Today is the feast day of St Clare of Assisi, founder of the monastic order now most commonly known as the Poor Clares.
It’s interesting to think of the level of power and influence this medieval woman has had in the church and in the popular imagination (through her relationship with St Francis, explored in films such as Brother Sun, Sister Moon).
Not wanting temporal power, determined to live a more austere life than those coddled Benedictines(!), with whom she lived for a while, she lived Francis’s teachings of radical poverty and taught her followers to embrace his philosophy.
Unlike the Franciscan friars, her nuns lived in enclosure. It would have been unthinkable in 13th Italy for women to tramp the roads as beggars.
Yet for all her austerity and enclosure, Clare remains a powerful figure. She was the first woman to write a rule for female monastics, which is still in use today. There are Poor Clare enclosures all over the world.
I like this contrast between humility and influence, I think it’s interesting. And I suspect that Clare in person, like Francis, would have been a very strong character, nothing wishy-washy about her!
There is some correspondence between her and a princess in Bohemia in whose spiritual journey Clare had taken an interest. This is from Clare’s third letter:
That you, poor and humble,
follow in the footprints of Christ
poor and humble – Joy!
That you are delivered and safe
from evil and pride and vanity – Joy!That you love to be poor,
and so have found in your heart
desire for God –
a treasure which ALL have hidden within – Joy!
Addendum: after publishing this, I saw that Jan Richardson has an excellent post up today about St Clare at The Painted Prayerbook. You can read it here.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
lucy 08.11.08 at 3:31 pm
hmmm…that contrast between humility & influence sounds like a great model. where have i seen that one before?
thanks for this introduction to st. clare.
Barbara 08.11.08 at 4:01 pm
I remember my mentor Richard, in a homily on this feast, telling the story of how Clare stood off the Huns who were about to invade Assisi by standing on the balcony of her convent armed only with a monstrance. As Richard pointed out, she must have been one scary lady!
Thank you for this commemoration of one of my favorite saints and the link to Jan Richardson’s website.
Barbara 08.11.08 at 5:01 pm
CORRECTION: It was the army of Frederick II and she raised a ciborium, not a monstrance. She is often pictured holding a ciborium.
Miss Eagle 08.13.08 at 2:27 am
I am interested in the women who “tramp the road as beggars”. You see - as unlikely as it all would be at my great age and antiquity - there is something inside of me that has this idea….
So, Tess, do you or does anyone know of women ancient or modern one could look to in this regard?
Blessings and bliss
Tess 08.13.08 at 12:13 pm
Thank you all for these comments, and Barbara your own post on St Clare is beautiful.
Miss Eagle, I’ve actually done a quick post about your comment just now. We’ll see if we get any responses.
yolanda 08.13.08 at 11:07 pm
I am glad you are back and thanks for this thought provoking post.
Tess 08.14.08 at 10:06 am
Hi Yolanda, thank you!
Eden's Innuendo 08.20.08 at 3:00 pm
The joy of poverty comes of itself!
Why is that such a secret? ~ kigen
Tess 08.20.08 at 8:57 pm
Eden’s Innuendo, thank you for contributing these beautiful lines. Your site is very interesting.
Ann 10.25.08 at 7:28 pm
Peace Pilgrim walked the US for some years in just the clothes she stood up in and without significant money lecturing on peace and living on donations of food, bed for the night etc. I believe that there is now a man who also calls himself Peace Pilgrim who continues this work.
Tess 10.26.08 at 9:57 pm
Ann, thank you for visiting and for your comment. I’d heard about the Peace Pilgrim, but not that there’s someone continuing her work.