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Francis Of Assisi: Writer And Spiritual Master

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The author, an eminent Franciscan scholar, bases this work on the 30 written pieces produced by Francis of Assisi, laying out a spiritual path developed for his contemporaries but equally valuable for present day Christians. Matura introduces Francis as a "true spiritual master of a special genre since he is a layperson without any school learning."

We learn that the path Francis proposed is one of love and adoration of God, communion with the church, love and service to all, and radical poverty. Francis's writings feature both positive and negative views of the human condition. On one hand men and women called to divine communion are made up of beautiful bodies, intellectual capabilities, perceptiveness, power, and knowledge. On the darker side, Francis writes, "We can claim as our own only our vices and our sins."

This book, while written in a clear style, is filled with complex ideas that an individual or group could explore in great depth. Reflection questions are included.

I am so deeply grateful to Thaddee Matura for the gift of his deeply insightful and yet accessible teachings in this treasure of a book. It seems just short of a miracle that he could summarizes the profound richest of the Franciscan spirituality in so few pages! I sure wish it had been written when I was writing my Masters thesis!