St. Clare of Assisi (Part 2)

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Here is the official news blurb from the Holy See Press Office’s  Vatican Information Service on today’s audience:

CLARE OF ASSISI: A DECISIVE IMPULSE TO CHURCH RENEWAL

VATICAN CITY, 15 SEP 2010 (VIS) – Benedict XVI dedicated his catechesis during this morning’s general audience to St. Clare of Assisi (1193-1253), a contemporary of St. Francis and one of the most beloved saints of the Catholic Church. “Her witness”, the Pope said, “shows us how much the Church is indebted to courageous women rich in faith who, like her, were capable of giving a decisive impulse to ecclesial renewal”.

Clare, the Holy Father explained, was born to a rich and noble family. While she was still very young, her relatives decided to arrange an important marriage for her, but at the age of eighteen the saint, in a bold gesture inspired by a profound desire to follow Christ, abandoned her family home in the company of a friend. She joined the Friars Minor at the church of Porziuncola and Francis himself welcomed her in a simple ceremony, cutting her hair and investing her with the penitential habit. From that moment Clare became a poor and humble bride of Christ, and dedicated herself entirely to Him.

“Clare found in Francis of Assisi, especially at the beginning of her religious experience, not only a master whose teachings to follow but also a fraternal friend. The friendship between these two saints is a beautiful and important element, for when two pure souls enflamed with the same love for God meet, from their mutual friendship they draw a powerful stimulus to follow the path of perfection. Friendship is one of the most noble and exalted human sentiments, which divine Grace purifies and transfigures”.

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St. Clare of Assisi (Part 1)

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Today’s audience is on St. Clare of Assisi.  Here is the excerpt from the Vatican website today.  The full text is usually not available until the following Wednesday:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Our catechesis today deals with Saint Clare of Assisi, the great mystic, friend of Saint Francis and foundress of the Poor Clare Nuns. Born to a family of means, Clare chose to embrace a life of radical poverty, chastity and trust in God’s providence; received by Francis, she consecrated herself completely to Christ and, together with her companions, embraced the common life in the Church of San Damiano in Assisi. The spiritual friendship between Clare and Francis reminds us of how the great saints have found in such friendships a powerful impetus to greater love of Christ and renewed strength in the pursuit of the way of perfection. Clare’s Rule, the first written by a woman, sought to preserve and foster the Franciscan charism in the growing number of women’s communities which followed the example of Francis and her own. Her spirituality, nourished by the Eucharist, was based on the loving contemplation of Christ as the source and perfection of every virtue. Saint Clare shows us the value of consecrated virginity as an image of the Church’s love for her divine Spouse, and the decisive role played by courageous and faith-filled women to the Church’s renewal in every age.

 Related Links:

• St. Clare of Assisi at NewAdvent.org.
• St. Clare of Assisi at Catholic Answers OCE.
• St. Clare of Assisi at SQPN.
• John Paul II, Letter on the Eighth Centenary of the Birth of St. Clare of Assisi, August 11, 1993.
• John Paul II, Message to the Poor Clares for the 750th Anniversary of the Death of St. Clare, August 9, 2003.

St. Clare of Assisi

• Part 1
• Part 2
• Part 3