03281211 when Saint Clare left her Paternal home
There is no agreement between the sources, regarding the day, if it is March 18 or 28, and the year, 1211 or 1212. But they do agree that on PALM SUNDAY at night, Clara Favarone de Ofreducci flees from her house – castle and she goes to the Porziuncula to consecrate her life to the Lord, in the style of Saint Francis of Assisi, who had been preparing her for this moment for at least two years.
The consecration of Mother Santa Clara marks a new path in the nascent family of San Francisco, opening the possibility for women to be part of this great family, through contemplation, becoming the heart of our Family. How much we Franciscans of the First and Third Orders owe to the prayer and sacrifice of these sisters that begins today with the offering in love with Santa Clara!
Congratulations to all the Poor Clares and associates who, like their Holy Mother, have consecrated themselves completely to the Lord.
A work that we recommend is the Life of Santa Clara de Asís, by Fra Contardo Miglioranza, from the Conventual Franciscan Missions. It is the source that serves us for the stories of Santa Clara that we present.
On Palm Sunday night in many monasteries of the Order of St. Clare the nuns
celebrate an important event in the life of their spiritual mother. This year marks a special
anniversary marking 800 years since this event, since according to renowned scholars of
the life of Clare of Assisi, it was the night of 28th March 1211, which was the night
concluding the feast of Palm Sunday, when Clare left her paternal house in the piazza of
the cathedral church of San Rufino and proceeded towards the Portiuncula chapel to
begin a new way of life under the direction of Francis and the first brothers.
The exact method used by Clare to accomplish this unique feat for a woman
during the Middle Ages is still an object of mystery, and many questions are left
unanswered. The biographical sources for the life of St. Clare, dating from the mid-13th
century, offer some insights as to what might have occurred, but their descriptions are
rather vague. That is why we have to make recourse to other more modern studies
regarding the life of Clare of Assisi in order to have a more clear view of such an
important event that marks a watershed in the life of the little plant (pianticella) of
Francis of Assisi.
Comments
Post a Comment