Discovering the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition

Why am I on this planet? How do I lead a meaningful and purposeful life?These might seem like strange questions to ask in a book exploring the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition. In fact, however, these questions are not irrelevant to the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition. You may have asked yourself these or other similar “big questions of life”: What happens when we die? Is there a God? If so, how do I find God? What makes something good and something else bad? Why do good people suffer?Humans have been asking these types of questions since humans have existed. In fact, asking these questions of ultimate concern is part of what makes us human. Throughout time, different people have approached these issues differently and come to their own conclusions. Furthermore, people from all different backgrounds continue to wrestle with these important life issues. Many people today are finding that different contemporary worldviews are not offering satisfactory answers to questions of ultimate meaning. In this book, we will examine how the particular approach called the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition has engaged questions of ultimate human concern. This Franciscan Intellectual Tradition is the framework used by those who have been influenced by the life of St. Francis of Assisi (1181-1226) as they have wrestled with the big questions of life. This book will offer a fuller description of the Franciscan Intellectual Tradition as we proceed.