The Law
God has given us his rule
of life in the Gospel, and a law of love to live by, in the
commandments, the beatitudes and the counsels. The commandments
are not simply a series of noes, for Clare they are affirmations:.
It is not enough to avoid murder - one must give life, it is
not enough to desist from lying one must become truth.
This, by the working of the Holy Spirit, which Clare says we
must desire above all else, will form us into people of blessedness,
able to reach heaven while on earth. Therefore the Lord
offers us, each in our own unique lives, the counsels of poverty,
chastity and obedience. Men and women religious take these
counsels as a vowed way of life, married people live their chastity
in their vow of love to each other which obliges them to a proper
respect for other peoples chastity, and the unmarried live their
chastity in respect to themselves and God’s life within them.
All of us choose humble poverty in union with the Lord who made
himself poor for our sake and we give him, in his word and in
his Church the obedience of loving faith.
The form of life of the poor sisters and brothers is
to observe the Holy Gospel. R. 1.1
Let us be very careful, therefore, that, if we have set out
on the path of the Lord, we do not turn away from it through
our own fault, or negligence or ignorance, nor that we offend
so great a Lord and his Virgin Mother, our blessed Father Francis,
the Church Triumphant and even the Church Militant. For
it is written: Those who fall away from your commands are
cursed (Ps118:21) . T.74-76.
I am the Lord your God.
With what eagerness and fervour of mind and body, therefore,
must we keep the commandments of our God and Father, so that,
with the help of the Lord, we may return to him an increase
of his talent? T.18.
I beg you to praise the Lord by your very life. IIIA.41.
You shall not have strange Gods
before me.
Do not extinguish the Spirit of Holy Prayer and devotion, to
which all other things of our earthly existence must contribute.
R.7:2.
You shall not take the name of
your God in vain.
We are greatly bound to bless and praise God and be all the
more strengthened to do good in the Lord. T.22.
Remember to keep holy the Lord’s
day.
Each new day is the day of
the Lord. We give him our life completely and we hallow
time by living together in faith and joy.
May you always rejoice in the Lord. IIIA.9.
Place your mind before the mirror of eternity! Place your soul
in the brilliance of glory! Place your heart in the figure of
the Divine Substance! And transform your entire being
into the image of the Godhead itself through contemplation.
IIIA.10-13.
Honour your father and your mother.
Our fathers and mothers are
those who give us life. We show reverence and respect
for every person the Lord has made and love and support them
as we would a defenceless child or a dependant parent.
I bless you during my life and after my death, as I am able,
out of the blessings with which the Father of mercies has and
does bless his sons and daughters in heaven and on earth and
a spiritual father and mother have blessed and bless her spiritual
sons and daughters. Amen. B.11.
You shall not kill.
I admonish and exhort the sisters (and brothers) in the Lord
Jesus Christ to beware of all pride, vainglory, envy, avarice,
care and anxiety about this world, detraction, murmuring, dissension
and division. Let them always be eager to preserve among
themselves the unity of mutual love which is the bond of perfection.
R.10:6.
You shall not commit adultery.
I admonish and exhort all my
sisters, both those present and those to come, to strive always
to imitate the way of holy simplicity, humility and poverty
and the integrity of our holy way of living, as we were taught
from the beginning of our conversion by Christ and our blessed
Father Francis. T.56.
You shall not steal.
You have sought to store up treasure
in heaven rather than on earth, where rust does not consume
nor moth destroy nor thieves break in and steal. Your
reward is very rich in heaven. IA.22.
You shall not lie.
With the help of God’s grace
you have fled the mire of this world and I rejoice that you
are walking courageously on the path of virtue. E.2.
Let them (the sisters and brothers) not presume to repeat the
gossip of the world. R.9:15
You shall not covet your neighbour’s
spouse.
Our labour here is brief, the reward eternal; may the excitements
of the world, fleeing like a shadow, not disturb you.
Close your ears to the whisperings of hell and bravely oppose
its onslaughts. E.5-6.
You shall not covet your neighbour’s
goods.
She who loves temporal things
loses the fruit of love. Such a person cannot serve God
and money, for either the one is loved and the other hated,
or the one is served and the other despised. IA.25.
If we live the fullness of the law of love, if we love one
another as God loves us, we will become new people and find
ourselves amongst the blessed.
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom
of heaven.
