Franciscans at Prayer

They prayed in spirals, in silence, on soaring arches over holy ground, under the stars they could nearly touch. They prayed in chicken markets, rain-soaked on porches, rain-soaked in fields, aloud, outstretched. They prayed in churches that were themselves prayers. They prayed in prisons. Their bodies were prayers. Their souls were prayers. In these essays on the men and women of the Franciscan order from its inception to the late sixteenth century, contributors to this annual cover the writings of St. Francis and their extraordinary affects, St. Claire's mysticism of motherhood, Celano's account of St. Francis's prayers, Bonaventure's take on contemplation and the spiritual life, Scotus's philosophy and prayer, Foligno's patterns, da Todi's rhetoric, the Beguins' orthodoxy and heresy, Espina's diverse polemical literature, the early Franciscans' extreme practice, icons' expressions as prayer and prayer traditions formed in Franciscan liturgy, religions instruction and even as recollection under the Inquisition. Annotation c2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Timothy J. Johnson received his doctorate in theology from the Pontifical Gregorian University in 1990. He is Associate Professor of Religion at Flagler College in Saint Augustine, Florida, and has published extensively on Franciscan Spirituality and Theology including The Soul in Ascent: Bonaventure on Poverty, Prayer, and Union with God (Franciscan Press, 2000).