In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Francis of Assisi Forerunner of Interreligious Dialogue: Chapter 16 of the Earlier rule Revisited Franciscan Studies 64 (2006): 53-82 Corrigenda: The text of pages 59-60 should be corrected like this: Credo Reg. non bullata 16: 7... annuntient verbum Dei Credo in unum Deum ut credant Deum Patrem omnipotentem omnipotentem Patrem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum factorem caeli et terrae, creatorem visibilium omnium et invisibilium. omnium redemptorem et (...) salvatorem Et ‘in’ unum Dominum Jesum Christum Filium Dei unigenitum. Filium et ut efficiantur Christiani... Addenda: At the bottom of page 63, the text of note 15 should be completed (in bold the missing text that needs to be added) : …ut credant in Deum Patrem omnipotentem et Filium et Spiritum Sanctum, creatorem omnium, redemptorem omnium fidelium et salvatorem, Filium et ut baptizentur… (See Appendix 2) Moreover, the hesitation I expressed in section 3.1 of my text concerning the inclusion of all of v.7 –read according to the traditional interpretation—in what the brothers (and the text continues on page 64). 429 Franciscan Studies 65 (2007) 19.Gallant.indd 429 12/5/07 20:44:17... (shrink)

Anlezark, Daniel Review of: Francis of Assisi: The life and afterlife of a medieval saint, by Andre Vauchez, trans. Michael F. Cusato,, pp. xv + 398, $45.00.

Francis’ view of nature has been seen as positive in an ecological sense even by those who are for the most part critical of Christianity’s attitude to nature, such as Lynn White, Jr. I argue that one element of Francis’ uniqueness was that he saw the diversity of life as an expression of God’s creativity and benevolence and attempted to carry out that vision in ethical behavior. Much of what has been written about him has precedents in traditional (...) hagiography, but there remains an unmistakable impression of originality. It has been noted that Francis insisted on the goodness of creation, used terms of family relationship to refer to creatures other than human, and preached to them. However, another element has escaped notice: his emphasis on the presence of God in the diversity of created entities and his desire that humans should rejoice in this diversity and glorify God for it and with it. His devotion did not immediately dissolve multiplicity into oneness, but glorified God in each created being and delighted in their individuality. He advocated that praise be expressed by acting in ways consistent with respect for created diversity, not only by observing a strict rule of abstaining from harm to living beings, but also in positive treatment of all creatures. Nature took its meaning not from its serviceability to mankind, but from its expression of the multiple forms of God’s benevolent presence. (shrink)

In the last number of years scholars have discovered many new “parallels”2 to Francis of Assisi’s Admonitions.3 In this article I will provide more new parallels that I have uncovered not only in ecclesiastical contexts, but also in non-ecclesiastical ones.4 While almost all students of Francis’ Admonitions are acquainted with the general ecclesiastical contexts, most are unfamiliar with the non-ecclesiastical contexts evidenced by Cato’s Distichs, Daniel of Beccles’ Urbanus Magnus, Egbert of Liège’s The Well-Laden Ship, the Facetus, (...) and a fourteen-volume collection of medieval proverbs. From these parallels I will argue that the Admonitions of Francis of Assisi belong to the literary genre of Conduct Literature... (shrink)

