Clare of Assisi - August 11
Today’s Readings: Ecclesiastes 5:8-15 Psalm 49:16-20 1 Peter 4:1-2 Luke 1:32-34
Clare of Assisi was born in 1194 into a wealthy family in the city of Assisi, located in a region of central Italy. Another well-known religious figure was also born there, St. Francis of Assisi. It was Francis Clare approached after hearing one of his sermons to ask for advice on how she could live a life according to the gospel. At the age of 18, Clare made the decision to devote her life to Christ and took vows to live a life of poverty, following in Francis’ example.
Clare’s sisters, her mother and her best friend all eventually, joined her, becoming a religious order in the Franciscan tradition known as the Poor Clares. They devoted themselves to caring for the sick, the poor and the neglected, always with an emphasis on prayer. Their daily lives were defined by a strict rule of poverty, which included extreme piety, depriving themselves of all pleasures including beds to sleep in or meat to eat, eating only the food they received by begging. After Clare’s death at the age of 59, the order was renamed the Order of Saint Clare in her honor. The community of Poor Clares or the Order of Saint Clare still exists today in the Roman Catholic Church as well as in the Anglican communions.
In the gospel chosen for Clare’s feast day, August 11th, Luke reminds us of those things that give us a false sense of security. What Jesus is asking us to do is to have faith, to trust in God’s willingness and desire to care for us. Placing our sight on something beyond our earthly desires is tough. It requires us to loosen our grip on those things to which we cling so tightly, and to open our hearts to receive those things that are unseen, God’s promises of the Kingdom to come; to have faith and to trust. As Hebrews tells us, “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” It is by God’s grace that we have the faith that sustains us, but it is up to us to choose to live into that grace.
Clare was an inspiration to the women of her time. Even with the severe austerity of the Poor Clares, young wealthy women from Assisi were drawn to join them. They became the face of Christ for those to whom they ministered. How might we be the face of Christ in our own communities, in our own way? God’s grace is ours to embrace, the hope that is generated and the compassion that it represents is invaluable to all it touches. May God grant us the wisdom to hold God’s grace and the faith God imparts as treasure within our hearts.
faithfully,
Sally+
Reflection and Challenge - Take time today to consider who in your life has been the face of Christ for you. How might you be the face of Christ for someone else? Is there someone in your life who needs to be reminded that they are a beloved child of God?