Translation, Introduction and Notes by Robert J. Karris, O.F.M.
ST. BONAVENTURE, N.Y. — Franciscan Institute Publications announces the release of Spiritual Warfare and Six Other Spiritual Writings of Peter of John Olivi, translation, introduction and notes by Robert J. Karris, O.F.M.
While Peter of John Olivi (d. 1298) is generally classified more as a theologian and/or philosopher than as a spiritual director, Robert Karris presents several short works by Olivi which clearly indicate that he was concerned for the spiritual progress of lay people, too. Besides Olivi’s four spiritual writings – The Armed Soldier, The Prayer of Thanksgiving, Lessons on Growth in the Spiritual Life and Remedies against Spiritual Temptations – Karris adds his treatise on The Lord’s Prayer, on The Seven Sentiments of Christ Jesus, and an abbreviated version of his commentary on Mary’s response to Gabriel in Luke 1:26-38.
In addition to the works of Olivi, Karris provides many helpful footnotes that illumine the meaning of the text, and in an appendix he has translated two interpretive parallels to help readers see where Olivi follows traditional lines of thought and where he diverges into his own unique treatment.
For too long the temptation to dismiss Olivi as a Franciscan reformer who ran afoul of the Roman authorities after his death has kept his writings in the background of Franciscan scholarship. Now, with this short but penetrating introduction to another facet of Peter of John Olivi’s ministry, Karris gives us reason to look again and find new treasures in the life of Olivi that can enrich us today.
Robert J. Karris, OFM, Th.D., is a Franciscan priest of the Sacred Heart Province whose headquarters are in St. Louis. He earned an STL from Catholic University of America and a Th.D. from Harvard University in New Testament and Early Church History. Fr. Karris is a former professor of New Testament at Catholic Theological Union in Chicago and a former Provincial Minister of Sacred Heart Province and General Councilor of the Order of Friars Minor. Currently, he is research professor at The Franciscan Institute of St. Bonaventure University. He has been widely published and his most recent New Testament books are St. Bonaventure’s Commentary on Luke’s Gospel, Works of St. Bonaventure: Commentary on the Gospel of John. He is a past president of the Catholic Biblical Association of America and for the last four years he has preached in over 190 churches in the United States on behalf of the poor served by Food for the Poor. He is general editor of the 15-volume Works of St. Bonaventure series published by Franciscan Institute Publications. Among other books with Franciscan Institute Publications, Fr. Karris has written The Admonitions of St. Francis: Sources and Meanings and has translated and edited several including, Defense of the Mendicants (translated by Karris and Jose de Vinck), Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection (translated by Karris and Thomas Reist, OFM), Bonaventure’s Commentary on the Gospel of Luke (edited by Karris), Bonaventure’s Commentary on Ecclesiastes (edited by Karris and Campion Murray, OFM), In the Name of St. Francis: A History of the Friars Minor and Franciscanism Until the Early Sixteenth Century (by Gordo Giovanni Merlo, translated by Karris and Raphael Bonnano, OFM).
Trade paper, September 2012 120 pages
ISBN: 978-1-57659-344-8 $19.95
Books can be ordered from amazon.com, bn.com or from the Franciscan Institute Publications website at www.franciscanpublications.com.
FRANCISCAN INSTITUTE PUBLICATIONS - www.franciscanpublications.com - is a leading publisher of books and journals on medieval Franciscan history, sources, spirituality, philosophy and theology as well as contemporary issues on Franciscan life and ministry. It has published critical editions on, for example, the works of John Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, Adam de Wodeham and Peter of John Olivi. Known for many years for its critical editions of leading medieval Franciscan philosophers and theologians, Franciscan Institute Publications has more recently endeavored to make available to a wider reading public the very best of modern scholarship on the history, spirituality and intellectual tradition of the Franciscan movement. Our scholar/authors include Robert J. Karris, Jean-Francois Godet-Calogeras, David Flood, Jaques Dalarun, Kenan Osborne, Mary Beth Ingham, Oleg Bychkov, Margaret Carney, Maria Pia Alberzoni, David Burr, Joe Chinnici, Wayne Hellmann, Jay Hammond, Tim Johnson, Darleen Pryds, Steven McMichael, Luigi Pellegrini, Thomas Renna, Ilia Delio, Thomas Shannon and many more.