POINTSOFVIEW | FAITH UNPACKED The Wisdom of St. Clare
By David Dault, PhD
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TIME FOR REST
I am fearful about many things, but especially transitions and change. I get locked into routines and habits, and these become a comfort to me. I hold on to behaviors, often for too long, and sometimes long after they have ceased to be useful or healthy. The Lord instituted the Sabbath for exactly this reason. It is a break in our daily habit of trying to matter and be the center of everything. The transition from work to Sabbath each week is meant to remind us that our efforts, though important, are not the primary force of the universe. St. Clare could have faced death with frustration, demanding more time to attend to unfinished projects. Instead, she allowed her soul to feel the deep promise at the heart of Sabbath: Be secure in knowing that what you have done is enough, and God will carry the rest. May we leave the old year with this same security and peace. Next, she writes, “The One who created you and made you holy has always loved you tenderly as a mother her dear child.”
In our liturgies and theologies, we are used to being reminded of the masculine aspects of God. But here, Clare is taking assurance in those more maternal aspects of our Creator. St. Clare knew that she, too, was created in the image of God, and that emboldened her to proclaim the feminine strength of the Lord along with the more usual masculine ones. Tender love protects and promotes. Beloved children are given shelter, but they are also given freedom to explore and play. May we enter the new year with this same assurance that we are surrounded always by a powerful and tender love. THE GREATEST GIFT
Clare’s final words were, “And you, Lord, are blessed because you have created me.” I have to be constantly reminded of the plain fact that Clare knew so well. Everything we have, from the breath in our lungs to the world that surrounds us, is a pure gift. Our words did not create it, and our efforts did not bring it into being. It is all from God. We are not called to triumph, and we are not called to “win” at life (whatever that might mean). We are called to live in the reality of this great gift and to acknowledge it. I hear in Clare’s words such a profound gratitude for having been given the gift of life and the opportunity to make of that life something that would point glory back to her Creator. As we leave this year and enter the new, let us do so following Clare’s example, as grateful and beloved children of God.
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LEFT: FEVERPITCHED/FOTOSEARCH; RIGHT: COURTESY OF KYLE KRAMER
David hosts the weekly radio show Things Not Seen: Conversations about Culture and Faith. He also cohosts The Francis Effect podcast with Father Dan Horan, OFM. He lives with his family on the South Side of Chicago.
TOP LEFT: PHOTO COURTESY OF CHICAGO SUNDAY EVENING CLUB/KHIEM TRAN; TOP RIGHT: ALTERPHOTO/FOTOSEARCH
David Dault, PhD
ver the past few weeks, I have been thinking a lot about St. Clare of Assisi. In particular, I have been thinking about her last words, attributed to her on her deathbed by Regis Armstrong in his book Clare of Assisi— The Lady: Early Documents. As she prepared to leave this world, we are told that she said, “Go securely and in peace, my blessed soul. The One who created you and made you holy has always loved you tenderly as a mother her dear child. And you, Lord, are blessed because you have created me.” Clare died on August 11, 1253, on the bare floor of San Damiano in the convent she founded, next to the church in which St. Francis had his miraculous vision of Our Lord calling him to his ministry of repair and renewal. As we come to the conclusion of this year and prepare ourselves for the next, there is great wisdom in Clare’s words. First, “Go securely and in peace, my blessed soul.”