St. Clare of Assisi

For Clare of Assisi, friendship with Christ entailed a friendship of self-giving love.

An adaptation of Clare’s words, Gaze upon Christ, Consider Christ, Contemplate Christ, can be a Franciscan mantra for those wishing to draw closer to God in contemplative prayer.

Francis was canonized a mere two years after he died. Clare lived on for another twenty-seven years.

Clare often called herself the “little plant of St. Francis.” And while St. Francis may have helped start her growth, she certainly did most of the growing and spreading on her own.

Francis was holding on to existence by a thread, and the San Damiano cross was his lifeline to his future.