Franciscan Prayer.

Book Review.
Delio, Ilia. OSE. Franciscan Prayer. St. Anthony press. 2004.
D.I.- a Franciscan sister. Associate professor of ecclesiastical history and director of the Franciscan Centre at the Washington Theological Union, Washington, D.C.
Comment. Henry.
As I began my reading of this resource I was reminded of a provoking comment made by Dr. H. Hildebrand about prayer. “If you want to make a person uncomfortable, talk about prayer.” I agree. That being said, I can say with enthusiasm that the reading of this Catholic resource on prayer was stimulating and certainly contributed to my appreciation and (hopefully) understanding of prayer.
The chapter headings are a typical summary of this book. Prayer (Franciscan) involves disciplines, poverty, contemplation, imitation, etc. It is a spiritual journey. It is “the heart turned toward God”. (ch6) It is a relationship.
When the adjective ‘Franciscan’ is used to describe prayer we have to appreciate where the author is coming from. It is strongly suggested that in fact, Franciscan prayer is Christian prayer. The point is well taken. Some primary sources for the thesis of this resource are Francis of Assisi, Bonaventure (a Francis biographer), and Clare of Assisi.
The discipline of prayer (also referred to as ‘a monastic ascent’ focuses on the following; “Gaze- consider-contemplate- imitate.” (151) “The prayerful person who is deeply in love with God realizes that the whole universe is the cloister to find God.” (182)