“Therefore, beloved sisters, we must consider the immense gifts that God has bestowed on us.”
—The Testament of St. Clare
St. Clare’s reference to “immense gifts” seems a contradiction to the humble and simple lives of her community. Most of us would expect those gifts to be more tactile and straightforward. For Clare, however, Christ’s love was the greatest gift that anyone could have received. She always looked to praise God for the many blessings bestowed on her, even if they didn’t seem obvious. We may need to search a bit deeper to discover the gifts that we have been given.
Gaze | Consider | Contemplate | Imitate
Living with a large number of women who are not kin is its own call to penance. While the major impression of the San Damiano community is one of concord, joyful obedience, and humility, the opposite vices were not unknown. Why else would Clare have found it necessary to outline specific punishments for those who transgressed? She writes that the sisters must beware of “pride, vainglory, envy, avarice, care and anxiety about this world, detraction and murmuring, dissension and division” (Rule 10:6 [19]). This is a sobering litany of faults capable of destroying a community from inside.
We should not imagine the forty years in San Damiano to have been devoid of suffering. These were real flesh and blood women. Their virtues are on display in the formal biographies, but their vices are backlit in the Rule’s chapter of “admonition and correction.”
One thing that her earliest companions wanted to pass on when asked to testify about her life was the assertion that her disposition was always one of peaceful composure. Her privations did not result in making her short-tempered, gloomy, or cold. She exhibited an inner joy in all circumstances. This demeanor added to the awe of her companions and became part of their endless admiration. This “peace surpassing understanding” drew them daily into her orbit of sisterly solidarity. —from Light of Assisi: The Story of Saint Clare
Prayer
St. Clare, you were able to see everything
you encountered as a gift from God.
Help us to open our eyes to the many gifts we, too,
are being given, especially when they are not obvious.
Amen.
5 thoughts on “Lent with St. Clare: Second Monday”
In this Lental season let us try / no let us replace everything we know with G-ds grace , His will ,His heart, His love. Living in harmony just not with our Catholic family but with everyone.
St Clare received G-ds gift of Love -like all the other Saints as such they were able to endure and surrendered to the will of the Holy Spirit.
Let all hunger for G-ds love . He – Blessed be His Holy Name- is the bread of life.
G-d Bless.
A kind heart and a soul for God and neighbor. Thank you Franciscans. Make me an instrument of Your peace…
St. Clare’s reference to “immense gifts” seems a contradiction to the humble and simple lives of her community.
This statement here reminds me of something my Grampa used to tell me. He lived with me the last 11yrs of his life and so he would say to me ‘everything that i am and all that I have is yours,you will have a treasure here. Look through all of it and you will find what I can’t give you yet.” I never quite understood what he was talking about. I thought he meant things like the antique furniture, old books, maybe some jewelry. I also knew how my grampa preserved fragiie items that were of importance to him. He would wrap them in layers of clean handkerchiefs or linen, place photographs or certain items between the bible pages, or keep something near and dear to him in his vest pocket. So I thought I would have to rummage through everything he owned to find some gold coins or diamonds,something of secular value. BUT the day after he died I learned otherwise. We had to find the clothing my grampa labeled “death clothes” . In his closet the suit was carefully pressed and hung, the tie and handkerchief for the pocket was in another box. When my mom and I opened those we found the first of the “treasures” There was a handwritten composed prayer to our Lord requesting forgiveness for the times he treated us badly and another part of the prayer states that he forgives us for anything we think we did that was a hurt against him. WOW!!!! How we needed that in that moment.! He passed away in 2007 and to this day I still find prayers he wrote ,notes slipped into everything , and photos in unusual places, documents of our family history ,the list goes on and on. He was the greatest grampa a person could ever be blessed to have in their family!!! So I understand fully kind of “immense gifts” St. Clare was leaving to her sisters and to the world! We should delight in these true treasures!
Another section of todays readings gives us so much to ponder:
Living with a large number of women who are not kin is its own call to penance. While the major impression of the San Damiano community is one of concord, joyful obedience, and humility, the opposite vices were not unknown. Why else would Clare have found it necessary to outline specific punishments for those who transgressed? She writes that the sisters must beware of “pride, vainglory, envy, avarice, care and anxiety about this world, detraction and murmuring, dissension and division” (Rule 10:6 [19]). This is a sobering litany of faults capable of destroying a community from inside.
During the over 35 yrs of my work life, the careers I chose were almost completely exclusive to women. I was naïve in my youth thinking this would be such a blessing to work with wonderful , caring, souls. However; it turned out that in the secular world a workforce of all women would prove to challenge my very core beliefs at times and other times would turn the purity and grace of my passions into the ugliest of obsessions. The detraction & Murmuring, the dissension and divisions based in pride and jealousy would tear each other down rather than build up spirits within the community. Now put into the mix their were innocent children or fragile seniors in the middle of all this darkness and the communities became toxic cesspools so quickly!
That St. Clare would need to admonish and correct the sisters often takes on a whole new life in the Godly work she was trying to do, She had to be on guard and carefully watch for such vices creeping and seeping into the community. God Bless St. Clare for recognizing that and taking on the responsibility to offer the guidance and correction the sisters needed to live a life that would glorify God and the works of faith&charity their community was striving to give their own community,the villages surrounding them, and later on the whole world! St. Clare is an individual with so many complex layers! Her faith foundation was so tightly bound to Gods Will it is a beautiful testimony to how she spent every moment of her 59yrson this earth. We need more women in positions of authority to follow St. Clare’s model ,especially in the secular world! Can you imagine if every female manager & those with positions of authority had to first train under St. Clare or use a model of her moral compass prior to leading in their position, ( in reality men too) , how much better off places of business ,plus the world in general coud be?
Today we should print out the prayer provided and use it before going out to work or volunteer in our communities. That one simple act may be the start of a trend to change the world for the betterment of all of Gods family! And to go farther, perhaps make copies of the prayer to leave in our churches, chapels, or Catholic hospitals or other Catholic/Christian places of business. This could make such an impact this Lent and beyond!.????????????????✝????????
I love the video presentation today! We need to FAST , but with that FAST we now have time to FEAST on what the Lord would want us to do with that time gained!
If we focus on that during Lent we can develop a new habit to benefit more than just our own need, but improve the state of our community and our world!
What if the remaining days of Lent do not suffice to truly form a new habit?
WEll we could try to carry over the practice of FAST & FEAST inti the season of Pentecost! Another 50 day cycle surely will help those newly planted seeds into a beautifully blossoming bud worthy of display in Gods Garden=) ????????????????????????????????????☘