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Pope Benedict XVI- General Audiences |
General
Audience
On St. Clare of Assisi
"The Whole Church is Indebted to Courageous Women"
H.H. Benedict XVI
September 15, 2010
www.zenit.org
Dear brothers and sisters,
One of the most beloved saints is without a doubt St. Clare of Assisi,
who lived in the 13th century and was a contemporary of St. Francis. Her
testimony shows us how the whole Church is indebted to courageous women
rich in faith like her, capable of giving decisive impetus to the
renewal of the Church.
Then who was Clare of Assisi? To respond to this question we have
reliable sources: Not only the ancient biographies, such as that of
Thomas of Celano, but also the acts from the canonization process
promoted by the Pope only a few months after Clare's death, which
contain the testimonies of those who lived with her for a long time.
Born in 1193, Clare belonged to a wealthy aristocratic family. She gave
up nobility and wealth to live poorly and humbly, adopting the way of
life proposed by St. Francis of Assisi. Although her family was planning
her marriage to an important personality -- as was the practice in that
time -- with a bold gesture inspired by her profound desire to follow
Christ and her admiration for Francis, Clare left her family home when
she was 18 and, accompanied by a friend, Bona di Guelfuccio, she
secretly met the Friars Minor in the small church of the Portiuncula. It
was the afternoon of Palm Sunday of 1211.
Amid general shock, a highly symbolic gesture took place: While his
companions held lighted torches in their hands, Francis cut her hair and
Clare was clothed in a coarse penitential habit. From that moment she
became the virgin bride of Christ, humble and poor, and she consecrated
herself totally to him. Over the course of history innumerable women
like Clare and her companions have been fascinated by Christ who, in the
beauty of his Divine Person, fills their hearts. And the entire Church,
through the mystic nuptial vocation of consecrated virgins, shows what
she will always be: the beautiful and pure Bride of Christ.
In one of the four letters that Clare sent to St. Agnes of Prague, the
daughter of the king of Bohemia who wished to follow in her footsteps,
she speaks of Christ, her beloved Spouse, with nuptial expressions,
which might be surprising, but which are moving: "Loving him, you are
chaste, touching him, you will be more pure, letting yourself be
possessed by him you are virgin. His power is stronger, his generosity
loftier, his appearance more beautiful, his love gentler and all grace
finer. Now you are enfolded in his arms, he who has adorned your breast
with precious stones ... and has crowned you with a crown of gold marked
with the sign of sanctity" (First letter: FF, 2862).
Above all at the beginning of her religious experience, Clare had in
Francis of Assisi not only a teacher whose instruction she would follow,
but also a fraternal friend. The friendship between these two saints is
a very beautiful and important element. In fact, when two pure souls
meet, inflamed by the same love of God, they draw from their mutual
friendship a very strong stimulus to undertake the way of perfection.
Friendship is one of the noble and lofty human sentiments that divine
grace purifies and transfigures. Like St. Francis and St. Clare, other
saints have also experienced a profound friendship on the same path
toward Christian perfection, such as St. Francis de Sales and St. Jane
Frances de Chantal. And it is precisely St. Francis de Sales who writes:
"It is lovely to be able to love on earth as one loves in heaven, and to
learn to love one another in this world as we will eternally in the
next. I am not speaking here of the simple love of charity, because we
must have this for all people; I am speaking of spiritual friendship, in
the ambit of which two, three or more persons exchange devotion,
spiritual affections, and truly become one spirit" (Introduction to the
Devout Life, III, 19).
After spending a period of some months in other monastic communities,
resisting the pressures of her relatives who in the beginning did not
approve of her choice, Clare established herself with her first
companions in the church of San Damiano, where the Friars Minor had
prepared a small convent for them. She lived in that monastery for more
than 40 years, until her death, which occurred in 1253. A firsthand
description has come down to us of how these women lived in those years
at the beginning of the Franciscan movement. It is a report full of
admiration from a Flemish bishop, James of Vitry, on a visit to Italy,
who states that he met a great number of men and women, of all social
classes, who "leaving everything for Christ, fled from the world. They
are called Friars Minor and Sisters Minor and are held in great regard
by the Lord Pope and by the cardinals. ... The women ... dwell together
in various hospices not far from cities. They do not receive anything,
but live from the work of their hands. And they are pained and
profoundly disturbed because they are honored more than they would like,
by clerics and laity" (Letter of October 1216: FF, 2205.2007).
James of Vitry keenly understood a characteristic trait of Franciscan
spirituality about which Clare was very sensitive: radical poverty
associated with total trust in Divine Providence. Because of this, she
acted with great determination, obtaining from Pope Gregory IX or,
probably already from Pope Innocent III, the so-called Privilegium
Paupertatis (cf. FF, 3279). Based on this, Clare and her companions of
San Damiano could not own any material property. It was truly an
extraordinary exception in regard to existing canon law, and the
ecclesiastical authorities of that time granted it, appreciating the
fruits of evangelical sanctity that they recognized in the way that
Clare and her sisters lived. This also shows that in the Medieval
centuries, the role of women was not secondary but rather was
considerable. In this regard, it is appropriate to recall that Clare was
the first woman in the history of the Church who composed a written
rule, subject to the Pope's approval, so that the charism of Francis of
Assisi would be preserved in all the feminine communities that were
being established already in great numbers in her time, and that wished
to be inspired in Francis' and Clare's example.
