Hendrik Herp: The Mirror of Perfection or Directory of Contemplatives

407 Franciscan Studies 64 (2006) HENDRIK HERP: The Mirror of Perfection or Directory of Contemplatives In an airport lounge in Cincinnati some years ago, I proposed an ambitious project to Br. F. Edward Coughlin, OFM, then Director of the Franciscan Institute at St. Bonaventure University. In reading about the influence of Franciscan spiritual writers on the “Golden Age” of Spanish mysticism in the sixteenth century, I had frequently encountered references to a certain Harphius, whose name remained one of those persistent footnotes in my memory. When I discovered that he was an Observant Franciscan friar, and a disciple of Jan van Ruysbroeck , my interest was piqued, and I suggested that a translation of one of his works into English was just the sort of project I might do. My confrere heartily agreed with my suggestion and with a toast I set off to undertake this great adventure. Years have come and gone, the millennium has turned, yet that propositum remained “pure potency.” What happier occasion than the present Festschrift to take up that project to honor our mutual friend, Sr. Margaret Carney, OSF, President of St. Bonaventure University and herself a former Director and Dean of The Franciscan Institute. The following text, the third part of Herp’s most important work, may be an appropriate offering for this celebration. During the Denver Assembly of the Franciscan Federation of Sisters and Brothers, Sr. Margaret shared with us the hard experiences immediately prior to her selection as St. Bonaventure’s president. I remember in particular her reference to a life of prayer reduced to a quick “Lord, help me!” while rushing from one crisis to another. It was with just such person in mind that our Brother Hendrik Herp originally wrote this text, for a woman most likely belonging to the Third Order of St. Francis, assuring her, and us, that such brief prayers penetrate the depths of heaven and bring us to deep union with God purely through love, without our understanding. I gladly conclude this brief introduction as a guest of the Franciscan Sisters of the Holy Cross in Cape Town, South Africa, on the 408 WILLIAM J. SHORT Feast of All Souls of the Seraphic Order, praying that this small gift bring the assurance of God’s love, along with a smile, to another woman of the Third Order of St. Francis as we celebrate the gift of life she has shared so generously with so many of us. Life and Works of Hendrik Herp1 The Flemish spiritual writer, preacher, and spiritual director Hendrik Herp (Herpius, Harphius) was born around 1400 near s'Hertogenbosch . He studied at the University of Louvain and became a member of the young congregation of the Brothers of the Common Life. By 1447, as rector of a community of Brothers in Delft, he was organizing conferences on the spiritual life in the Brothers’ house. In his years with the Brothers of the Common Life he studied the teachings of Jan van Ruysbroeck, whose influence shaped much of his later spiritual writing. Like many others, Brother Hendrik traveled to Rome in 1450 for the Great Jubilee of that year, and during his visit was struck by the fervor of the Observant Friars Minor there. He entered their community , apparently that same year, at the friary of Ara Coeli in the heart of Rome. For the next three years we have no information on his whereabouts, though his writings indicate that at some time he had dedicated himself to the study of Franciscan spiritual and theological texts, notably those of St. Bonaventure. Now as an Observant Friar Minor of the Province of Cologne, Herp is mentioned as Guardian (local superior) of the friars in Mechelen (Malines) in 1454; between 1460 and 1462 he was in Antwerp, where he mediated a conflict between his friars and the canons of the Chapter there. In 1467 Herp returned as Guardian to Mechelen, and 1 See Enrique Herp, Directorio de contemplativos, ed., trans. Juan Martín Kelly (Madrid: Universidad Pontificia de Salamanca, 1974), with Latin and Spanish text, ample introduction and bio-bibliography; and Enrique Herp, Directorio de Contemplativos, trans. Teodoro H. Martín, Spanish translation, with introduction and notes...