St. Clare of Assisi

Francis placed the Lord’s Prayer, the Our Father, at the center of community life.

I have found that if someone is going to work hard at being immersed in God, the effort should not be just in the praying itself but in becoming yourself a place of prayer.

What happens is that you realize that you cannot connect to God by sheer force of will or by a multitude of prayers.

I have tried to learn from St. Francis. In my home, pinned to the curtain of my front door, is a reminder—"Remember to remember God."

Both Sts. Francis and Clare of Assisi recognized the importance of what happened at the cross as a model for Christian life.

If we choose to love, we immediately take on the responsibility of being for others, in service and in times of opposition, in trials and persecution, also in peace and joy.