Find what you’re looking for
From a young age, St. Clare of Assisi was encouraged by the strong faith of her mother, Ortalana, to carry out God’s work, even before she joined Francis and the brothers. Clare ministered and cared for the less fortunate when she wouldn’t have been expected to do so.
Since St. Clare of Assisi and her sisters never left the convent of San Damiano, it seems this directive could be challenging. Yet Clare still showed her love outwardly through her letters and through service to her sisters.
When St. Clare died on August 11, 1253, she was only fifty-nine years old. Yet what she accomplished in those fifty-nine years has endured even today. That says a lot about her and the strength of her faith.
“This woman, noble by birth, but nobler by manner of life, eminently preserved the virginity she had already protected from the first under this rule of holiness.” —Papal Decree of Canonization
St. Clare’s life was not easy. From the struggle to follow her religious vocation, to the physical suffering she experienced throughout her life, to the pope’s ongoing resistance to approving her rule for the sisters, she continually pushed forward with strength.
For most people, love carries some sort of romantic connotation. Love, though, is much broader than that. A shining example of that is Clare’s love for Christ.
As a member of the noble class, St. Clare had the finest goods available to her—clothes, food, shelter.
“Gaze upon the mirror each day, O Queen and Spouse of Jesus Christ, and continually study your face within it.” —Fourth letter to Agnes of Prague
When Clare left her home, she was completely alone. For a brief time, she met with Francis and his brothers and then took refuge with a community of religious sisters. In essence, however, she was charting her own path.
Today is the start of our Lenten journey. On our foreheads we wear ashes, a sign that we are made of dust and to dust we shall return. Such an outward sign conveys a message that words do not.
