Sunday August 11th is the feast of St Clare of Assisi (1194-1253). We are pleased to offer a reflection, creative prompt, and prayer to guide your celebration of this remarkable saint.
We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become.
Clare was born and raised in Assisi, where she lived her entire life. She was the oldest daughter of a local nobleman but gave up her wealth and position to follow a life dedicated to prayer and service. While Clare is often known as a friend of Saint Francis, she was a spiritual force all her own. She started the Order of Poor Ladies (later renamed the Order of Poor Clares in her honor). While she was a gentle soul who often struggled with illness, she stayed true to her vision of a new religious order, even in the face of opposition from Church authorities.
Clare invites you to consider:
What commitments are so strong in your heart you are willing to fight for them?
Creative Invitation:
Set a timer for 5 minutes and free write about who or what you love and the ways you commit to the strength of this love in your heart. Then, chose a word that best reflects this beloved and write an acrostic poem with each line beginning with each letter of the word. For example:
Kinship:
Kindness flows to all beings who
Inhabit this earth we share.
Nature's wisdom guides our loving and
Surety that our connections matter.
Heart centered prayer helps us
Inhabit a realm of
Peace in the heart.
Prayer:
Beloved One, we thank you for the wisdom of St Clare whose dedication to her loving vision for the world inspired her contemplation and action. In our life of prayer help us discern what is most essential, what we love with all our heart so that knowing may strip us of artifice and distraction. May our one pointed focus inspire our living and may we dedicate whatever merit rises from our being in offering to Love.
Join our Sustainers Circle at the lowest tier and receive posts like this several times a month in addition to joining our monthly centering prayer and contemplative prayer services.
(Reflection by Christine & John Valters Paintner. Creative Invitation and Prayer by Melinda Thomas.)
