De sancta Clara
The Light of Assisi
Clara's early life, divine calling, and the establishment of her holy Order are marked by profound humility and ascetic devotion.
Clara was doubly remarkable, both in name and in virtue; she came from a sufficiently noble family in the city of Assisi and was a fellow citizen of the blessed Francis on earth, just as she would later reign with him in the heights. While she was pregnant with this future saint and was praying devoutly before an image of the Crucified in a church for a safe delivery, she heard a voice say: 'Do not be afraid, woman, for you will safely bring forth a light that will illuminate the world more clearly.' Taught by this oracle, she wanted her daughter to be named Clara at her baptism. Even as a small child, she would gladly reach out to the poor and, from the abundance of her own home, fill the needs of many who were in want, while she herself, delicate as she was, would take food from her own body and hide it under her clothes. She wore a hairshirt hidden beneath precious and soft garments, and while she blossomed outwardly to the world, she clothed herself inwardly with Christ Jesus; finally, she never agreed to those who wanted to give her in marriage, but committed her virginity to the Lord, and from this, the rumor of her goodness began to spread among the people. Hearing the clamor of many insults, the holy girl established a holy monastery, began the Order of Poor Ladies, and after forty-two years in a high enclosure, she broke the alabaster jar of her body so that the house of the Church might be filled with the fragrance of ointments; shortly after, the reputation of the holiness of the virgin Clara spread, and virgins hastened to follow her example in serving Christ the Lord, while those who were married strove to live more chastely, and noble and illustrious women, having despised their spacious palaces, built high monasteries for themselves and considered it a great glory to live in sackcloth and ashes for Christ, the Son of God. Mother invited daughter, daughter invited mother to Christ; sister drew sister; remaining dear, Clara began to shine for the whole world and shone brightly with the titles of praise. This glorious, blessed Clara, the primary stone and noble foundation of her Order, strove to place the structure of all virtues upon the foundation of humility from the very beginning; she wore out her flesh with frequent fasting, she persisted in prayer, and most often, prostrate in prayer, she bathed the ground with tears and caressed it with kisses, so that she might always seem to hold the Lord Jesus Christ in her empty hands; once, in the deep of night, an angel of darkness appeared to her in the form of a black little boy, saying: 'Do not weep so much, for you will go blind.'
The Shield of Faith
Through the power of prayer and the presence of the Eucharist, Clara miraculously protects her convent and city from invading forces.
When she answered him immediately, 'The one who sees God will not be blind,' he left in confusion. Once, when a hostile force broke into Assisi and the army of the Saracens—a wicked race always thirsting for Christian blood—approached the very gates, they poured into the convent of the virgins. The sisters' hearts melted with fear, and they brought their weeping to their holy mother, Clare. Though she was weak, she ordered herself to be led with an unafraid heart to the enemy ranks and placed before them, with a silver pyx containing the Sacrament of the Eucharist carried before her. When she had prostrated herself entirely in prayer, she said to Christ the Lord with tears, 'Does it please you, my Lord, to hand over your defenseless handmaids, whom I have nurtured in your love, to the hands of the pagans?' ‘Protect, Lord, these handmaids of yours, whom I myself cannot protect in this present crisis.’ A voice like that of a child came from the mercy seat. It thundered into her ears, saying, 'I will always protect you.' 'My Lord,' she added, 'and if it pleases you, protect this city, which sustains us for the love of you.' And a voice answered her, 'It will endure hardships, but it is defended by my gift.' Then Clare rose and comforted the weeping, saying, 'I give you my word, little daughters, that you won't suffer any harm.' Without delay, the boldness of those dogs was immediately suppressed, and they descended the walls they had climbed and left quickly, shaken by the power of the one who was praying.
A Holy Rest
After a life of service and spiritual labor, Clara peacefully departs to be with the Lord.
And after healing many, offering exhortation, and receiving the Sacraments, she rested in the Lord.
