PRAYER OF THE DAY

NOVENA TO SAINT CLARE

Dear St. Clare,

as a young girl you imitated your mother's love for the poor of your native Assisi.

Inspired by the preaching of St. Francis,

who sang enthusiastically of His Lord Jesus and Lady Poverty,

you gave your life to Jesus at nineteen years of age,

allowing St. Francis to cut off your beautiful hair and invest you with the Franciscan habit.

All through your life you offered your great suffering for your Sisters,

the Poor Clares,

and the conversion of souls.

You greatly aided St. Francis with his new order,

carrying on his spirit in the Franciscans after his death.

Most of all you had a deep love of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament,

which fueled your vocation to love and care for the poor.

Please pray for me (mention your request) that I will seek to keep Jesus as my first love, as you did.

Help me to grow in love of the Blessed Sacrament,

to care for the poor,

and to offer my whole life to God.

Heavenly Father,

thank You for the gift of St. Clare.

Through her intercession,

please hear and answer my prayer,

in the name of Jesus Your Son.

Amen.

DAILY MASS READINGS

Memorial of Saint Clare, virgin

Reading

Hab 1:12-2:4

Are you not from eternity, O LORD,

my holy God, immortal?

O LORD, you have marked him for judgment,

O Rock, you have readied him punishment!

Too pure are your eyes to look upon evil,

and the sight of misery you cannot endure.

Why, then, do you gaze on the faithless in silence

while the wicked man devours

one more just than himself?

You have made man like the fish of the sea,

like creeping things without a ruler.

He brings them all up with his hook,

he hauls them away with his net,

He gathers them in his seine;

and so he rejoices and exults.

Therefore he sacrifices to his net,

and burns incense to his seine;

for thanks to them his portion is generous,

and his repast sumptuous.

Shall he, then, keep on brandishing his sword

to slay peoples without mercy?

I will stand at my guard post,

and station myself upon the rampart,

And keep watch to see what he will say to me,

and what answer he will give to my complaint.

Then the LORD answered me and said:

Write down the vision

Clearly upon the tablets,

so that one can read it readily.

For the vision still has its time,

presses on to fulfillment, and will not disappoint;

If it delays, wait for it,

it will surely come, it will not be late.

The rash man has no integrity;

but the just man, because of his faith, shall live.

Responsorial Psalm

Ps 9:8-9, 10-11, 12-13

R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.

The LORD sits enthroned forever;

he has set up his throne for judgment.

He judges the world with justice;

he governs the peoples with equity.

R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.

The LORD is a stronghold for the oppressed,

a stronghold in times of distress.

They trust in you who cherish your name,

for you forsake not those who seek you, O LORD.

R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.

Sing praise to the LORD enthroned in Zion;

proclaim among the nations his deeds;

For the avenger of blood has remembered;

he has not forgotten the cry of the poor.

R. You forsake not those who seek you, O Lord.

Gospel

Mt 17:14-20

A man came up to Jesus, knelt down before him, and said,

"Lord, have pity on my son, who is a lunatic and suffers severely;

often he falls into fire, and often into water.

I brought him to your disciples, but they could not cure him."

Jesus said in reply,

"O faithless and perverse generation, how long will I be with you?

How long will I endure you?

Bring the boy here to me."

Jesus rebuked him and the demon came out of him,

and from that hour the boy was cured.

Then the disciples approached Jesus in private and said,

"Why could we not drive it out?"

He said to them,

"Because of your little faith.

Amen, I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed,

you will say to this mountain,

"Move from here to there," and it will move.

Nothing will be impossible for you."

SAINT OF THE DAY

August 11

St. Clare (1194-1253)

One of the more sugary movies made about Francis of Assisi pictures Clare as a golden-haired beauty floating through sun-drenched fields, a sort of one-woman counterpart to the new Franciscan Order.

The beginning of her religious life was indeed movie material. Having refused to marry at 15, she was moved by the dynamic preaching of Francis. He became her lifelong friend and spiritual guide.

At 18, she escaped one night from her father’s home, was met on the road by friars carrying torches, and in the poor little chapel called the Portiuncula received a rough woolen habit, exchanged her jeweled belt for a common rope with knots in it, and sacrificed the long tresses to Francis’ scissors. He placed her in a Benedictine convent which her father and uncles immediately stormed in rage. She clung to the altar of the church, threw aside her veil to show her cropped hair and remained adamant.

End of movie material. Sixteen days later her sister Agnes joined her. Others came. They lived a simple life of great poverty, austerity and complete seclusion from the world, according to a Rule which Francis gave them as a Second Order (Poor Clares). Francis obliged her under obedience at age 21 to accept the office of abbess, one she exercised until her death.

