St Clare of Assisi

St Clare of assisi

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)

Why Mary of Egypt

Today, we in the Greek Catholic Churches, honored Mary of Egypt who was a great a sinner; other Byzantine churches on the older calendar will honor her on April 1.

The Canon of St Andrew speaks of the angels being in amazement of her ability to overcome sin and live in grace. Fleeing to the desert she wanted to meet the Living God of mercy and of love. The desert is the place of asceticism and prayer, a place of encounter, a place to give testimony to the ways God continues to create us anew.

In decisive moment she changed her life and went to the hiddenness of the desert. She lived without the sacraments for years. Mary lived a Christian life all the years in the desert without the sacraments in communion with God. Before her death Abba Zosimus brought her the Body and Blood of Christ.

Mary could say that “The word of salvation gently touched the eyes of my heart and revealed to me that it was my unclean life which barred the entrance to me.”

This image of St Clare and St Mary of Egypt is telling for us who living in this period of penance: Great Lent and the Coronavirus. They rejected fear, negativity and sin. Both were spouses of the Lord of Life. It is striking to me that the artist linked both these women saints in art because in reality they represent the virtues, especially purity of heart. They both knew the virtue of being united in prayer, fasting and almsgiving.

Image: Church of Santa Maria Assunta in Vallo di Nera, Perugia, Italy

St Clare of Assisi

The Church honors the memory of St. Clare of Assisi (1193/94-1253), liturgically, today. She is known as the first woman to join St. Francis and his companions in their new form of living the Gospel in a radical way.

Clare met Francis who impressed upon her the virtue –not just a value– of being a part of what he determined to be a life of penance and “life according to the Holy Gospel”. Called by God, Clare decided to abandon her family and social status, like Francis and his companions, in 1211 or 1212 be a part of the new movement. Her “Franciscan” life first was lived in her family home but later moved to a more fitting environment. It was Francis who taught:

“Since by divine inspiration you have made yourselves daughters and servants of the most High King, the heavenly Father, and have taken the Holy Spirit as your spouse, choosing to live according to the perfection of the Holy Gospel, I resolve and promise for myself and for my brothers always to have the same loving care and special solicitude for you as I have for them.”

As she wrote to St. Agnes of Prague: “If so great and good Lord, then, on coming into the Virgin’s womb, chose to appear despised, needy, and poor in this world, so that people who were in utter poverty and want, suffering hunger for heavenly nourishment, might become rich in him by possessing the kingdom of heaven, then rejoice and be glad! . . What a great and praiseworthy exchange: to leave the things of time for those of eternity, to choose the things of heaven for the goods of earth, to receive the hundred-fold in place of one, and to possess a blessed and eternal life!”

The early sisters of Clare lived simply and prayerfully at the Church of San Damiano for over 40 years, sustained by their own work. The her monastic Rule was finally approved by Pope Innocent IV shortly before her death in 1253. She was canonized two years later in 1255.

St Clare of Assisi

From a letter from Saint Clare of Assisi, virgin, to Saint Agnes of Prague:

Happy indeed is she who is granted a place at the divine banquet, for she may cling with her inmost heart to him whose beauty eternally awes the blessed hosts of heaven; to him whose love inspires love, whose contemplation refreshes, whose generosity satisfies, whose gentleness delights, whose memory shines sweetly as the dawn; to him whose fragrance revives the dead, and whose glorious vision will bless all the citizens of that heavenly Jerusalem. For his is the splendor of eternal glory, the brightness of eternal light, and the mirror without cloud.

Queen and bride of Jesus Christ, look into that mirror daily and study well your reflection, that you may adorn yourself, mind and body, with an enveloping garment of every virtue, and thus find yourself attired in flowers and gowns befitting the daughter and most chaste bride of the king on high. In this mirror blessed poverty, holy humility and ineffable love are also reflected. With the grace of God the whole mirror will be your source of contemplation.

Behold, I say, the birth of this mirror. Behold his poverty even as he was laid in the manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes. What wondrous humility, what marvelous poverty! The King of angels, the Lord of heaven and earth resting in a manger! Look more deeply into the mirror and meditate on his humility, or simply on his poverty. Behold the many labors and sufferings he endured to redeem the human race. Then, in the depths of this very mirror, ponder his unspeakable love which caused him to suffer on the wood of the cross and to endure the most shameful kind of death. The mirror himself, from his position on the cross, warned passersby to weigh carefully this act, as he said: All of you who pass by this way, behold and see if there is any sorrow like mine. Let us answer his cries and lamentations with one voice and one spirit: I will be mindful and remember, and my soul will be consumed within me. In this way, queen of the king of heaven, your love will burn with an ever brighter flame.

Consider also his indescribable delights, his unending riches and honors, and sigh for what is beyond your love and heart’s content as you cry out: Draw me on! We will run after you in the perfume of your ointment, heavenly spouse. Let me run and not faint until you lead me into your wine cellar; your left hand rests under my head, your right arm joyfully embraces me, and you kiss me with the sweet kiss of your lips. As you rest in this state of contemplation, remember your poor mother and know that I have indelibly written your happy memory into my heart, for you are dearer to me than all the others.

