One of the mistakes most of us make is to think that we always have enough time. We put off things we should do, promising to get to them later. What we don’t think about, though, is the possibility that there might not be a later.

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.