The nuns went barefoot, slept on the ground, ate no meat and observed almost complete silence. (Later Clare, like Francis, persuaded her sisters to moderate this rigor: “Our bodies are not made of brass.”) The greatest emphasis, of course, was on gospel poverty. They possessed no property, even in common, subsisting on daily contributions. When even the pope tried to persuade her to mitigate this practice, she showed her characteristic firmness: “I need to be absolved from my sins, but I do not wish to be absolved from the obligation of following Jesus Christ.”

Contemporary accounts glow with admiration of her life in the convent of San Damiano in Assisi. She served the sick, waited on table, washed the feet of the begging nuns. She came from prayer, it was said, with her face so shining it dazzled those about her. She suffered serious illness for the last 27 years of her life. Her influence was such that popes, cardinals and bishops often came to consult her—she never left the walls of San Damiano.

Francis always remained her great friend and inspiration. She was always obedient to his will and to the great ideal of gospel life which he was making real.

A well-known story concerns her prayer and trust. She had the Blessed Sacrament placed on the walls of the convent when it faced attack by invading Saracens. “Does it please you, O God, to deliver into the hands of these beasts the defenseless children I have nourished with your love? I beseech you, dear Lord, protect these whom I am now unable to protect.” To her sisters she said, “Don’t be afraid. Trust in Jesus.” The Saracens fled.

OFFICE OF READINGS

O Lord, open my lips.

And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Invitatory Psalm

Psalm 94 (95)

Come, let us worship the Lamb, whom the virgins have followed.

– Come, let us worship the Lamb, whom the virgins have followed.

Come, let us rejoice in the Lord,

let us acclaim God our salvation.

Let us come before him proclaiming our thanks,

let us acclaim him with songs.

– Come, let us worship the Lamb, whom the virgins have followed.

For the Lord is a great God,

a king above all gods.

For he holds the depths of the earth in his hands,

and the peaks of the mountains are his.

For the sea is his: he made it;

and his hands formed the dry land.

– Come, let us worship the Lamb, whom the virgins have followed.

Come, let us worship and bow down,

bend the knee before the Lord who made us;

for he himself is our God and we are his flock,

the sheep that follow his hand.

– Come, let us worship the Lamb, whom the virgins have followed.

If only, today, you would listen to his voice:

“Do not harden your hearts

as you did at Meribah,

on the day of Massah in the desert,

when your fathers tested me –

they put me to the test,

although they had seen my works.”

– Come, let us worship the Lamb, whom the virgins have followed.

“For forty years they wearied me,

that generation.

I said: their hearts are wandering,

they do not know my paths.

I swore in my anger:

they will never enter my place of rest.”

– Come, let us worship the Lamb, whom the virgins have followed.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

– Come, let us worship the Lamb, whom the virgins have followed.

Hymn

Immortal, invisible, God only wise,

In light inaccessible hid from our eyes,

Most blessed, most glorious, the Ancient of Days,

Almighty, victorious, thy great Name we praise.

Unresting, unhasting, and silent as light,

Nor wanting, nor wasting, thou rulest in might;

Thy justice like mountains high soaring above

Thy clouds, which are fountains of goodness and love.

To all life thou givest, to both great and small;

In all life thou livest, the true life of all;

We blossom and flourish, like leaves on the tree,

Then wither and perish; but naught changeth thee.

Great Father of glory, pure Father of light,

Thine angels adore thee, all veiling their sight;

All laud we would render: O help us to see

‘Tis only the splendour of light hideth thee.

Psalm 135 (136)

A paschal hymn

The Lord alone has wrought marvellous works,

for his love endures for ever.

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,

for his love is for ever.

Give thanks to the God of gods,

for his love is for ever.

Give thanks to the Lord of lords,

for his love is for ever.

He alone works wonders,

for his love is for ever.

In his wisdom he made the heavens,

for his love is for ever.

He set the Earth upon the waters,

for his love is for ever.

He created the great lights,

for his love is for ever.

The sun, to rule over the day,

for his love is for ever.

The moon and stars, to rule over the night,

for his love is for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

The Lord alone has wrought marvellous works,

for his love endures for ever.

Psalm 135 (136)

He brought Israel out from Egypt, 

with arm outstretched,with power in his hand.

He struck down the first-born of Egypt,

for his love is for ever.

He led Israel out from their midst,

for his love is for ever.

With a strong hand and an outstretched arm,

for his love is for ever.

He divided the Red Sea in two,

for his love is for ever.

He led Israel out through the sea,

for his love is for ever.

He overthrew Pharaoh and his army,

for his love is for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

He brought Israel out from Egypt,

with arm outstretched, with power in his hand.

Psalm 135 (136)

To the Lord of heaven give thanks:

he set us free from our foes.

He led his people through the wilderness,

for his love is for ever.

He struck down great kings,

for his love is for ever.

Sihon, king of the Amorites,

for his love is for ever.