Today’s world is one of quick civilization changes, influencing the development of human thought and the understanding of many basic values. Particularly the last decades have posed a concrete question about freedom and its limitations. The value of freedom is still today being reborn and restructured, once suspicious as a source of sin, now a challenge and a responsible task for the human. Similar questions have also arisen as to the ideas of human dignity and mutual respect, as inherent parts (...) of the human condition.The contemporary world, despite being a new era in human history, does not, in fact, differ much from the Europe of the Middle Ages—divided and united by Christianity, paradoxical in that we strive to build solidarity and closeness and at the same time feel lost and helpless against the evil of the world. With that knowledge we may avoid unnecessary tragedies, learning from St. Francis times, where there was everything in that world—wars, fears, diseases on the one hand, asceticism and self-denial on the other—but no joy. A question may arise whether the voice of St. Francis would still be heard and listened to today. Whether his example would teach love, ecumenism and evangelical joy.The word «ecumenism» is and has been widely used, but often without any deeper reflection on its rich history and variety of meanings. Against the divisions and hatred of contemporary world, the idea of ecumenism increases its importance, becoming one of the main areas of Christian concern. Vatican II brought about a new era of ecumenical thinking, not only defining the theological basis for dialogue, but most importantly, showing its value and encouraging active participation of the faithful. Such participation requires, however, a man’s inner change–which cannot occur without appropriate formation and everyday practice of ecumenism. That presupposes respect for the other, pursuance of mutual trust, openness to widely understood cooperation and elimination of prejudice and fears. Such formation and change must encompass everyone without any difference, laymen and clergy, the faithful and the searching, so that the actions show true concern for the human as such. In that sense, ecumenism is an “inner conversion” (as says A. Skowronek), a new attitude towards the other—religion, human, culture.Against the above mentioned background, one can say that St. Francis exceeded whole centuries of ecumenical dialogue. However, to analyze his phenomenon, one must concentrate on the historical picture, leaving aside any strictly legendarymythological images.St. Francis’s popularity seems to be—almost irrationally—growing with the passage of time, despite not offering anything new or revealing. As a matter of fact, St. Francis reappears in all centuries, teaching the Christian message and teaching to love. His humanism is realized in kindness, solidarity, authentic respect and pure love of God and the human. The human is central in St. Francis’s thinking—great, beautiful and dramatic, full of dignity, and full of the conflict of his inborn goodness and threatening evil. The key to understanding him is only love, assuring freedom and spiritual richness. Yet St. Francis claims: Love is not loved. Re-reading the Gospel anew is a way to meet that Love, and oneself.The human always needed love. Love is inextricably connected with goodness and hence a positive relation towards the other. Those qualities, together with respect, acceptance and search for the truth, are also fundamental to ecumenism. Love appears to be the answer. St. Francis loved not only God, not only the human, but he loved and praised the beauty of all of God’s creation, his love being “the most literal realization of the message contained in the Gospel” (K. Starczewska). But as the first step to love and respect is for the human to respect his own dignity in himself. In that way, he shall also discovers his right to freedom and the truth about himself.The conclusion is the following: Undoubtedly, the character of St. Francis is a universal one. He spoke of his love of God—and human—in concrete deeds of love, never in abstract concepts. Tradition and legend have partly made St. Francis to a cheerful, carefree troubadour of love; however, he knew well the modern world, with its disagreements, hatred and half-truths. A simple tool in God’s hand, he made others overcome the prejudice in them and shake hands in reconciliation, practicing good deeds. Whether that still happens today, and the world adopts St. Francis’s humanistic attitude, depends also on us. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:Three Probes into St. Francis of Assisi's Second Letter to the Faithful1Robert J. Karris, OFMFrancis' Second Letter to the Faithful2 is so rich that it would take a lengthy book to probe most of its treasures. My goal is to make three probes: 1) from a literary analysis of this letter of exhortation, 2) from the results of a more thorough search for the biblical sources behind (...) its eighty-eight lines, and 3) from the insights achieved through literary and theological parallels to its contents.3 I accomplish my goals by going systematically through this letter, which I contend has introduction, positive exhortations, conclusion to positive exhortations and bridge to second part of the letter, negative exhortations, aka polemic, the example story of the unrepentant rich man, and ending.4 At the very beginning, I remind myself and my readers of something that we might take for granted: The dominant figure of this letter is "our Lord Jesus Christ," an expression and reality that pulses through its eighty-eight lines. Take, as [End Page 79] an example, n. 49–50, which are staggering in scope: "And they (who persevere in penance) will be children of the heavenly Father, whose works they are doing. And they are spouses, brothers, and mothers of our Lord Jesus Christ."Methodology: Search for Literary and Theological ParallelsEarly on in my doctoral studies, I learned the importance and value of investigating New Testament texts by means of their literary parallels.5 For example, there were significant interpretive payoffs to be gained by comparing St. Paul's use of polemic in the Pastoral Epistles (1–2 Timothy and Titus) to that employed by the Stoics.6 Paul probably never met a Stoic philosopher in his life, but their means of no-holds-barred polemic was "in the air" he breathed. Daniel J. Harrington expresses well this common methodology in New Testament Studies: "In literature a parallel involves some point or points of similarity between two texts where literary dependence is unlikely or not proved. Parallels to New Testament texts can be taken from any body of literature and from any period of history…"7So what parallels do I suggest as background for the interpretation of Francis' 2LtF? There may be many, since Francis' letter is dealing with fundamental human and Christian realities: sin and virtue. I have selected what I call The Big Three:In his De Virtutibus et Vitiis Liber,8 Alcuin of York (d. 800) wrote a letter to Count Guy, who is engaged in martial activities. Alcuin has followed Guy's request for paternal admonition and prays that his writing may help Guy to perpetual salvation (n. 6). Alcuin writes briefly about 35 topics: wisdom, faith, charity, hope, zeal of reading, peace, mercy, remission, patience, humility, compunction of the heart, confession, repentance, not delaying conversion to God, fear of God, fasting, almsgiving, chastity, avoiding fraud, judges, false witnesses, envy, pride, proneness to anger, not seeking human praise, perseverance in good works, eight principal vices, greed, fornication, avarice, anger, [End Page 80] weariness (acedia), sorrow, cenodoxia (vainglory), and the four virtues.9 It is abundantly clear that Francis does not engage in 35 topics, but his exhortations do overlap with a number of Alcuin's, e.g., almsgiving, judges, perseverance in good works.In his Liber exhortationis,10 Archbishop St. Paulinus of Aquileia (d. 802) wrote to Count or Duke Henry of Fruilli. His treatise has 66 chapters and covers virtually all spiritual and moral topics. Of singular interest is Chapter 8, "On Friendship with God and Keeping God's Commandments." His final chapter is a long prayer to resist the wiles of the devil and to persevere in virtue. Saints Paulinus of Aquileia and Francis of Assisi's 2LtF have numerous points in common.11Archbishop Hincmar of Reims (d. 882) wrote a very polished and regarded letter, De cavendis vitiis et virtutibus exercendis to King Charles the Bald.12 It has ten chapters. The first seven deal chiefly with vices such as avarice, pride, voluptuousness, gluttony, envy, anger, and jealousy. They also encourage virtuous deeds such as almsgiving, works of mercy, fidelity, and prayer. Chapters 8... (shrink)

