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| Wax covers the face of Saint Clare inside the Basilica of Saint Clare in Assisi |
Today, we remember and pray with Saint Clare of Assisi. Her life provides us with a most valuable lesson for our time. Chiara Offreduccio was born in Assisi on 16 July 1194. Clare's father was very wealthy and her mother was from the noble family of Fiumi. Therefore she could have led a life of luxury. However, even as a child, Clare was devoted to prayer. She was 18 years old when she heard Francis preaching during a Lenten service held in the church of San Gregorio in Assisi, and she asked him then to help her live according to the gospel. A short time afterwards, on the evening of Palm Sunday, 20 March 1212, she left her father's house and proceeded to the chapel of the Porziuncula (the little chapel that had been restored by Francis) where her hair was cut and she exchanged her rich gown for a plain robe and veil.
Francis placed Clare with the Benedictine nuns of San Paolo near Bastia, where she stayed for some time until being transferred to the the Monastery of Sant'Angelo in Pranzo, another Benedictine convent. She remained there until a small dwelling was built for her and for her sister Caterina (who had also chosen a life of poverty) next to the church of San Damiano in Assisi. Throughout the remainder of her life, Clare lived lived a simple life of poverty, austerity and seclusion from the world. This allowed her and her companions to fulfill what she referred to as her obligation to follow Christ.
Clare understood the need to separate herself from the temptations that are presented by worldly possessions. She chose to contemplate the goodness of God who gazes (even) on the faithless in silence (Habakkuk 1:13) rather than to allow herself to be distracted by the promise of worldly possessions. Let us ask her to help us too, so that we might always keep our eyes fixed on Him who calls us to be his hands, his feet, his eyes and his ears in the world today.
Have a great day.
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