Last chance to get these booklets. It is not too late to get them in the mail! This compact booklet is sold in packs of 10, perfect for gifting to your family, friends, prayer circle, parish, or other group.

Buy the Booklet.

"On Sunday, we begin the Advent season, leading us to the birth of Christ. As we walk this journey, we will be joined by St. Clare, a holy woman with quite her own journey to Christ. It is one that begins with Clare’s decision to leave behind the comforts of her life, descend to the hills below Assisi, and join St. Francis in living out his mission. For Clare, Christ was her focus and St. Francis was her guide to him. Her path, though, was definitely her own." —Susan Hines-Brigger

"Loving St. Clare of Assisi"

by Sister Claire Andre Gagliardi, OSC

Clare’s reputation for holiness was well known in Assisi. She would be the perfect leader. Who went to whom first is unimportant. The important reality was that God had a plan and that Francis and Clare were open to being led. Francis and the brothers received Clare on Palm Sunday night at the chapel of St. Mary of the Angels (the Portiuncula) in the year 1212. Shortly after this, she was taken to San Paolo, a Benedictine monastery in Bastia.

Clare was a woman of prayer, and her entire life was lived in trust of the God whom she knew loved her. She needed little material wealth because she trusted that God would care for all her physical needs. God never let her down. It takes deep faith to live so, but anyone who has tried to live dependent on God learns quickly the joy of simplicity.

Clutter blocks freedom and blurs perception. Living simply helps one develop an attitude or willingness to be emptied. One quickly learns what is important. Those who live simply learn to live with open hands: to appreciate what is given but to be equally willing to let go, when letting go is what is needed.

Contemplative living was Clare’s reason for living simply. One needs to be poor to have the space to meet God. Clare, by her way of life, witnessed to others the one thing necessary and found herself united with all people in sharing her need for and reliance on God.

The most genuine poverty seems to come from within. Individuals in poverty make families and communities poor. Life’s biggest challenge seems to be embracing inner poverty. It takes real honesty to face oneself, to acknowledge clinging to possessions and to admit attraction to power and privilege, tendencies we all share.

Courage is needed to be poor, to recognize the need for conversion and not to be overwhelmed by it. Embracing inner poverty can turn lives upside down. In facing the struggle, though, we—like Clare—can recognize that areas of weakness are also areas of grace.

Our own struggle with sinfulness teaches patience and forgiveness as we encounter the mistakes and failures of others. Conversion is the only route to transformation. Poverty frees and enables Christians to face the cross. In experiencing the cross, we—like Clare—are transformed.