A Condition of Complete Simplicity
Rowan Clare Williams was for seven years a member of the Community of St Francis, an Anglican religious order. She is currently training for the Anglican priesthood at Westcott House, Cambridge.
Other titles in the Rhythm of Life series
THE BOOK OF CREATION
– the practice of Celtic spirituality
Philip Newell
CALLED TO BE ANGELS
– an introduction to Anglo-Saxon spirituality
Douglas Dales
ETERNITY NOW
– an introduction to Orthodox spirituality
Mother Thekla
THE FIRE OF LOVE
– praying with Thérèse of Lisieux
James McCaffrey
LIVING WITH CONTRADICTION
– an introduction to Benedictine spirituality
Esther de Waal
TO LIVE IS TO PRAY
– an introduction to Carmelite spirituality
Elizabeth Ruth Obbard
THE WAY OF ECSTASY
– praying with Teresa of Avila
Peter Tyler
Forthcoming
COMPANIONS OF CHRIST
– Ignation spirituality for everyday living
Margaret Silf
RHYTHM OF LIFE
Series Editor: Bishop Graham Chadwick
A CONDITION OF COMPLETE SIMPLICITY
Franciscan living for the twenty-first century
ROWAN CLARE WILLIAMS
Copyright information
© Rowan Clare Williams 2003
First published in 2003 by the Canterbury Press Norwich
(a publishing imprint of Hymns Ancient & Modern Limited, a registered charity)
St Mary’s Works, St Mary’s Plain,
Norwich, Norfolk, NR3 3BH
www.scm-canterburypress.co.uk
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher, Canterbury Press
The Author has asserted her right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identified as the Author of this Work
British Library Cataloguing in Publication data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
1-85311-538-X
Typeset by Regent Typesetting, London
Printed and bound by Bookmarque, Croydon, Surrey
Dedication
In memory of Violet Williams
1911–2000
Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can the floods drown it.
(Song of Songs 8:7)
Contents
Bibliography and Further Reading
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank the sisters and brothers of the three orders of the Society of Saint Francis. Especial thanks are due to Angelo SSF and Rose CSF for permission to quote from their respective articles in Franciscan magazine, to Helen Julian CSF for her unfailing support during the writing of the book, and to Professor John Sloboda and the Revd Jack McDonald for their comments on the text.
© The European Province of the Society of Saint Francis for material from The Principles and The Daily Office SSF.
The Scripture quotations contained herein are from The New Revised Standard version of the Bible, Anglicized Edition, © 1989, 1995 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America, and are used by permission. No rights reserved.
© New City Press, New York, for permission to reproduce material from Francis of Assisi: Early Documents, vols 1–3, edited by Regis J. Armstrong, J. A. Wayne Hellmann and William J. Short.
Series Introduction
‘Wisdom is to discern the true rhythm of things:
joy is to move, to dance to that rhythm.’
This series of books on various traditions of Christian spirituality is intended as an introduction for beginners on the journey of faith. It might help us discover a truer rhythm as something of the experience of those who follow any particular tradition resonates with our own.
Too much can be made of the distinctions between the different expressions of Christian spirituality. They all derive from the experience of what God has done and is doing in us and among us. While emphases differ, their validity is their congruence with the good news of Jesus Christ in the scriptures. As the various instruments in an orchestra make their special contribution to the symphony, so we delight in the extra dimension that each tradition brings to the living out of the Christian faith.
The present wide interest in spirituality seems