Today, August 11, the Catholic Church celebrates the memory of St. Clare of Assisi, foundress of the feminine branch of the Franciscans.
Newsroom (August 11, 2021 2:30 PM Gaudium Press) Born in the Italian city of Assisi in the year 1193, Saint Clare received this name through the inspiration of her mother, who received a revelation that her daughter would enlighten the world through her holiness.
At the age of eighteen, Clare left home and went to meet St. Francis of Assisi, eager to follow her religious vocation. After having her hair cut, a symbol of her total surrender to Christ, she went to the church of San Damiano, where she founded the female branch of the Franciscan Order, also known as the Poor Clares.
On one occasion, during an attempted invasion of the convent by Saracens, Saint Clare confronted them holding an ostensory with the Eucharistic Jesus and affirming that Christ was stronger than they. This attitude inexplicably caused the invaders to panic and flee. For this reason, the Saint is represented holding an Ostensory in her hand.
Another important episode in the life of St. Clare of Assisi occurred in 1252, one year before her death. The founder of the Poor Clares was bedridden but still managed to attend the Mass that was being celebrated. According to her accounts, the celebration of the Mass appeared to her as if projected on the wall of her room. This fact led Pope Pius XII to proclaim her, in 1958, as Patroness of television.
Words of Saint Clare of Assisi
01 – “If you look at God, what worries you so much will seem insignificant.”
02 – “You know that you cannot be glorious in the world and there [in Heaven] reign with Christ”.
03 – “May the Lord always be with you and may you always be with Him.”
04 – “Let us take care that, if we enter into the way of the Lord, we shall by no means depart from it at any time through our fault or ignorance.”
05 – “Jesus is the bridge between the one who can do everything and the creatures who need everything.”
06 – “For Love of Christ there is no pain that makes me suffer.””
07 – “Never lose sight of your starting point.”
08 – “Always grow in the love of God and in mutual charity.”
09 “Blessed poverty! To those who love and embrace you, you give eternal riches.”
10 – “What a greater and more praiseworthy exchange: to leave temporal things for eternal ones, to merit heavenly goods instead of earthly ones, and to possess the happy life forever!”
Prayer to Saint Clare of Assisi
Clare, holy woman full of clarity, Sister of St. Francis of Assisi, intercede for your devotees who want to be pure and transparent. Your name and your being exhale the perfume of whole things and the freshness of what is new and renewed.
Lighten the tortuous paths of those who are immersed in the night of their own selfishness and in the darkness of isolation. Clare, Sister of Saint Francis, place in our hearts the passion for simplicity, the thirst for poverty, the yearning for contemplation.
I beseech you, Sister Moon, who together with the Sun of Assisi shines in the same heaven, obtain for us the grace we confidently ask for. Saint Clare, illumine the steps of those who seek clarity! Amen! (EPC)
Compiled by Zephania Gangl