In the convent of San Damiano, Clare practiced heroically the virtues
that should distinguish every Christian: humility, a spirit of piety and
penance, charity. Even though she was the superior, she wished to serve
the sick sisters herself, subjecting herself also to very humble tasks:
Charity, in fact, overcomes all resistance and one who loves makes every
sacrifice with joy. Her faith in the Real Presence in the Eucharist was
so great that on two occasions, prodigious events were witnessed. With
the exposition of the Most Blessed Sacrament alone, she succeeded in
repelling the Saracen mercenary soldiers who were about to attack the
convent of San Damiano and devastate Assisi.
These episodes, like other miracles about which records were kept, drove
Pope Alexander IV to canonize her only two years after her death, in
1255, sketching a eulogy of her in the bull of canonization in which we
read: "How vivid is the force of this light and how strong is the
clarity of this luminous source. Truly, this light was enclosed in the
retreat of the cloistered life, and outside it radiated luminous
brilliance; it was recollected in a small monastery, and expanded
outside throughout the vast world. It was kept inside and spread
outside. Clare, in fact, hid herself, but her life was revealed to all.
Clare was silent, but her fame cried out" (FF, 3284).
And this is precisely the way of things, dear friends: It is the saints
who change the world for the better, they transform it in a lasting way,
injecting in it energies that only love inspired by the Gospel can
arouse. The saints are the great benefactors of humanity!
St. Clare's spirituality, the synthesis of her proposal of sanctity, is
gathered in the fourth letter to St. Agnes of Prague. St. Clare uses the
image of the mirror, which was a very widespread image in the Middle
Ages, rooted in the patristics. And she invites her Prague friend to
look at herself in that mirror of perfection of every virtue, which is
the Lord himself. She writes: "Happy certainly is she who is granted to
enjoy this sacred union, to adhere with the depth of the heart [to
Christ], to the One whose beauty all the blessed multitudes of the
heavens admire incessantly, whose affection impassions, whose
contemplation restores, whose goodness satiates, whose gentleness fills,
whose memory shines gently, from whose perfume the dead will return to
life and whose glorious vision will make blessed all the citizens of the
heavenly Jerusalem. And given that he is the splendor of glory, pure
whiteness of the eternal light and spotless mirror, look every day in
this mirror, oh queen, bride of Jesus Christ, and scrutinize continually
in him his face, so that you will thus be able to adorn yourself
completely within and without ... shining in this mirror are blessed
poverty, holy humility and ineffable charity" (Fourth Letter: FF,
2901-2903).
Thankful to God who has given us the saints who speak to our heart and
provide us an example of Christian life to imitate, I would like to
conclude with the same words of blessing that St. Clare composed for her
sisters and that still today the Poor Clares, who carry out a valuable
role in the Church with their prayer and their work, keep with great
devotion. They are an expression from which arises all the tenderness of
her spiritual maternity: "I bless you in my life and after my death, as
I can and more than I can, with all the blessings with which the Father
of mercies blesses and will bless in heaven and on earth his sons and
daughters, and with which a spiritual father and a spiritual mother
bless and will bless their spiritual sons and daughters. Amen" (FF,
2856).
[Translation by ZENIT]
[The Holy Father then greeted the people in several languages. In
English, he said:]
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our catechesis today deals with Saint Clare of Assisi, the great mystic,
friend of Saint Francis and foundress of the Poor Clare Nuns. Born to a
family of means, Clare chose to embrace a life of radical poverty,
chastity and trust in God's providence; received by Francis, she
consecrated herself completely to Christ and, together with her
companions, embraced the common life in the Church of San Damiano in
Assisi. The spiritual friendship between Clare and Francis reminds us of
how the great saints have found in such friendships a powerful impetus
to greater love of Christ and renewed strength in the pursuit of the way
of perfection. Clare's Rule, the first written by a woman, sought to
preserve and foster the Franciscan charism in the growing number of
women's communities which followed the example of Francis and her own.
Her spirituality, nourished by the Eucharist, was based on the loving
contemplation of Christ as the source and perfection of every virtue.
Saint Clare shows us the value of consecrated virginity as an image of
the Church's love for her divine Spouse, and the decisive role played by
courageous and faith-filled women to the Church's renewal in every age.
I welcome the pilgrimage group from Iran, in the company of Archbishop
Thomas Meram. My cordial greeting also goes to the participants in the
international symposium of Benedictine nuns and Sisters. I also greet
those taking part in the biennial meeting of KPMG International. Upon
all the English-speaking visitors present at today's Audience,
especially the pilgrim groups from England, Scotland, Sweden, the United
Arab Emirates, Australia and the United States of America, I invoke
God's abundant blessings.
© Copyright 2010 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana
[At the end of the audience, he added in Italian:]
I now wish to greet with particular affection young people, the sick and
newlyweds. Today we remember Our Lady of Sorrows, who with faith stayed
next to the cross of her Son. Dear young people, like Mary, do not be
afraid to stay next to the cross. The Lord will instill in you the
courage to overcome every obstacle in your daily life. And may you, dear
sick people, be able to find in Mary consolation and support to learn
the salvific value of suffering from the crucified Christ. You, dear
newlyweds, turn with confidence in moments of difficulty to the Virgin
of Sorrows, who, with her maternal intercession, will help you to face
them.
[The Holy Father also made the following appeal:]
I follow with concern the events that have taken place these days in
several regions of southern Asia, especially in India, Pakistan and
Afghanistan. I pray for the victims and ask that respect of religious
liberty and the logic of reconciliation and peace may prevail over
hatred and violence.
[Translation by ZENIT]
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