Saint Clare of Assisi

Today, August 11, the Church liturgically honors the memory of Saint Clare of Assisi (1194-1253).

As you know from Church history, Clare was born of a noble family of Assisi, and a serious disciple of Jesus by the time she met the famous Francis. The Franciscan tradition indicates that she had already decided as a young woman to embark on a life of penance when she spoke with Francis in 1212; she joined Francis’s new movement at the Portiuncula.

A witness that attracts

Clare was followed by other women who joined her at the Church of San Damiano. There Clare and her sisters lived simply and prayerfully for over 40 years, supporting themselves by the work of their hands. Religious life was bursting forth with new forms when Clare and Francis founded the Friars and Sisters Minor. It is noted in the tradition that Clare had to fight to maintain her distinctive vision of religious life waiting for her Rule to be approved by the Pope shortly before her death in 1253.

Let’s recall an excerpt of a letter Saint Clare sent to Saint Agnes of Prague: “As you know, i am sure, that the kingdom of heaven is promised by the Lord only to the poor, for the one who loves temporal things loses the fruit of love. . . What a great and laudable exchange: to leave the things of time for those of eternity, to choose the things of heaven for the goods of earth, to receive the hundred-fold in place of one, and to possess a blessed and eternal life!”

Let us pray for the women who follow the Rule of Saint Clare.

Saint Clare of Assisi

“Never forget that the way which leads to heaven is narrow; that the gate leading to life is narrow and low; that there are but few who find it and enter by it; and if there be some who go in and tread the narrow path for some time, there are but very few who persevere therein.”

St. Clare of Assisi

The few who find the narrow gate are those who desire to be in friendship with Jesus. Salvation comes no other way.

Saint Clare of Assisi

More than anything else that can be said of the life of Saint Clare of Assisi it is her example of being at the foot of the life-saving Cross. This icon shows us that the cross means sacrifice and service. An abbess, as an example of what the Lord would do, washes the feet of the disciples.

Saint Clare’s radical example is not easy to follow but I think it ought to be an aspiration. May she show us the path to the Lord. I believe that Clare opens a door of what Christian discipleship means.

Prayers for the Poor Clare nuns.

Saint Clare of Assisi continues to inspire countless

The world’s Catholics -not merely the Franciscans–are celebrating “Clarian Year,” to observe the eighth centenary of the conversion and consecration of Saint Clare of Assisi (1193-1253) which tradition tells us took place on Palm Sunday 1211 or 1212. Pope Benedict XVI wrote to Bishop Domenico Sorrentino of Assisi-Nocera Umbra-Gualdo Tadino to express his own affection for the continued witness of Saint Clare.

Saint Clare’s history “also speaks to our generation, and has a particular fascination for the young. All Christian life, and thus also consecrated life is the fruit of the Paschal Mystery and of our participation in the death and resurrection of Christ. In the Palm Sunday liturgy pain and glory come together, a theme which will be developed over the following days through the dark night of the Passion up to the ultimate light of Easter. With her choice Clare relived this mystery.

At its most profound level, Clare’s ‘conversion’ is a conversion of love. No longer would she have the refined dress of the Assisan aristocracy, but an elegance of soul expressed in praise of God and giving of self. Day by day a fraternity came into being within the confines of the monastery of San Damiano, at the school of the Eucharistic Christ, … a fraternity regulated by love of God and prayer, by concern for others and service. It was in this context of profound faith and great humanity that Clare came to interpret the Franciscan ideal, imploring the ‘privilege’ of poverty and renouncing even the shared possession of material goods, something which left even the Supreme Pontiff perplexed, until in the end he too surrendered to the heroism of her sanctity.

How can we not present St. Clare, and St. Francis, to the young people of today? The time dividing us from these two saints has not lessened their allure. Quite the contrary, their contemporary importance is evident in the face of the illusions and delusions which often mark the life of modern youth. Never has a time caused the young to dream so much, with the multiple attractions of a life in which everything seems possible and permissible. And yet, how much dissatisfaction exists, how many times the search for happiness and self realisation follows paths which lead to artificial paradises such as those of drugs and unbridled sensuality. And the current situation, with the difficulty of finding dignified work and forming a united and happy family, adds further clouds to the horizon.

Yet there is no lack of young people who, even in our own times, accept the invitation to entrust themselves to Christ and to face the journey of life courageously, responsibly and hopefully, choosing even to leave everything to follow Him and serve their brethren. The story of Clare, with that of Francis, is an invitation to reflect upon the meaning of life and to seek the secret of true joy in God. It is concrete proof that those who accomplish the will of God and trust in Him not only lose nothing, but discover the real treasure which gives meaning to everything.

Palm Sunday was not an ordinary day for Clare. The founder of the Poor Clares followed Saint Francis’ advice that she attend Palm Sunday Mass dressed in all her finery. Having received the palm from the hands of the bishop as a pledge of her being united to Christ crucified, she then ran from her parents’ house goint to the Porziuncola where Francis and the other friars were waiting. At that point Clare renounced the world, cut her hair and she adopted the black veil and sandals. This became the first habit of the Poor Clares.

