pittorico soltanto nella tavola Bardi, opera toscana della metà del XIII secolo. Lo studio, ricostruendo questa doppia vicenda narrativa, vuole anche capire lo spirito ecologico di frate Francesco che emerge dalle due vicende.

Vivimos en una época cínica, como denuncia Peter Sloterdjik, y profundamente ideologizada con no-ideologías, como señala Slavoj Žižek. Una manera de atacar estos problemas es volviendo a la Razón desfachatada y burlona, a la crítica socarrona y la filosofía vital de los quínicos antiguos, como Diógenes de Sínope, el quinismo medieval franciscano, la sátira renacentista y, en general, la argumentación no demostrativa, sino propositiva, del arte en general.

Il testo delle Fonti Francescane rappresenta un riferimento ineludibile per conoscere la straordinaria avventura umana e cristiana di Francesco d'Assisi. Il testo che qui viene offerto vuole essere uno strumento serio e accessibile per muoversi correttamente nella selva delle Fonti.

La structure énigmatique du décor de la Galerie François 1er de Fontainebleau repose sur inventions relevant du serio ludere, très prisé au début du 16e siècle pour ses différentes fonctions qui induisent les fonctions secrètes du décor, réservées aux princes Valois-Angoulême.

In The Holy Land in Observant Franciscan Texts (c. 1480–1650) Marianne Ritsema van Eck analyses the development of the complex Observant Franciscan engagement with the Holy Land during the early modern period. During these eventful centuries friars of the Franciscan establishment in Jerusalem increasingly sought to cultivate strong ideological ties between themselves and the Holy Land, participating actively in contemporary literatures of geographia sacra and Levantine pilgrimage and travel. It becomes clear how the friars constructed a collective memory using the ideological canon of their order – featuring Bonaventurian theology, marvels of the east, cartography, apocalyptic visions of history, calls for Crusade, and finally a pilgrimage- possessio of the Holy Land by Francis.

In The Theologian of Auschwitz, Peter Damian Fehlner establishes the historical and theological context of St. Maximilian Mary Kolbe’s stupendous insights into the theology of the Church in its deepest Pneumatological and Marian dimensions. Fehlner draws out the implications of Kolbe’s thought and spirituality, showing Kolbe’s dependence upon and development of the broader Catholic and Franciscan tradition, especially St. Francis, St. Bonaventure, and Bl. John Duns Scotus. At the heart of Fehlner’s argument is Kolbe’s outline for a never-completed text on the mystery of the Immaculate Conception. Based upon his comprehensive knowledge of Kolbe’s writings as well as his deep knowledge of Francis, Bonaventure, and Scotus, Fehlner presents Kolbe as a genuine theologian with insights and riches to offer the Franciscan Order as well as the entire Church and the world. For Fehlner, the absolute priority of Jesus Christ essentially conjoined with his Immaculate Mother, so much emphasized by Kolbe, must not only be believed but actually lived in the context of both the Church’s inner dimension as well as in its evangelical mission to the nations. Only through fully incorporating the mode of life of Christ the King and the Immaculate Queenship of Mary will the New Evangelization and ecclesial renewal, so desired and emphasized by the Second Vatican Council and each of the popes following the council, be realized.

Si rintraccia la chiave del pensiero e della prassi pastorale di papa Francesco nella “mistica” proposta in filigrana nella Esortazione apostolica Evangelii gaudium (2013). Essa consta di profonda spiritualità  cristocentrica, radicata nella contemplazione di Gesù, rivelatore  dell’amore divino incarnato per ogni uomo, e che vuole essere assimilato e condiviso per espandersi in mezzo al popolo in una mistica del vivere insieme e della fraternità. Temi ignaziani e francescani si intrecciano con note tipicamente latinoamericane, ma l’ispirazione decisiva è unica: il Vangelo.

The key to the thought and pastoral praxis of Pope Francis is to be found in the “mysticism” which runs through the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii gaudium (2013). This mysticism consists in a deep Christocentric spirituality, rooted in the contemplation of Jesus, revealer of God’s love for every human being. Divine love seeks to be assimilated and shared, spreading forth among people through a mysticism of shared life and fraternity. Ignatian and Franciscan themes combine with characteristically Latin American emphases (cp. the stress on the “People” of God); the decisive inspiration however is the very Gospel itself.

Keywords: Pope Francis; Evangelii gaudium; Franciscan and Ignatian mysticism; contemplation of Christ; Communion.

Il 18 dicembre 1513, dal pulpito di Santa Croce, il predicatore Francesco da Montepulciano profetizzò una serie di sciagure che avrebbero colpito Firenze. L’episodio impressionò i contemporanei, afflitti da guerre e epidemie, ma è stato ridotto dalla critica a un’eco delle idee di Girolamo Savonarola. Grazie a una ricerca di prima mano su documenti e manoscritti, Michele Lodone mostra il peso di una tradizione diversa, e il rifiorire di attese apocalittiche coltivate per secoli ai margini dell’ordine francescano.
Le varie emozioni di chi ascoltò la predica (paura, preoccupazione, scetticismo), consentono all’autore di illuminare in modo originale la parzialità e soggettività di ogni testimonianza. Seguendo le tracce di Francesco attraverso fonti disparate, il libro mostra l’evoluzione di un uomo che, prima di trasformarsi in profeta, era stato eremita e predicatore di pace, e aveva tentato, alla vigilia della Riforma che divise il mondo cristiano, di riformare almeno se stesso e i propri compagni.

