Saint Clare of Assisi is a spectacular saint in the Catholic Church.
We celebrate her feast day on August 11th.
Saint Clare’s unwavering commitment to her faith, her radical renunciation of material wealth, and her influential leadership in fostering spiritual growth continue to inspire people around the world today.
Here are seven things to know and share about Saint Clare of Assisi:
1. She was born into the royalty of Assisi on July 16, 1194.
2. She was a lifelong friend and follower of St. Francis of Assisi. After hearing the preaching of St. Francis, she left home to follow her desire to live only for God. Later, she met him at the Portiuncula Chapel where he cut her hair and gave her a penitential habit.
3. Together with Saint Francis, she founded the Poor Clares, a contemplative religious community for women that emphasized a life of simplicity, humility, and service to God. The Franciscan Nuns of the Second Order, or the Poor Clares, still exist today.
4. She considered silence as a means of avoiding the innumerable sins of the tongue, and for keeping the mind steadily fixed on God. (EWTN)
5. She defended her convent from invaders by displaying the Blessed Sacrament at the gates. She prayed before the consecrated Host and the attackers left!
More on that story here.
6. She is the patron saint of television. When she was too sick to attend Mass, she saw and heard it on her bedroom wall.
7. Saint Clare of Assisi died on Aug. 11, 1253, and Pope Alexander IV canonized her two years later.
“We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God's compassionate love for others.” ― St. Clare of Assisi
Prayer for the intercession of Saint Clare of Assisi:
God of mercy, You inspired Saint Clare with the love of poverty. By the help of her prayers may we follow Christ in poverty of spirit and come to the joyful vision of Your glory in the Kingdom of heaven. We ask this through Our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
Prayer Source: EWTN