The Ascetic Spirituality of Juan de Ávila (1499-1569)

Contents......Page 8
Preface......Page 12
List of Abbreviations......Page 16
Introduction......Page 18
Juan de Ávila and Mental Prayeras the Hallmark of his Judeoconverso Spirituality......Page 19
Juan de Ávila in Contemporary Scholarship......Page 26
Juan de Ávila and Mental Prayer as a Mark of Holiness......Page 32
Outline of theWork......Page 44
1. The Spiritual Exercises of Juan de Ávila: his Rule for the Clergy......Page 48
Ávila’s Letter to His Disciple from Córdoba (1538)......Page 50
Juan de Ávila’s Letter to Master García Arias (2 [January] 1538)......Page 56
The Rule in the Letter “to a Priest,” post-1542......Page 63
The Rule in the Letter to Fray Luis de Granada of c. 1544......Page 73
Conclusion......Page 74
2. The Spiritual Exercises of Juan de Ávila: his Rule for the Laity......Page 76
The Short Rule of Christian Life in the Wider Context of Fray Luis de Granada’s Guía de pecadores (1556)......Page 78
Villanueva’s Reglas in Relation to Ávila’s Short Rule......Page 81
The Short Rule of Christian Life of 1556......Page 87
The Posthumous Correction of the Short Rule......Page 96
The Fall of María de la Visitación and JuanDíaz’s Edition of the Diez documentos......Page 99
The Question of Personal Merits in the Revised Edition of the Short Rule......Page 104
Conclusion......Page 105
3. Juan de Ávila and the Audi, filia of 1556 as a Manual for Holy Women......Page 108
Of Beatas and Religiosas: Women Disciples of Juan de Ávila......Page 109
The Audi, filia of 1556 as a Manual for Holy Women......Page 115
The Visions and Experiences of Ana Ponce de León: A Woman’s Experience of Mental Prayer......Page 129
Conclusion......Page 133
4. Juan de Ávila and Frequent Communion: Historical Background......Page 134
Frequent Communion in New Testament and Patristic Sources......Page 135
Medieval and Scholastic Sources on Frequent Communion......Page 139
Erasmus, the Spanish Erasmians, and Frequent Communion......Page 149
The Council of Trent on Frequent Communion......Page 155
The Spanish Debate over Frequent Communion......Page 158
Conclusion......Page 172
5. Juan de Ávila and Frequent Communion: His Sermons on the Eucharist......Page 174
Juan de Ávila on Frequent Communion: His Sermon on the Eighth Day of Corpus Christi, 1542......Page 176
The Problem of Annual or Rare Communion: The Protestant Heresy......Page 183
Frequent Communion and Spiritual Discipline: Ávila’s “Bien Comulgar”......Page 189
Frequent Communion, Social Discipline, and Ávila’s Views on Women......Page 199
Frequent Communion, Social Discipline, and Ávila’s Criticism of the Spanish Grandees......Page 207
6. Juan de Ávila and his Ascetic Doctrine of Union with the Holy Spirit......Page 212
Espirituación, or Union with the Holy Spirit......Page 213
Espirituación: Ávila’s Vision of Moral Reform......Page 220
7. Juan de Ávila and the Spiritual Discipline of Public Service......Page 228
The Spirituality of Public Service in His Sermons......Page 229
The Spirituality of Public Service in His Letters......Page 238
Conclusion......Page 254
Marcel Bataillon and the Definition of Judeoconverso Spirituality......Page 256
Juan de Ávila: Ascetic Spirituality as Social Practice......Page 262
Bibliography......Page 266
Index......Page 280