This is that summit of highest poverty which has established
you, my dearest sisters, heiresses and queens of the kingdom
of heaven; it has made you poor in things but exalted you in
virtue. Let this be your portion which leads to the land
of the living. R.8:4-5.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Let her console those who are afflicted. Let her also
be the last refuge for those who are troubled, lest the sickness
of despair overcome the weak. R.4:11.
Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the earth.
Strive always to imitate the way of holy simplicity, humility
and poverty and the integrity of our holy way of living.
T.56.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice;
they shall be satisfied.
We did not shirk deprivation, poverty, hard work, trial, or
the shame or contempt of the world - rather, we considered them
as great delights. T.27-28.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
May the Father of mercies always spread the fragrance of a good
name from them, both among those who are far away as well as
those who are near, not by any merits of ours but by the sole
mercy and grace of his goodness. And loving one another
with the charity of Christ, may the love you have in your hearts
be shown outwardly by your deeds so that, compelled by such
and example, the sisters may always grow in love of God and
in charity for one another. T.58-60.
Blessed are the
pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Do not extinguish
the Spirit of holy prayer and devotion to which all other things
of our earthly existence must contribute. R.7:2.
Blessed are the peacemakers; they shall be called the
children of God.
Preserve the unity of mutual love and peace. R.4:22.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for justice sake,
for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven.
Desire above all else: to have the Spirit of the Lord and his
holy manner of working, to pray always to him with a pure heart,
and to have humility, patience in difficulty and infirmity,
and to love those who persecute, blame, and accuse us, for the
Lord says: Blessed are those who are persecuted for justice
sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven, and, whoever
perseveres to the end will be saved . R.10:9-12.
The daughters
of Clare make vows of poverty, chastity, obedience and enclosure.
We can make these vows our own within the measure of our own
lives.
Poverty
The Son of God never wished to abandon this holy poverty while
he lived in the world. T.35.
O blessed poverty, who bestows eternal riches on those who love
and embrace her! O holy poverty, God promises the kingdom
of heaven and, in fact, offers eternal glory and a blessed life
to those who possess and desire you! O God centred poverty,
whom the Lord Jesus Christ who ruled and who now rules heaven
and earth, who spoke and all things were made, condescended
to embrace before all else! IA.15-17.
Chastity
What a great and praiseworthy exchange: to leave the things
of time for those of eternity, to choose the things of heaven
for the goods of earth, to receive the hundredfold in place
of one, and to possess eternal life. IA.30.
Obedience
After the Most High Heavenly Father saw fit by his grace to
enlighten my heart to do penance according to the example and
teaching of our most blessed father Saint Francis, shortly after
his own conversion, I, together with my sisters, willingly promised
him obedience. R.6:1.
For this reason, on bended knees and bowing low with both body
and soul, I commend all my sisters, both those present and those
to come, to our Holy Mother the Roman Church, the supreme Pontiff
and especially, the Lord Cardinal who has been appointed for
the Order of Friars Minor and for us, that out of love of the
God Who was placed poor in the crib, lived poor in the world,
and remained naked on the cross, (our Protector) may always
see to it that his little flock, which the Lord Father has begotten
in his holy Church by the word and example of our blessed father
Francis by following the poverty and humility of his beloved
Son and his glorious Virgin Mother, observe the holy poverty
that we have promised to God and our most blessed father St
Francis. May he always encourage and support them in these
things. T.44-47.
Enclosure - in every place and time
Cling to his most sweet Mother who gave birth to a Son
whom the heavens cannot contain - and yet she carried him in
the little cloister of her holy womb. III A. 19
As the glorious Virgin of Virgins carried him materially, so
you, too, by following in her footprints, especially those of
poverty and humbleness, can without any doubt, always carry
him in spirit. III A. 24
How are we prepared for this?
This can only be our way of life if the Spirit
of the Lord makes our hearts ready to receive it.
We must consider the immense gifts God has bestowed on us.
T.6.
After the Most High Heavenly Father saw fit in his mercy and
grace to enlighten my heart to do penance according to the example
and teaching of our most blessed father Francis (T.24.), we
willingly bound ourselves to our Lady, most holy Poverty (T.39).
Love God and Jesus, his Son, who was crucified for us sinners,
from the depths of your heart, and never let the thought of
him leave your mind. E.11.
What is the lifestyle of this family?
