“May the love you have in your hearts be shown outwardly in your deeds.”
—The Testament of St. Clare
Love was at the heart of everything St. Clare did. Her love for Christ was her purpose. Her love for St. Francis was her compass. And her love for her sisters sustained her. Throughout her entire life, from the days before she left her family home until the day of her death, Clare was driven by her desire to demonstrate her love for others. Even when she was sick and bedridden, she expressed her love in small ways, such as sewing altar cloths for surrounding churches.
For her, every action was an opportunity to be an expression of God’s love.
Gaze | Consider | Contemplate | Imitate
The genius of the saints is that they are not complacent or lulled by mediocrity. Rarely do the saints settle for anything less than the ultimate: union with God. Clare is no exception. Her strong personality shines through her letters with an inner conviction. She strives not only for union with God but for transformation. At least that is what she writes to Agnes:
And transform your entire being into the image
of the Godhead Itself through contemplation.
She could have been less ambitious and tell Agnes something like “strive to enjoy each day” or “strive to show an act of kindness to those you meet.” But Clare aims for the personal, direct, ultimate goal—transformation—which can only take place through contemplation. Unless we can “see ourselves” in God and God in us and in our neighbors, we really cannot dwell in the love of God which is the heart of contemplation. –from Clare of Assisi: A Heart Full of Love
Prayer
St. Clare,
When we are weary and either don’t have the energy
to care for others or are too distracted to do so,
help us remember that displaying our love for others
is the best way to reflect Christ’s love.
Amen.
17 thoughts on “Lent with St. Clare: Third Wednesday”
Thank you for your goodness, sharing this beautiful piece of writing from Clare of Assisi . Of essence is for me the last paragraph which talks about ‘displaying love ❤️ for others and living Christ through my service .. is what I want to remember and practice.
The meditation on love for me is this The fulfillment of life is happiness true happiness comes from the love all things so God is love think of the happiness this brings! GOD BLESS ONE AND ALL.Pax Et Bonum
Thank you St. Clare for your insight on contemplation.
Thank you for these Lenten meditation. St.Clare is my namesake. My parents chose the name as I was born on her feast day. Also enjoying the videos—-especially those by Sr. Margaret Carney, osf. She’s former president of St.Bonaventure University and I’m an alum.
When I signed up for these devotions little did I know I’d be spending most of Lent at my husband’s bedside in the hospital. Please keep him in your prayers. Pax et Bonum.
Clare,
As a graduate of Bonas ‘80 and with a confirmation name of Clare, know that I will be keeping you and your husband in prayer as we journey together thru Lent.
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Prayers going up!!
Prayers for you and your husband. An especially kind way to show your love of God and your husband during this holy season of Lent. I think St. Clare would be pleased by her namesake.
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To enjoy what the Saint have we must first BE WILLING to give up ALL earthly possessions . Embrace G-d as our earthly treasure ,the one who we depend on . Then His Holy Spirit will full us. He -Blessed be His Holy name- promise that.
We will be able to endure our suffering for our sins ( cause I believe that in coming to know / accept G-d there must be consequences to be paid for my sins) and with patience ( cause He ,Belssed be His Holy name, gives us only what He ,Blessed be His Holy name , knows what we can endure ) and truthfulness be born a humble person with the Love for all G-d creations. The love that St. Paula speaks about. Not the worldly meaning of love.
The true meaning.
So we can say : May the saying of my mouth and the mediation of my heart be acceptable before you O Lord-Blessed be His Holy name- my Rock and my Redeemer.( Pslam 19 v15)
G-d Bless.
Thanks for these reflections that remove our thoughts from the temporal and focus us on Eternity. Helping others is the way to Salvation. The Destination We all seek to attain. Siempre Adelante ????
O Lord, our God, grant us, we beseech you, patience in troubles, humility in comforts, constancy in temptations, and victory over all our spiritual foes. Grant us sorrow for our sins, thankfulness for your benefits, fear of your judgment, love of your mercies, and mindfulness of your presence; now and for ever. Amen.
Amen.
Its of great experience to be part of this years lenten celebration . I have enjoyed high level spirit for the teachings and motivational words proclaimed by St Clare. St Clare of Assisi Pray for us.
Thank you for providing these reflections and videos. I, too, especially appreciate Margaret Carney! I could listen to her all day!
I look forward to each day’s presentation.
I’ve purchased the book, Clare of Assisi: A Heart Full of Love, a look forward to reading it during my upcoming retreat.
This lent I strive to participate is several lenten programs and actively pursue answers to questions that arise during this time by seeking them out with many resources. That said , I am glad to participate in each one as each program brings something different to the forefront of my life and to my prayer or knowledge of faith.
What I appreciate most here is the honesty and examples from the life of St. Clare.
Her strong personality shines through her letters with an inner conviction. She strives not only for union with God but for transformation. At least that is what she writes to Agnes:
And transform your entire being into the image
of the Godhead Itself through contemplation.
She could have been less ambitious and tell Agnes something like “strive to enjoy each day” or “strive to show an act of kindness to those you meet.” But Clare aims for the personal, direct, ultimate goal—transformation—which can only take place through contemplation. Unless we can “see ourselves” in God and God in us and in our neighbors, we really cannot dwell in the love of God which is the heart of contemplation. –from Clare of Assisi: A Heart Full of Love
Many of the Lenten programs are asking us to do the minimum or participate in random acts of kindness, but in these passages we hear the truth . St. Clare could ask for such things like “strive to show an act of kindness to those you meet.” Such as pay for the cup of coffee for the person in the drive thru lane behind you….or do something good for yourself….or get some exercise….yes those were some from the programs I have been part of this lent. However; from here we have a portion of the letter St. Clare writes to her sister Agnes,where she talks about total transformation into the image of the Godhead through contemplation…..very powerful meditation and a very powerful way to change the world is by starting first with what we are willing to contemplate changing in ourselves and to WHOM we emulate when we change our inner being.
Beautiful! Thank You! God Bless You!
Contemplation is so important. Contemplative prayer is not taught a lot anymore. It is what the Lord wants from us. Take time every day to work on it. Thank you St Clare.