Blessed Teresa of Calcutta was once asked why God loved the poor. She answered, “Because only God and the poor are free.” Saint Clare of Assisi knew this better than anyone, which is why she chose poverty as the great ideal of her life. She lived in a time when people were either very rich or very poor. From being rich she chose the freedom of poverty. Normally poverty is something to be eradicated from society, and people both in and outside of the Church dedicate themselves to doing just that. For Clare, poverty was her path to emptiness, just as Christ emptied himself. Clare’s charism of a simple life of poverty allowed her to see and appreciate the riches within; she felt completely at one with the poor Christ.
Drawn to Clare
The Lord drew me to Clare when I was very young and before I knew much about her. Over the years I have come to know her as a friend, a mother, and a sister; as one to love and imitate. She is a great pillar of the Church in the mold of Saint Catherine of Siena, Saint Teresa of Ávila, Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, and Saint Edith Stein. Her sparse writings burn with pure love of Christ on whom she loved to gaze. In Francis she could easily see the same love and was drawn to follow him. He in turn saw in her the feminine embodiment of his charism and spirituality.
Suffering and presence
During her life Saint Clare suffered a great deal of illness which she bore patiently. This, no doubt, gave her a deep compassion for the suffering of others and led her to pray for many who were healed. In my early life in the convent I drew great strength from the example of Saint Clare and the way she united her sufferings with the sufferings of Christ. I like to think of my own ministry of healing as identifying me in a special way with Saint Clare. Another event in her life so often depicted in paintings of Clare was the story of how she repelled the Saracens. As they were scaling the convent walls in Assisi she held the monstrance containing the Blessed Sacrament at the window causing them to fall back and withdraw. Given her deep love for the person of Jesus it is easy to understand her love for him in this Blessed Sacrament. This incident provided me with powerful inspiration to focus my own spirituality and devotion on Christ’s real presence in the Eucharist. There I find Christ crucified, Christ the Bread of Life, Christ risen and ascended to the Father. I believe that Saint Clare gives a special gift to each of her daughters. Her gift to me is a love for Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.
My own life has taken a very different path from hers and yet, in spite of so much travel, when I come into the Eucharistic presence I find myself at home with Saint Clare in the cloister of my heart. Mother Teresa once told me something that touched me deeply. She took my hands in hers and said, “Your courage and conviction come from your great love for the Eucharist. Always keep close to the Eucharistic Jesus.”
Saint Clare’s charism
How has Saint Clare’s charism lasted so long? Some maintain that she never really wanted to be enclosed. In her day nuns lived behind walls and did not come out. Clare accepted enclosure because she knew that the real enclosure was in the heart of Jesus. In our day we are witnessing the death of many religious communities. This is happening because people have forgotten this essential charism. The “pearl of great price” is love for the person of Jesus wherever we find him: in our hearts, in our sisters, or at the ends of the earth. At times we have allowed the material and secular world to distract us from living the Gospel. We have lost sight of what is at the heart of our vocation—the person of Jesus. Clare never forgot this and never lost her fervor. Her life behind the walls of San Damiano was marked by poverty, trouble, sickness and hard work. And yet, because of her perfect union with Christ, she experienced it all as purest joy. This is why Saint Clare’s charism and way of life will endure. Because of this she can take her place in the Church of today to remind us that with Jesus Christ at the center, life is always full of meaning; without him, we wander in darkness.
Saint Clare is the patroness of television. It’s interesting that the only worldwide catholic television network was founded by a Poor Clare Nun.
©Mag August 2004
