The Humility of God, A Franciscan Perspective, by Ilia Delio, O.S.F.

In this book the author, a Franciscan Sister/Theologian, presents a cosmic Christology, relating Christ to the cosmos and its history in the light of contemporary science in a world of evolution and diversity.  She also presents the internal relation of the mystery of the Incarnation to that of the Divine Trinity.  She builds her thesis largely around the scholarship of Bonaventure and other Franciscan theologians, as well as the writings of Theilard de Chardin and other noted theologians of the past and the present, and on the spiritual experiences and words of Francis of Assisi.

To all these sources she unites her personal knowledge of theology and contemporary scientific understanding of the cosmos.  She also offers insights on issues concerning the history and present practice of Christianity, and discusses the problem that well-educated Christians have today in reconciling their faith in a creative God with a world full of pain and suffering.  At the end of each chapter she offers practical questions relating to everyday life, plus a copious list of references.  She posits that the humble God is always with us because we, and all creation, have always been with God.  This is what the Incarnation is all about –Jesus Christ, Emmanuel, God-with-us.  God , as Omnipotent Creator, chose from all eternity to come down to earth and take on human form, and continues to humbly relate to us in our suffering and in all aspects of our life.

In the final chapter Ilia speaks of divinization, the call of every Christian to not only become “like God”, because we are made in God’s image, but also to divinize the world around us.  This is our Christic vocation, to participate in the completion of the Body of Christ.  She writes in a style that is unique, clear and understandable.  I highly recommend  The Humility of God,  as well as the several other books she has written.