by David Torkington | Oct 5, 2017 | Franciscan Spirituality
For the first three centuries after the death of Christ, martyrdom came to be seen as the perfection of the Christian life. Asceticism came to be seen as the preparation for it, so that a believer would be ready and prepared for what came to be called ‘the final...
by David Torkington | Feb 21, 2017 | Franciscan Spirituality
When St Francis of Assisi had rebuilt a tumbledown little church given to him by the Benedictines he called it St Mary of the Angels. It was here, over 800 years ago that he heard God speaking to him through the Gospels whilst attending Mass. The message was simple –...
by David Torkington | Feb 4, 2017 | Franciscan Spirituality
Francis chose a very specific way of life in which to embrace ‘Lady Poverty’ and it was quite unique. It was quite simply the way of life as lived by Jesus and his followers before the Resurrection. For him it had three inseparable characteristics. It is an eremitical...
by David Torkington | Jan 19, 2017 | Franciscan Spirituality
Ever since Charlemagne was enthroned as Holy Roman Emperor in AD 800 Europe gradually became a safer place in which to live. It became increasingly easier to travel and to trade as the centuries rolled by. It was a slow process, but by the time Francis was a young man...
by David Torkington | Dec 1, 2016 | Franciscan Spirituality
After Pope Innocent III had approved the rule of life that St Francis had presented to him, the little band of Brothers set out for home. They rejoiced all the way back to Assisi with unalloyed joy, but Pope Innocent’s hopes for the new foundation were not unalloyed....
by David Torkington | Nov 13, 2016 | Franciscan Spirituality
St Bonaventure described God’s love as ‘a shaft of light that flashes out from the divine darkness’, that suddenly enables believers to see the truth they have never seen before. For the first time they begin to see the truth about themselves that they...