As the name of the new elected Pope, Francis, was pronounced from the balcony of the Saint Peter's Cathedral in Rome, there was a short silence on the square… "Francis?" Then a small and modest man appeared on the balcony and just stood there for a while. The moment I was thinking: "O my God, do something!" he said: "fratelli e sorelle, buonasera," and immediately the hearts of the many on the square and in the world opened. By (...) this gesture, Pope Francis changed the face of the Church in seconds. And in the following years he continued to change the Church, not by settling matters straight, but by gestures of the good life: he choose to drive in a small car, to live in a modest apartment among the people, he went... (shrink)

The Canticle of the Creatures or Canticle of Brother Sun is based on a particular way of perceiving reality. Francis, who had turned away from ‘the world’, discovered a different way of looking at it. This is a divine way of perceiving, in which the senses do not grasp reality, but accept it as it communicates itself. This way of perceiving is only possible if one does not attempt to master the environment, but allows one’s senses to be weak. (...) It is significant, therefore, that this song of praise was born at a moment of the utmost despair and weakness. The song’s content is in line with this weak perception: it is not about Francis who praises God and His creatures, but rather it is a testimony that the creatures-the elements-are already praising God, and a prayer that He should let Himself be praised by the creatures. Also in line with this weak perception is the fact that the creatures are praised just as they communicate themselves to Francis: as bodies. The theology of this song is that the creatures through their bodies resonate the blessings that come from God, thereby making His blessing present here on earth. Francis’ role is to give a voice and a language to the heavenly praises as they resound in his environment. The transformative power of this song is that we, whether consciously or not, do the same thing when we participate in this song. (shrink)