And Og, the king of Bashan,

for his love is for ever.

He gave their land to his people,

for his love is for ever.

A heritage for Israel his servant,

for his love is for ever.

He remembered us in our affliction,

for his love is for ever.

He rescued us from our enemies,

for his love is for ever.

He gives food to all creatures that live,

for his love is for ever.

Give thanks to the God of heaven,

for his love is for ever.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,

world without end.

Amen.

To the Lord of heaven give thanks:

he set us free from our foes.

Lord, show me your ways,

– and teach me your paths.

Reading

Hosea 5:15-7:2

They will search for me in their misery.

‘Come, let us return to the Lord.

He has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us;

he has struck us down, but he will bandage our wounds;

after a day or two he will bring us back to life,

on the third day he will raise us

and we shall live in his presence.

Let us set ourselves to know the Lord;

that he will come is as certain as the dawn

his judgement will rise like the light,

he will come to us as showers come,

like spring rains watering the earth.’

What am I to do with you, Ephraim?

What am I to do with you, Judah?

This love of yours is like a morning cloud,

like the dew that quickly disappears.

This is why I have torn them to pieces by the prophets,

why I slaughtered them with the words from my mouth,

since what I want is love, not sacrifice;

knowledge of God, not holocausts.

But they have violated the covenant at Adam,

they have proved unfaithful to me there.

Gilead is a town of evil-doers,

full of bloody footprints.

Like so many robbers in ambush

a band of priests commits murder on the road to Shechem –

appalling behaviour, indeed!

I have seen horrors in Bethel;

that is where Ephraim plays the whore

and Israel defiles himself.

Judah, I intend a harvest for you, too,

when I restore the fortunes of my people.

Whenever I want to heal Israel,

I am confronted by the guilt of Ephraim

and the wickedness of Samaria;

deceit is their principle of behaviour,

thieves break into houses

and bandits raid outside.

They never pause to consider

that I know about all their wickedness;

yet their actions are all round them,

they stare me in the face.

Responsory

Go and learn what this means:

I desire mercy, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts.

This love of yours is like a morning cloud, like dew that swiftly vanishes.

I desire mercy, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts.

Reading

A letter of St Clare to Blessed Agnes of Prague

Consider the poverty, humility and charity of Christ

Happy the soul to whom it is given to attain this life with Christ, to cleave with all one’s heart to him whose beauty all the heavenly hosts behold forever, whose love inflames our love, the contemplation of whom is our refreshment, whose graciousness is our delight, whose gentleness fills us to overflowing, whose remembrance makes us glow with happiness, whose fragrance revives the dead, the glorious vision of whom will be the happiness of all the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem. For he is the brightness of eternal glory, the splendour of eternal light, the mirror without spot.

Look into that mirror daily, O queen and spouse of Jesus Christ, and ever study therein your countenance, that within and without you may adorn yourself with all manner of virtues, and clothe yourself with the flowers and garments that become the daughter and chaste spouse of the most high King. In that mirror are reflected poverty, holy humility and ineffable charity, as, with the grace of God, you may perceive.

Gaze first upon the poverty of Jesus, placed in a manger, wrapped in swaddling clothes. What marvellous humility! What astounding poverty! The King of angels, Lord of heaven and earth, is laid in a manger. Consider next the humility, the blessed poverty, the untold labours and burdens which he endured for the redemption of the human race. Then look upon the unutterable charity with which he willed to suffer on the tree of the cross and to die thereon the most shameful kind of death. This mirror, Christ himself, fixed upon the wood of the cross, bade the passers-by consider these things: ‘All you who pass this way look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow.’ With one voice and one mind let us answer him as he cries and laments, saying in his own words: ‘I will be mindful and remember and my soul shall languish within me.’ Thus, O queen of the heavenly King, may you ever burn more ardently with the fire of this love.

Contemplate further the indescribable joys, the wealth and unending honours of the King, and sighing after them with great longing, cry to him: ‘Draw me after you: we shall run to the fragrance of your perfumes, O heavenly bridegroom.’ I will run and faint not until you bring me into the wine cellar, until your left hand be under my head and your right hand happily embrace me and you kiss me with the kiss of your mouth.

In such contemplation be mindful of your poor little mother and know that I have inscribed your happy memory indelibly on the tablets of my heart, holding you dearer than all others.

Responsory

Though my heart and my flesh fail,

God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.

I have thrown everything else away as worthless, so that I may gain Christ, and be completely united with him;

God is the strength of my heart and my portion for ever.

Let us pray.

Lord God, in your mercy

you led Saint Clare to the love of poverty.

Help us, by her intercession,

to follow Christ in poverty of spirit,

so that, in the kingdom of heaven,

we may see you in your glory.

Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,

who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.

Amen.

Let us bless the Lord.

– Thanks be to God.