The form of life of the Order of the Poor Sisters which the
Blessed Francis established is this: to observe the Holy Gospel
of our Lord Jesus Christ, by living in obedience, without anything
of one’s own, and in chastity. R.1:1.
Let the words of the Holy Gospel be addressed to her that she
should go and sell all that she has and take care to distribute
the proceeds to the poor. If she cannot do this, her good
will suffices. R. 2:7-8.
Be very joyful and glad! Be filled with a remarkable happiness
and a spiritual joy! Because since contempt of the world has
pleased you more than its honours, poverty more than earthly
riches, and you have sought to store up greater treasures in
heaven rather than on earth where rust does not consume, nor
moth destroy, nor thieves break in and steal, your reward is
very rich in heaven! IA.21.
Have towards one another, charity, humility and unity.
T.69.
The unity of mutual love is the bond of perfection. R.10:7.
Let each one confidently manifest her needs to the other. For
if a mother loves and nourishes her child according to the flesh,
should not a sister love and nourish her sister according to
the Spirit even more lovingly. R.8:15-16.
The sisters and brothers should humbly confess their common
and public offences and negligences. R.4:16.
If it should happen - may it never be so - that an occasion
of trouble or scandal should arise between sister and sister
through a word or gesture, let she who was the cause of the
trouble, before offering her gift of prayer to the Lord, not
only prostrate herself humbly at once at the feet of the other
and ask pardon, but also beg her simply to intercede for her
to the Lord that he might forgive her. Let the other sister
be mindful of that word of the Lord - “If you do not forgive
from the heart, neither will your heavenly Father forgive you”
- generously pardon her sister every wrong she has done her.
R.9:6-10.
One who is clothed cannot fight another who is naked, because
she is more quickly thrown who gives her adversary a chance
to get hold of her; and that one who lives in the glory of earth
cannot rule with Christ in heaven. IA.27.
Our flesh is not bronze nor is our strength that of stone.
No, we are frail and inclined to every bodily weakness! I beg
you, therefore, dearly beloved, to refrain wisely and imprudently
from an indiscreet and impossible austerity in the fasting you
have undertaken. IIIA.38-40.
Follow the footprints of the poor and humble Jesus Christ.
III A.4.
Let the sisters and brothers to whom the Lord has given the
grace of working, work faithfully and devotedly after the hour
of Terce at work that pertains to a virtuous life and the common
good. They must do this in such a manner that while they
banish idleness, the enemy of the soul, they do not extinguish
the Spirit of holy prayer and devotion to which all other things
of our earthly existence must contribute. R.7:1.
Pray and always be vigilant. E.13.
Those who can read shall celebrate the Divine Office according
to the custom of the Friars Minor. Those who for some
reasonable cause are sometimes not able to read the hours shall
say the Lord’s Prayer. R.3:1.
We are greatly bound to bless and praise God and be all the
more strengthened to do good in the Lord. If we live according
to the form mentioned above, we shall leave others a noble example
and gain, with very little effort, the prize of eternal happiness.
T.22.
I beg you in the Lord to praise the Lord by your very life,
to offer the Lord your reasonable service. IIIA.41.
Let us pray to God for one another, for by carrying each other’s
burden of charity in this way we will easily fulfil the law
of Christ. Amen. E.17.
The Eucharist
Happy indeed, is she to whom it is given to share in this sacred
banquet so that she might cling with all her heart to him whose
beauty all the blessed hosts of heaven unceasingly admire, whose
affection excites, whose contemplation refreshes, whose kindness
fulfils, whose delight replenishes, whose remembrance delightfully
shines, by whose fragrance the dead are revived, whose glorious
vision will bless all the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem:
which, since it is the splendour of eternal glory, is the brilliance
of eternal light and the mirror without blemish. IVA.9-14.
So great and good a Lord, then, on coming into the Virgin’s
womb, chose to appear despised, needy, and poor in this world
so that people who were in utter poverty, want and absolute
need of heavenly nourishment might become rich in him.
IA.19-20.
It is now clear that the soul of a faithful person, the most
worthy of all creatures because of the grace of God, is greater
than heaven itself, since the heavens and the rest of creation
cannot contain their Creator and only the faithful soul is his
dwelling place and throne, and this only through the charity
that the wicked lack. He who is the Truth has said:
Whoever loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too shall
love him, and we shall come to him and make our home in him
. IIIA.21-23.
(Be his friend) and tasted the hidden sweetness that God has
reserved from the beginning for those who love him. IIIA.14.