My contribution to the Brill Companion to Bonaventure, eds. Jay M. Hammond, J.A. Wayne Hellmann, and Jared Goff (Brill, 2013).  Here I survey Bonaventure's extensive writings in defense of the mendicant vocation amid the various slings and arrows of the outrageous seculars.  I argue for a theological (and not simply a practical, institutional, or legal) rationale that underlies all his arguments.  Mendicancy as a form of life is intimately connected, for Bonaventure, to the metaphysics of exemplarity.

This Bachelor thesis argues for a new reading of the horizontal and vertical structure of the Magdalene window of San Francesco in Assisi, that is more consistent than previous attempts at deciphering its iconographical programme.

The window implies the crucifixion througout, without actually depicting it. Drawing closely on the 7th century legend of Mary of Egypt, it employs the icon of the Hodegetria as a threshold figure, and quite literally so: It is only the intercession of the Mother of God, that enables the pilgrim – Mary of Egypt, and the real-life pilgrim emulating her – to enter the inner sanctum, which, in Mary’s case, is the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem; in the pilgrim’s case it is the directly adjacent transept of the lower church containing the sepulchre of Saint Francis.

Another, closely related reason for the prominent placing of Mary of Egypt in the Magdalen chapel, which functions as the immediate antechamber to the transept, is Bonaventure’s utilisation of her vita. It has hitherto been overlooked that in both his legends of Saint Francis, Bonaventure for the first time sets a concrete date for the Saint’s stigmatisation, September 14th, by very obviously connecting Francis‘ vita to that of the legendary Desert Mother: Francis‘ stigmatisation, his imitatio crucis, now falls on the Feast of the Cross – the exaltatio crucis, which Mary of Egypt so desperately longed to participate in at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

In light of these findings, which I plan to elaborate on further in the future, I think it is safe to say that the role of St. Mary of Egypt for the early history of the Franciscan order has to be thoroughly re-evaluated.

The term "mercy" appears several times in the Writings of Saint Clare. The analysis of these occurrences makes it possible to deepen the spiritual and community experience of Clare who, using the words of the apostle Paul, likes to designate God as "the Father of mercies". This unique and daily renewed experience of the mercy of God in her vocation and that of her sisters, a daily experience of divine goodness and providence, transforms relations between the sisters and produces a style of fraternal life characterized by mercy.

The Virgin and Child figure prominently in Andrea del Sarto’s 'Madonna of the Harpies' (1517). Standing atop a pedestal and before a sculptural niche, mother and son are bathed in dazzling light and color, even as they are visited by a dark cloud. This paper analyzes Andrea’s allusions to sculptural form, as well as his innovative handling of color and chiaroscuro, in view of the learned exchanges that occurred between the artist and his Franciscan patrons. Andrea’s pictorial decisions privilege sixteenth-century discussions of the paragone debate. They imitate theories of optical science, especially Leonardo da Vinici’s notions of lustro and splendore. And, at the same time, they resonate within traditions of theological commentary that include St. Bonaventure’s writings on the soul and on Christ’s Incarnation. In this regard, Andrea del Sarto’s significant yet often overlooked painting offers new possibilities for inquiring into the intellectual lives of artists in Renaissance Italy.

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THE GATEWAY PROCESS IS A WAY ACHIEVE OUT OF BODY TRAVEL / ASTRAL PROJECTION / TRAVELING IN ONE’S SPIRITUAL BODY TO THE VARIOUS LAYERS OF CREATION WITHIN OUR OWN CONSCIOUSNESSES  (LINEAL TIME AND SPACE DO NOT ACTUALLY EXIST – THIS REALM IS WHERE WE COME FROM).  THE GATEWAY PROCESS OF HEMISYNC IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET, & VIA AMAZON.

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In the unfolding of the social teaching of the Church, it is certainly the reference to St Francis of Assisi that makes the difference in content between the ecological approaches of the Popes St. Paul VI and St. John Paul II. Saint John Paul II is the author of a symbolic and prophetic gesture, the proclamation of St Francis of Assisi as the heavenly patron of ecologists, forty years ago (LS 10). Thirty-six years later, we saw it come to fruition with the publication of the Encyclical Laudato si', with St Francis held up as an example of living according to the principles of an integral ecology. Pope Francis sets the tone from the Encyclical's first words, those of the title, which are the words of the Canticle of the Creatures. Saint Francis is called upon at different points of the Encyclical. Integral ecology is the concern for ecology according to the totality of its components and dimensions: concern for the protection of nature; concern for the social life of the human being; respect for the dignity of the human person, from the beginning to the end of life. The Pope recognizes these distinct yet complementary facets in the example given by the Poverello. Resumen. En el desarrollo de la doctrina social de la Iglesia, san Francisco de Asís es sin duda el referente que marca la diferencia de estilo entre los enfoques ecológicos de los santos Pontífices Pablo VI y Juan Pablo II. San Juan Pablo II está en el origen de un gesto simbólico y profético con la proclamación de san Francisco de Asís como patro-no celestial de los ecologistas hace cuarenta años (LS 10). Treinta y seis años después vimos todos los frutos con la publicación de la encíclica Laudato si', puesto que san Francisco es instituido como modelo para vivir según los principios de una ecología integral. El Papa Francisco da el tono desde las primeras palabras, las del título, que son las palabras del Cántico de las criaturas. San Francisco es evocado en los distintos momentos que articulan la encíclica. La ecología integral es la preocupación por la ecología según la totalidad de sus componentes y dimensiones: desde la preocupación por la protección de la naturaleza, la vida social del ser humano y el respeto por la dig-nidad de la persona humana, desde el principio hasta el fin de vida. El Papa reconoció estas diferentes facetas en el Poverello.