Inspiration
Study & Theology: Studying My Way to God
God has a way of hooking us. God hooked me through academic study. As a freshman in college, I was taking a Medieval History course when I was assigned The Little Flowers of St. Francis. I hated it. I found it overly sentimental and syrupy. I also longed for the kind of spiritual community the book showed me was possible. And that’s how God hooked me: by introducing me to something I rejected on the one hand, and found compelling on the other. It was the semester I left institutional Christianity and started to search for God.
Study & Theology: Francis, the Opposite of Practical
“If the degree would look good on your resume, go for it!” That was Dad’s response when I told him that I was thinking about getting a master’s degree in Franciscan theology. As a parent, Dad was particularly concerned about ...
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Study & Theology: For Space Travelers in Search of the Heart
My wife and I have a tradition of getting each other a Christmas ornament each year. One of the first she got for me was a space shuttle since she sometimes called me “spaceman.” She had already realized that I ...
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Transitus: St. Francis Embraces Sister Death
On October 3, 1226, Francis of Assisi died. Franciscans worldwide observe this day as the Transitus: his journey from this life to the next.
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A New Understanding of the Prayer of St. Francis
This author shows how you can use this well-known prayer as a guide to inner healing and loving yourself.
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Lady Jacoba and the Spirituality of Presence
What do cookies have to do with Franciscan spirituality? When St. Francis was on his deathbed, a seemingly simple treat brought by his good friend Lady Jacoba lifted his spirits and soothed his suffering.
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I’d Like to Say: St. Francis Reminds Us of Our Place in Creation
There weren’t ecologists in the Middle Ages, at least by our modern understanding of environmentalism. But St. Francis changed all that with a new vision of creation as a reflection of God’s love and the Incarnation.
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