Cover

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Title Page, Copyright

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Table of Contents

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p. vii

Introduction

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pp. 1-4

Since the dawn of the Franciscan movement early in the thirteenth century, Franciscans have found themselves living and ministering in significant ways in the context of cities. This phenomenon continues to the present as Franciscans – seculars, sisters and friars – respond to the call to live and proclaim the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the world. The contemporary urban ...

Franciscan Life and Urban Life: A Tense Relationship

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pp. 5-30

One of my favorite scenes in Giotto’s marvelous fresco cycle that covers the walls of the upper basilica of San Francesco in Assisi depicts the saint driving a horde of demons from a walled medieval town. Here the artist dramatically captures a visit Francis made to Arezzo at a time when that city was torn by civil war. From the place where he had been given hospitality on ...

An Invitation to the Franciscan Family

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pp. 31-44

I begin this letter at the opening of this new millennium, a Jubilee Year of the Lord’s Favor. The words in the above song, taken from the Negro National Anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing,” resonates with the feelings of so many African American Catholics. Yet I continue to have a beautiful dream; in this dream I am accepted for who I am, the darker sister, Catholic ...

An Alternate Vision of Society: The Legacy And Challenge Of the Third Order Franciscan Way Of Life

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pp. 45-64

Francis of Assisi’s vision about society attracted large numbers of followers during his lifetime and even today. There are more members of the varied ways of life belonging to the Franciscan Family than to any other Catholic Religious group. This chapter briefly traces the development of Third Order Franciscans as an urban phenomenon. Given a tradition of ...

Crime and Punishment: A Restorative Justice Philosophy

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pp. 65-84

These stories illustrate two different responses to crime and punishment. One utilized what is today described as a restorative philosophy, focused on ensuring that the needs of all parties concerned – the victim, the offender, and the community – were taken into consideration when justice was rendered. The other, utilizing a retributive approach, focused primarily on ...

Francis of Assisi and the Strengths Perspective:Guiding Principles for Franciscan Urban Ministries

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pp. 85-108

The context of urban ministry is born of social imbalances and injustices found in concentrated areas of densely multicultural populations. Situations faced by society as a whole are magnified immensely in any given urban area. The call to serve the people of these conditions and circumstances is not new, and the minister will always find abundant work. The tools and ...

Penitential Humanism: Rereading The Sources to Develop a Franciscan Urban Spirituality

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pp. 109-128

These words emerged from the heart of a post-Vatican II Christian striving to give witness to the Gospel in the center of a post-industrial city. Father Pierre-Marie Delfieux, after an initial experience as chaplain at the Sorbonne, spent two years as a hermit in the Sahara desert and began slowly to realize that a new space of conversion opened out before the ...

Heralding the Gospel in the Spirit of Francis: The Centrality of Preaching in Franciscan Urban Ministry

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pp. 129-150

The reality we call “the city” frequently evokes an ambiguous response, even from those who would not choose to live anywhere else. It is the center of business and commerce, the hub of technology and communications, the home of the arts. More and more it is the desired place of habitation for the financially secure, with new condos and apartment buildings shooting up ...

Integration Questions for Further Reflection

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pp. 151-152