The Christophers: From The Wisdom of St. Clare of Assisi

Fr. Ed Dougherty, M.M.

The Christophers Board of Directors

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August 11th is the Feast of Saint Clare of Assisi, who was born in 1194, about 12 years after the birth of Saint Francis of Assisi. She was an early follower of Saint Francis and became the first woman to write a set of monastic guidelines. In a letter to Blessed Agnes of Prague, a Bohemian princess who abandoned her royal status to establish a convent, Clare wrote, “We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become.”

It’s a piece of wisdom that Clare acquired through her own journey from wealth and status to a renunciation of worldly things, and she passed this wisdom on, just as Francis had passed it on to her after his own journey of renunciation.

When she was a teenager, Clare heard Francis preach and was so inspired that she decided to follow in his footsteps by committing herself to a simple life devoted to God. Francis helped her find a home in a convent, and Clare’s sister, Catarina, soon joined her in religious life. Their family objected to this path and tried to persuade both sisters to return home and pursue the type of strong marital alliance that was expected of their high social status.

But Clare and her sister had found what Francis found in renouncing the things of this world to devote themselves completely to God. They found peace in detachment and an ability to love others completely and unconditionally. Clare immersed herself in cultivating a way of life for the women who came to join her order, known today as the Order of Poor Clares, a name that pays homage to her as the foundress and to the vow of poverty at the heart of her rule.

The Poor Clares are in the Franciscan tradition because Clare modeled her rule after the rule established by Francis. The vow of poverty was essential to this tradition because both Francis and Clare viewed it as the surest response to Christ’s teaching, when He said in Luke 14:33, “Whoever of you does not renounce all that he has cannot be My disciple.”

In following this rule and encouraging others to do the same, Francis and Clare charted a path in the footsteps of Christ. And just as Francis had done, Clare modeled humility through a quiet and unassuming approach to leadership. Clare viewed her role as one of service, and it is said that she only gave orders to others in the most humble manner. This way, she sowed seeds of virtue in all who bore witness to her actions and to all who were so blessed as to take her counsel.

Clare’s letters to Blessed Agnes of Prague exemplify the help and support she provided to others who sought her counsel. The wisdom she shared with Agnes demonstrates that loving Christ allows Him into our hearts to shape our souls, and that is how we continually grow closer to Him.

Clare died on August 11th, 1253, just one day after having the rule she wrote for her order approved by Pope Innocent IV. On her deathbed, she is reported to have said, “Blessed be You, O God, for having created me.”

In this final expression, Clare demonstrated the hard-won reward for the life of detachment she chose. In letting go, Saint Clare of Assisi was able to live in full appreciation for the simplest gifts of life—and for the gift of life itself.

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