Love him totally who gave himself totally for your love.
IIIA15.
When you have loved him, you are chaste; When you have
touched him, you become more pure; when you have accepted him,
you are a virgin. IA.8.
The Holy
Father and the Church
Clare the unworthy servant of Christ and the little plant of
the most blessed Francis , promises obedience and reverence
to the Lord Pope Innocent and his canonically elected successors
and to the Roman Church. R.1.
Let them (the little sisters and brothers) believe in the Catholic
Faith and the sacraments of the Church and profess them faithfully
and observe them steadfastly to the end R.2:3-4.
The Lord Father has begotten (his little flock) in his holy
Church by the word and example of our blessed father Francis
by following the poverty and humility of his beloved Son and
his glorious Virgin Mother. T.46.
On bended knees and bowing low I commend my sisters and brothers,
both those present and those to come, to the Holy Mother, the
Roman Church and the supreme Pontiff. May he always encourage
and support us in these things. T. 44.
If we live in this way, we will be transformed. As our awareness
deepens, so will prayer.
How does this life refine us?
Let them devote themselves to what they should desire to have
above all else: the Spirit of the Lord and his holy manner of
working, to pray always to him with a pure heart, and to have
humility, patience in difficulty and infirmity. R.10.9.
Always be lovers of your souls and those of your sisters and
brothers . And may you always be eager to observe
what you have promised the Lord. B.14.
Look upon him who made himself contemptible for you, and follow
him, making yourself contemptible in this world for him.
IIA.19.
Your Spouse though more beautiful than the children of men,
became, for your salvation, the lowest of men, was despised,
struck, scourged untold times throughout his entire body, and
then died amid the suffering of the Cross.
Gaze upon him, consider him, contemplate him, as you desire to
imitate him. IIA.20.
If you suffer with him, you will reign with him. If you
weep with him, you shall rejoice with him; if you die with him
on the cross of tribulation, you shall possess heavenly mansions
in the splendour of the saints and, in the Book of Life your
name shall be called glorious among men. IIA.21-22.
Because of this you shall share always and forever the glory
of the kingdom of heaven in place of earthly and passing things,
and everlasting treasure instead of those that perish, and you
shall live forever. IIA.23.
What are we prepared to offer for this life?
You have offered yourself to him as a holy and pleasing sacrifice.
IIA.10.
To progress from good to better, from virtue to virtue, that
he whom you serve with the total desire of your soul may bestow
on you the reward for which you so long. IA.32.
What are the images of this life?
This is a litany of images that Clare offers for
our reflection:
We are the church rebuilt. T.12-13.
Whose rule is the Gospel. R.1-2.
We are the covenant of obedience. T.24-26.
Bound face to face with holy Poverty. T.39.
Becoming the enclosed womb which carries Christ. IIIA.18.
This life is a wrestling match. IA.27.
We are the little flock. R.4:8.
Led by divine inspiration. R.2:1. & R.6:3.
On the narrow way. T.71.
The difficult road. T.71.
The path of the Lord. T.74.
On which we can run with swift pace and feet unstumbling.
IIA.12.
We cling to the footprints of Jesus and Mary. IIA.7 &
IIIA.24.
This is the one thing necessary. IIA.10.
We are spouses (IA.7),
good sisters (and brothers) and mothers in the Spirit IA.12
& IIIA.25.
Handmaids and servants T.51 & IA.33
and mirrors for each other. T.19-20.
We are the support of the weak members of Christ’s ineffable
body,
co-workers of God himself IIIA.8-9,
friends of God IIIA.14,
and followers of the Lamb
who sing a new song IVA.3.
We are an enclosed garden T.53,
the little plant of St Francis T.37 & T.48,
the fragrance of goodness T.58,
the angels of peace. Thomas of Celano,
family T.63.
This is the heavenly prize IIIA.3,
the gate of life T.71,
the treasure hidden in a field IIIA.7,
the hundredfold IA.30.
Thanksgiving
I give thanks to the Giver of Grace from whom, we believe, every
good and perfect gift proceeds. IIA3.
I bend my knee to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ that through
the supporting merits of the glorious and holy Virgin Mary,
his Mother, and of our most blessed father Francis and all the
saints, the Lord himself, who has given us so good a beginning,
will also give us the increase and final perseverance.
Amen. T.77-78.
Blessed are you my Lord who have created me!
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