Saint Clare of Assisi: a year to receive an indulgence

Today we observe the feast day of one the brilliant gems in the crown of Christ the King, Saint Clare of Assisi.

Clare, as you know, is the close companion to the great saint Francis of Assisi, who some have called the “other Francis” because of singular vision of living with Christ poor. In time, Clare founded a group of “poor ladies” living together following the Rule written by Clare for God’s greater glory in enclosed life. First known as the Order of San Damiano, The Poor Clares as they have been known, live a life of joyous poverty in imitation of Christ. Clare’s Rule was an extraordinary act of confidence since the establishment only accepted the Rule of St Benedict for monastic living.

Saint Clare was born on July 16, 1194 and died at the age of 59 on August 11, 1253. She was canonized by Pope Alexander IV on September 26, 1255. Our Saint is the patron of those with diseases of the eye, communication systems, goldsmiths and good weather. Perhaps brides and builders should pay more attention to Saint Clare!

For the 800th anniversary of Saint Clare’s birth holy Mother Church is offering the faithful –with the usual conditions– an indulgence.

The four minister generals of the large Franciscans groups wrote the Poor Sisters of Saint Clare a letter for the anniversary where they say they rely on the continued witness of the daughters of Clare today in the monastic life. The friars propose a consolidation that maintains a “healthy and necessary complementarity” among the friars and sisters.
Here’s the letter: Letter to the Poor Clares.pdf

You may want to read an excellent t book on Saint Clare edited and translated by Capuchin Father Regis J. Armstrong, The Lady: Clare of Assisi: Early Documents (NY: New City Press, 2006).

Monasteries are true and proper oases for humanity, Benedict XVI reminds us

In Wednesday’s edition of L’Osservatore Romano, Pope Benedict told the listeners of the Wednesday General Audience that the monastic life is an essential value for humanity and for the Church, today. The Pope’s emphasis on beauty and silence helps us to appreciate and to listen God’s promptings of the desires of the heart is important. Let’s pay attention to what the Pope has to say. You may also want to watch the Rome Reports news video.

The editor writes, “Monasteries are true and proper oases of the spirit in which God speaks to humanity. The Pope said this to faithful at the General Audience of Wednesday, 10 August, that was held in the courtyard of the Papal Residence at Castel Gandolfo.”

Dear Brothers and Sisters! In every age, men and women who have consecrated their lives to God in prayer – like monks and nuns – have established their communities in particularly beautiful places: in the countryside, on hilltops, in valleys, on the shores of lakes or the sea, or even on little islands. These places unite two elements which are very important for contemplative life: the beauty of creation, which recalls that of the Creator, and silence, which is guaranteed by living far from cities and the great means of communication. Silence is the environmental condition that most favors contemplation, listening to God and meditation. The very fact of experiencing silence and allowing ourselves to be “filled,” so to speak, with silence, disposes us to prayer. The great prophet, Elijah, on Mount Horeb – that is, Sinai – experienced strong winds, then an earthquake, and finally flashes of fire, but he did not recognize the voice of God in them; instead, he recognized it in a light breeze (cfr. 1 Rev 19:11-13). God speaks in silence, but we need to know how to listen. This is why monasteries are oases in which God speaks to humanity; and there we find the courtyard, a symbolic place because it is a closed space, but open toward the sky.

Tomorrow, dear friends, we will celebrate the memory of St. Clare of Assisi. So I would like to recall one of these “oases” of the spirit which is particularly dear to the Franciscan family and to all Christians: the little convent of San Damiano, situated just beneath the city of Assisi, among the olive groves that slope towards Santa Maria degli Angeli. In that little church, which Francis restored after his conversion, Chiara and her first companions established their community, living off prayer and little works. They were called the “Poor Sisters,” and their “form of life” was the same as the Frati Minori: “To observe the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rule of St. Clare, I, 2), conserving the union of reciprocal charity (cfr ivi, X, 7) and observing in particular the poverty and humility of Jesus and his Most Holy Mother (cfr, ivi, XII, 13).

Benedict XVI at the General Audience stresses the value of monastic spirituality God speaks in silence Benedict XVI at the General Audience stresses the value of monastic spirituality God speaks in silence and beauty of the place in which the monastic community lives – simple and austere beauty – are like a reflection of the spiritual harmony which the community itself attempts to create. The world is filled with these oases of the spirit, some very ancient, particularly in Europe; others are more recent, while still others have been restored by new communities. Looking at things from a spiritual perspective, these places of the spirit are a load-bearing structure of the world! It is no accident that many people, especially in times of rest, visit these places and stop there for some days: even the soul, thanks be to God, has its needs! The Pope continues:

Let us remember, therefore, St. Clare. But let you also remember other Saints who remind us of the importance of turning our gaze to the “things of heaven,” like St. Edith Stein, Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, Carmelite, co-patron of Europe, whom we celebrated yesterday. And today, August 10, we cannot forget St. Lawrence, deacon and martyr, with a special wish for Romans who have always venerated him as one of their patrons. Finally, let us turn our gaze to the Virgin Mary, that she may teach us to love silence and prayer.