Perjumpaan Fransiskus Assisi dengan Sultan al-Kamil di tengah ko- baran perang salib akhir-akhir ini mendapat banyak perhatian dari pel- bagai macam peneliti (Hoeberichts 1997; Warren 2003, Tolan 2007, Moses 2009). Yang terakhir, Paul Moses—seorang Guru Besar Jurnalistik di Brooklyn College, New York— melakukan investigasinya sendiri dan menulis suatu buku yang sangat menarik dan aktual, seperti yang boleh diharapkan dari seorang pakar komunikasi. Landasan penting penelitian Moses adalah evaluasinya yang kritis terhadap sumber-sumber. Ia mengemukakan bahwa sumber-sumber tertua tentang peristiwa ini (...) (Jacques de Vitry, dan sebuah kronik yang anonim, keduanya saksi mata perang salib kelima itu) memberi gambaran lebih damai tentang perjumpaan ini ketimbang riwayat-riwayat hidup Fransiskus yang kemudian (Celano, Bonaventura, dll.) yang menggambarkannya sebagai misi yang konfrontatif, berusaha mempertobatkan Sultan untuk mencari kemartiran. Adalah Konsili Lateran IV (1215) dan Paus Innocentius III (1198-1216) serta penggantinya, Paus Honorius III, yang pada masa itu membangkitkan semangat untuk perang salib kelima guna merebut kembali Yerusalem yang belasan tahun sebelumnya direbut dari tangan penguasa Kristen oleh Salah ad-Din (Saladin), paman Sultan Malik al- Kamil. Kendati keluarga Sultan sudah memberitahukan bahwa Sultan bersedia menyerahkan kembali Yerusalem demi persetujuan damai, pihak Paus dan raja-raja Barat tetap mengobarkan semangat perang dan mengumpulkan pasukan. Menurut Moses, Fransiskus, dan saudara- saudaranya diharapkan oleh Gereja ikut mewartakan perang suci, tetapi ia memilih membawakan Injil ke seluruh Eropa, tidak terkecuali juga ke wilayah-wilayah Muslim. Serangan pasukan salib ke Kesultanan Mesir dimulai dari kota pela- buhan Damietta di delta Sungai Nil. Tawaran damai Malik al-Kamil, Sultan Mesir yang dikenal bijaksana dan juga moderat terhadap umat Kristiani di Mesir, kembali ditolak oleh Kardinal Pelagius, utusan Paus dalam perang salib kelima ini. Fransiskus datang ke camp crusaders pada Agustus 1219 dan memberi peringatan kepada para crusaders bahwa serangan mereka akan gagal, tetapi ia ditertawakan. Lalu pada September 1219 ia memutuskan untuk mencari jalan lain dengan menyeberangi lini permusuhan dan mendatangi Sultan al-Malik, tidak sebagai utusan tetapi hanya dengan pengetahuan Kardinal Pelagius menggambarkan Sultan al-Kamil sebagai binatang buas. Sebagai anak zamannya, Fransiskus ingin menciptakan damai dengan mewartakan Injil kepada Sultan. Hal itu tampaknya dilakukannya dengan cara yang khas, sebab dalam sumber tertua dikatakan bahwa Sultan mendengarkannya dengan penuh perhatian, dan memperlakukan Fransiskus sebagai tamu terhormat selama beberapa hari. Menurut Moses, Sultan mungkin terharu bahwa ada orang Kristiani yang berbeda dengan para agresor rakus yang ia kenal dari perang salib. Al-Kamil yang dikenal terbuka untuk Sufisme mungkin juga suka mendengarkan Fransiskus, karena Fransiskus terkesan mirip dengan seorang Sufi. Di lain pihak, Fransiskus juga terkesan dengan apa yang ia lihat, misalnya cara pasukan Muslim menjawab panggilan untuk berdoa............................................................... Kenyataan asli menurut Tolan ialah bahwa Fransiskus ingin menjalankan hidup rasuli sampai dengan mahkotanya, kemartiran, yang dapat ia peroleh dengan pergi mewartakan Injil kepada Sultan. Ini memang gam- baran yang jelas ada dalam biografi-biografi Celano dan Bonaventura, te- tapi