Read the original Latin
Gemine admirabilis Clara vocabulo et virtute de civitate Assisii claro satis genere traxit originem beatoque Francisco primo concivis in terris postmodum conregnans in excelsis, Pater ejus miles et tota ntroque parente progenies militaris, domus abundans, mater vero ejus Ortulana dicta est. Cum antem praegnans esset ipsius sanctae futurae et ante crucifixi imaginem in ecclesia pro salubri partus expeditione devotius exorwret, audivit vocem dicentem sibi: ne paveas, mulier, quia quoddam lumen salva partaries, quod ipsum mundum clarius illustrabit. Qno edocta oraculo natam in baptismo Claram nominari voluit. Adhuc infantula libenter extendebat manus ad pauperes et de abundantia domus suae upplebat inopias plurimorum egentimn, proprio corpusculo delicata subtrahebat cibaria, sub vestibus autein. pretiosis et mollibus ciliciolum gerebat absconditum et mundo exterius florens Christum Jesum interius induebat, Denique suis eam nuptui dare volentibus nunquam acquievit, sed virginitatem suam domino commnittebat, Hinc rumor bonitatis ejus coepit in populo divulgari. Audiens autem sancta puélla post multarum injutinrum latratibus monasterium sanctum instituit, pauperum dominarum ordinem inchoavit et in alto reclusorio post XLII annos frangit sui corporis alabasttum, ut domus ecclesiae repleatur fragrantia unguentorum, Spargitur paulo post opinio sanctitatis virginis Clarae, festinant virgines ejus exemplo servire Christo domino, quae sunt maritatae, castius agere satagunt, nobiles et illustres amplis contemtis palatiis alta sibi monasteria coónstruunt atque pro Christo filio Dei in cilicio et cinere vivere magnam gloriam ducunt. Mater filiam, filia matrem invitat ad Christuin, soror sorores allicit, cara manens Clara toto clarescere mundo incipit et laudum titulis praeclara refulget. Haec gloriosa beata Clara 'sui ordinis lapis primarius ac nobile fundamentum in fundamento humilitatis virtutum omnium fabricam ab ipso principio studuit collocare, carnem per crebra jejunia macerabat, orationi instabat, saepissine ad orationem prostrata terram infundit lacrymis osculisque demulcet, ut semper smun dominun Jesum Christum tenere inanibus videretur, Lacrymanti semel profunda nocte "adfuit angelus tenebrarum im forna nigri pueruli, dicens: ne tam plores, quia caeca fies.
Cui cum illico reSponderet: caecus non erit, qui Deum videbit, confusus ille discessit. Cum in Assisium hostilis semel furor irrneret et ipsis portis exercitus appropinquaret Saracenorum, gens pessima sanguinem semper sitiens christianorum intra claustrum virginum influxerunt. Liquescunt dominarum corda timoribus et ad matrem sanctam Claram referunt fletus suos, quae se infirmam imnpavido corde ad hostium agmen duci jubet et ante hostes poni, praecedente eam capsula argentea, in qua erat sacramentum eucharistiae, Cumque se totam in oratione substravisset, Christo domino cum lacrymis ait: placet, sni domine, inermes ancillas tuas, quas tuis amoribus enutrivi, manibus tradi paganorum! custodi, domine, has famulas tuas, quas ipsa in praesenti articulo custodire non possum, Vox quasi puerilis de propitiatorio. ad aures ejus intonuit dicens: ego vos semper custodiam, Mi domine, addidit illa, et hanc civitatem, si placet, protege, quae nos pro tuo amore sustentat. Et vox ad eam: gravamina sustinebit, sed meo munere defenditur. Tunc surgens Clara flentes confortat dicens: fidejubeo pro vobis, filiolae, quod nihil mali patienini. Nec mora: statim canum illorum repressa pavescit audacia et per muros, quos ascenderant, descendentes celeriter exeunt orantis virtute turbati.
Et post multorum sanationem et exhortationem et sacramentorum sumtionem in domino quievit,
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