“Gillian Ahlgren brings us to a deeper understanding of how Francis and Clare’s shared vocation invites us to listen to the pulse of a suffering world, to chase after justice, and to dress with action and tenderness on our collective journey to salvage humanity from a world festering with injustice. The Tenderness of God is an invaluable book—one that stimulates an indifferent mind, awakens a dormant faith, and renews a moribund hope.
The Tenderness of God
At moments in history, individuals have embodied the gospel message with creativity and passion. One such moment began when a returned veteran named Francis Bernardone found a whole new world in a desolate space just outside Assisi: a leper colony. Drawn to discover the incarnate God, and joined by a collaborator as able and determined as he, Francis and Clare of Assisi's desire to live authentically in gospel simplicity ushered in a revolutionary sensitivity to the presence of God within the human community.
Today, eight hundred years later, the first pope to take the name Francis invites us to engage the "revolution of tenderness" to which we are "summoned by the God who became flesh." The example of Pope Francis gives us a new and vivid sense of just how compelling radical sincerity and reverent encounter with others can be. Capitalizing on the legacy of Francis and Clare and the energy of a visionary pope who raises critical questions about how to be faithful to the gospel, The Tenderness of God invites readers into a rich conversation across time and space about how to recapture our humanity and nurture our God-given capacity to live meaningfully and joyfully in communion with others.
- Format Paperback
- ISBN 9781506410524
- eBook ISBN 9781506410852
- Dimensions 6 x 9
- Pages 186
- Publication Date January 1, 2017
Contents
Introduction
A Few Words about My Approach
1. Becoming a Pilgrim People: Journeying Together
2. Disruption and the Need for Connection: Searching for Meaning
3. Touched by Tenderness: Encountering God
4. The Revolution of Tenderness: Practicing Misericordia and Communio
5. The Ground of Our Belonging
6. The Invitation
Epilogue: Let the Revolution Begin!
Bibliography
Endorsements
An invaluable book—one that stimulates an indifferent mind, awakens a dormant faith, and renews a moribund hope.
Dianna Ortiz, OSU | Editor, Education for Justice, Center of Concern
Reading this book is a kind of pilgrimage in itself
"In this lovingly written and engaging book, Gillian Ahlgren offers us a deep understanding of Francis and Clare and their relevance for today. Her integration of theology and spirituality, and how they have enriched her own spiritual journey, shines forth on every page. Reading this book is a kind of pilgrimage in itself, and it exudes the very tenderness into which it invites us to enter."
Dennis E. Tamburello | Siena College
The lives and writings of the Franciscan founders reveal how true meaning and joy can be found by sharing our deepest hopes, dreams, and challenges
"Gillian T. W. Ahlgren’s moving book, The Tenderness of God, invites all who are searching for meaning and coherence in their lives to undertake a pilgrimage with Francis and Clare of Assisi to discover how a growing realization of the tenderness of God (misericordia) can become the foundation for a new sense of community expressed in the 'art of accompaniment.' In dialogue with Pope Francis, the lives and writings of the Franciscan founders reveal how true meaning and joy can be found by sharing our deepest hopes, dreams, and challenges."
Bernard McGinn | The University of Chicago Divinity School