tidak muncul dalam kronik-kronik lebih tua dan konteks hidup Fran- siskus sendiri. Kelemahan karya Tolan ialah bahwa ia kurang kembali kepada tulisan-tulisan Fransiskus sendiri dan riwayat hidupnya, seperti yang dilakukan secara mengesankan oleh Moses yang berhasil memper- lihatkan dalam konteks hidup Fransiskus suatu penolakan terhadap pe- rang, pewartaan damai, penghargaan terhadap praktik doa Islam, dan cara misi baru; yang semuanya harus dijadikan patokan untuk interpretasi per- jumpaan Fransiskus dengan Sultan. Tolan gagal melihat tema damai dalam riwayat hidup dan tulisan-tulisan Fransiskus itu, dan dengan demikian juga tidak mengakui adanya sesuatu yang inspiratif dalam peristiwa perjumpaan itu untuk hubungan Muslim–Kristiani masa sekarang. Sebaliknya, ia agak keras menolak interpretasi sejumlah peneliti dan gerakan damai sejak akhir abad ke-20 yang melihat misi Fransiskus sebagai misi damai dan menemukan dalam Fransiskus suatu model untuk menolak kekerasan perang dan mencari pendekatan baru, khususnya dalam hal ketegangan antaragama. Kelemahan karya Tolan ini sangat tampak justru dalam perbandingan dengan karya Moses, yang tidak mendiskusikan Tolan sebab terlambat menerimanya. Buku ketiga, St. Francis and the Conversion of the Muslims, karya Frank M. Rega, amat berbeda dengan kedua studi ilmiah di atas. Dengan tidak kritis sedikit pun, Rega menggabungkan semua yang bagus-bagus dalam pelbagai versi—dari kronik-kronik paling awal sampai ke legenda- legenda yang sangat kemudian—tentang perjumpaan Fransiskus dengan Sultan itu. Tanpa membedakan pelbagai versi dan bertanya tentang latarbelakang dan tujuan masing-masing, seperti dilakukan Tolan, Rega menciptakan suatu versi gabungan yang agaknya akan disukai oleh pembaca Katolik yang saleh dan konservatif (yang memang dilayani oleh penerbit Tan Books), tetapi tidak bernilai bagi seorang peneliti yang ingin menyingkapkan maksud Fransiskus sendiri dan sumber-sumber masing-masing; dan sangat mengecewakan pembaca kritis sekarang yang mencari ilham dalam adegan ini bagi masalah-masalah dunia sekarang. Cerita legendaris Rega yang penuh triumfantalisme yang hampir-hampir yakin bahwa Sultan bertobat dan dibaptis menjelang kematiannya, tentu lebih mengganggu hubungan Kristen dan Muslim sekarang daripada membantu menemukan suatu pendekatan baru. (Martin Harun, Program Studi Ilmu Teologi, Sekolah Tinggi Filsafat Driyarkara, Jakarta). (shrink)

The Franciscan Movement in the Netherlands is an association of people who are moved by the evangelical ideal of Francis and Clare of Assisi. Its members are lay and religious people who aim to live a spiritual life characterized by solidarity and simplicity. In this article, I will describe the lively spirituality of the "Franciscaanse Beweging", a movement that started as a "Franciscan Cooperation" seeking to deepen Franciscan spirituality within religious communities in the 1950s but that changed its (...) course and expanded rapidly after the Second Vatican Council.63In 1987, Gerard Pieter Freeman, staff member of the Franciscan Cooperation, explained in an article on Franciscan spirituality and... (shrink)

Bhabha, Georges Didi-Huberman, David Morgan and Lee Siegel, as well as a series of focused contributions by Yve-Alain Bois, Wendy Doniger, Kenneth Frampton, Martin E. Marty, John Hallmark Neff, Annemarie Schimmel, and Helen Tworkov consider how rapture resonate's both in a cultural context and within the experience of a single human being.