This book is a "simple guide" to theological and philosophical aspects of the thought of the medieval Franciscan, John Duns Scotus. Known as the Subtle Doctor, Scotus has a reputation for intricate and technical reasoning. Ingham provides an insightful and creative introduction to his thought in this book. Philosophical and theological principles are explored with clarity and demonstrated by the use of numerous practical examples. By organizing the book around themes that are both timely and urgent, Ingham invites the reader into thoughtful reflection, encourages lively discussion, and challenges Franciscans in particular to consider choosing patterns of relattionships that strive for the good and beauty in all things.

People generally identify Peter of John Olivi (d. 1298) as a theologian or philosopher. Some might also characterize him as a Franciscan reformer who ran afoul of the Roman authorities after his death. Few would venture to call him a Spiritual Director. Yet there are short works under his name that demonstrate that he was indeed a Spiritual Director. The audience for these works generally consisted of lay people who wanted to make progress on the road to perfection as well as many who felt the end times were upon them. Olivi’s four spiritual writings helped the Beguins prepare to interpret the cosmic significance of the persecuting events - the Inquisition - soon to interrupt their lives. These writings are augmented with three other pieces: His treatise on The Lord’s Prayer; his treatise on The Seven Sentiments of Christ Jesus; an abbreviated version of his commentary on Mary’s response to Gabriel in Luke 1:26-38. These additional three writings help give a wider window onto Peter of John Olivi, Spiritual Director.

The narratives - or, Fioretti (an anonymous collection of texts from the fourteenth century about the early days of the Franciscan family) - presented in this book attempt to draw from subjective experiences and events in today's Franciscan family on several continents and in many cultures. In the metaphors and comparisons of picturesque and sometimes unusual language, they present to Francis's brothers and sisters today's problems and challenges and the question of the meaning of the Franciscan heritage in contexts different from that of the Middle Ages.

The twelfth volume of the BTTS Series provides the careful reader with rich meditation through the liturgical year as well as new insights into the spiritual and apostolic formation of Bonaventure’s Franciscan confreres.

There was a passion, an intense energy of love that drove Francis to center his entire life in Christ. Christ was, indeed, the teacher of his heart. This book concentrates on the Christological dimension of Francis’s thought seen through the prism of his writings and against the background of the world in which he lived.

Trinitarian Perspectives in the Franciscan Theological Tradition by Dr. Maria Calisi builds substantially on the previous volumes in the Franciscan Heritage series sponsored by the Secretariat for the Retrieval of the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition (CFIT) of the English Speaking Conference of the Order of Friars Minor. Dr. Calisi is an authority on the theology of Saint Bonaventure. Her exposition of the foundations of the Seraphic Doctor's theology in the contemplative experience of and reflection on the relational nature of God's life retrieves an important theological perspective applicable to our contemporary search for meaning. Well schooled in the patristic inheritance, Calisis engages the reader with a simple but profound analysis of the creedal sign shared by all Christians: In the name of the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. In these pages we will discover how doctrine can shape life, and life, doctrine; how faith-filled human beings rooted in Trinitarian love can bear great fruit for both Church and society by engaging practitioners in action supportive of personal dignity, ecumenical relationships, social transformation, and ecclesial reform.

As thirteenth-century urban populations increased, the friars, entrusted by the Church with the ministry of preaching, naturally needed to go where the people were. At the same time they needed to honor their way of life, which required them to live prayerfully in fraternities, yet not settle down permanently in stable religious houses after the monastic model.

A certain Lady Clare died in San Damiano near Assisi on 10 August 1253. She did not know that seven centuries later she would become the patron saint of television. All she wanted in her adult life was to live according to the Gospel of Jesus Christ like her fellow Assisian and friend, Francis. It took Clare her lifetime to obtain the recognition she wanted: the papal written approval of the life of the Poor Sisters of San Damiano. When the long awaited papal bull arrived on 9 August 1253, she had done what she wanted to do; she passed away two days later. In tribute to the 750th anniversary of her death, Franciscan Institute Publications offers this volume of essays on Clare.

This book about Mendicant women outside the cloister is unique in its content. Rose of Viterbo, Angela of Foligno, Margaret of Cortona, and Sancia, Queen of Naples, were all born within the first century of the Franciscan Order. As women who pursued their religious vocation of volumtary poverty, itinerancy, and preaching outside of monastic walls – in the streets and in their homes – they could very well be called the first generation of mendicant women.

Written by some of the finest scholars in the Franciscan world today – Joseph Chinnici, Bishop John Cummins, William J. Short, †Allan B. Wolter, Zachary Hayes, †Regis A. Duffy, Michael D. Guinan, Johannes B. Freyer, Antonie Vos and Mary Beth Ingham – these different approaches to sacraments, ecclesiology, Christology, and anthropology testify to our professor’s academic life, his plumbing of our theological tradition for new insights, and his wide breadth of learning and interests.