Memorial of Saint Clare, Virgin
I was happy to see that my reflection writing for today lined up with the Memorial of St. Clare since she is one of my favorite saints. So much so, in fact, that our daughter is named after her. Maybe best known for her connection with St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare was to have said, “Christ is the way, and Francis showed it to me.”
Today’s gospel passage from Matthew (16:24-28) is a fitting one to reflect on in light of today’s memorial. It begins, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” Jesus’ words to his disciples two thousand years ago speak to us today as they also spoke to Clare of Assisi about 800 years ago.
Related passages from a much more recent book (Clare of Assisi: A Heart Full of Love, c. 2007), written by Fransican sister, author and professor, Ilia Delio, OSF, for me shed more light on this call of discipleship:
“What we in our own time consider absurd – fragility, weakness, suffering and death – Clare, like many women mystics of her time, understood as the ensured path into divine love. The key to uncovering this love hidden in the field of the human heart is contemplation. For Clare, as for Francis, contemplation means looking upon the Earth while seeing the things of heaven. It means seeing things for what they truly are, even in their brokenness, and not what we project onto them or want them to be. Clare reminds us that contemplation is the vision of a heart centered in Christ.” (pp. 64-65)
Also, “Contemplation for Clare begins by falling in love. It is being grasped by the power of God’s love in the crucified Christ and giving ourselves over to that love.” (p. 54)
Finally, “Contemplation, therefore, is relational. It is the encounter with God as God appears to us in the ordinary flesh of our humanity and in creation.” (p. 55)
Through the example and intercession of the blessed St. Clare, let us strive again to take up our cross daily, and lose our life for Jesus’ sake in order to find it. Amen.
~Eileen Miller