Friendship between Clare and Francis
When Clare turned 18, St. Francis went to the church of St. George in Assisi to preach during Lent. After having been listening to him those days, Clare felt the strong call of the Lord, and soon begged Francis to help her reach her way of living the Holy Gospel. Francis immediately recognized that Clare was a soul chosen by God, and promised to help her.
Their lives and their callings would be complementary and interdependent. From the start one is for the other manifestation of the Presence and the will of God.
Clare's writings overflow with gratitude for her mentor. Thanks to Francis, Clare discovered a new way living that God wanted for her and her sisters. At the end of her days, Clare would remember him with gratitude. Memories of St. Francis come to her mind, as they both struggle together to persevere in the passionate following of the poor and crucified! They were God's gift to each other.
“In fact, almost immediately after his conversion, when he had neither brothers nor companions, while he was building the church of San Damiano, where he was totally visited by divine consolation and impelled to completely abandon the world , through the great joy and enlightenment of the Holy Spirit, the holy man made a prophecy about us that the Lord later fulfilled. For at that time , climbing the wall of that church, he shouted in French to some poor people who were standing nearby: "Come and help me in the work of building the monastery of San Damiano, because ladies are yet to dwell here who will glorify our heavenly Father throughout his holy, universal Church by their celebrated and holy manner of life. We can consider in this , therefore, the abundant kindness of God to us. Because of his mercy and love, he saw fit to speak these words through his saint about our vocation and choice through his saint. And our most blessed Father prophesied not only for us, but also for those who would come to this same holy vocation to which the Lord has called us.”(St. Clare's Testament).
Together they will share the same passion for Jesus. Clare and Francis followed in the footsteps of Christ, poor and humble, to the last consequences. Francis would be the gardener of his little plant, taking a particular care of her spiritual growth.
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