The spiritual fathers and mothers frequently advise their juniors to look to the saints as examples of those who adhere closely to Jesus Christ. The saints and blesseds of our Catholic Church –East and West– show us that living the gospel fully is possible, is reasonable, is beautiful. I also look in the canon of saints and blesseds for the complements: Benedict and Scholastica, Francis de Sales and Jane de Chantal, Dominic and Catherine of Siena. Today, it is Clare’s feast day and it is entirely appropriate to think of her in light of her spiritual friendship with the great Francis. The Lord has given to us the virtue of complementarity to see the brilliance of holiness. Hence, we honor our venerable mother, Clare of Assisi.
“Clare was born in 1193 into a noble family. Her marriage had been arranged, according to custom, since childhood.
When St Francis began to preach, she followed his intense career with growing interest. Eventually, at the age of eighteen, she left home secretly and took refuge in the broken-down chapel of San Damiano, where Francis received her into monastic life and clothed her in the habit. They decided that she would stay with nearby Benedictine nuns until the chapel could be made into a monastery for her.
Clare herself soon had a following, and the life she charted for these nuns stressed simplicity and poverty according to the ideal of Francis.
Clare’s rich admiration and clear understanding of Francis gave her the spark and drive to persevere. She outlived Francis by 27 years, and during this time she guided her community with such compassion and discretion that her life can be seen as the most authentic expression of evangelical perfection as understood by St Francis.
The relationship between Clare and Francis is, perhaps, the best reflection in the western monastic tradition of the Orthodox tradition of spiritual father and disciple. (NS)