Today, Aug. 11, we honor the feast day of St. Clare of Assisi – a woman who embraced poverty, humility and joy. Born in 1193 into the Offreduccio family, Clare was known in Assisi for her holy manner of life even as a young woman. On Palm Sunday, 1212, Clare began a new journey by leaving her family home, drawn by the preaching of Francis. She embraced the “poor Christ" and began a new way of life in the small church of San Damiano, repaired by Francis himself.
Many women of Assisi and across Europe, joined Clare, including her sister Agnes. They became known as the Poor Ladies, later the Poor Clares, who prayed together, cared for the sick, worked with their hands and relied on what God provided.
After 1224, illness kept Clare limited to work, but her faith remained. She held firmly to the "Privileged of Poverty,” living with nothing of her own. Shortly before her passing away in 1253, the Church approved the rule she had written – the first written by a woman. In her rule, Clare required her community, the “Poor Clares,” to own no property, replying completely on God’s guidance and providence. Her rule also called for a life of prayer, manual work and sisterly care, with leadership rooted in service.
Clare left a collection of writings, four letters to St. Agnes of Prague, a woman who chose the same life of poverty and prayer. The letters are filled with encouragement, spiritual guidance and a sense of sisterhood across distance. In Clare’s Second Letter to Agnes, Clare offers words that still guide us today, “What you hold, may you always hold… with swift pace, light step, unswerving feet…go forward securely, joyfully and swiftly on the path of prudent happiness.”
On her feast day, Clare’s life invites us to ask: What do I hold most dear? Do I walk with trust and joy? May her example inspire us to live simply, love deeply and follow Christ with light and joyful hearts.
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