The Mystical Meal of St Clare and St Francis
The Mystical Meal of St. Clare and St. Francis: When Divine Love Set the Forest Ablaze
Among the lesser-known episodes of Franciscan history, few are as beautiful as the mystical meal shared by St. Francis of Assisi, St. Clare, and their companions. This remarkable encounter, recorded in Chapter XV of The Little Flowers of St. Francis, is depicted in a sixteenth-century painting preserved in the Great Refectory of the Museo di San Marco in Florence, Italy. The work, attributed to an anonymous Florentine painter and generally dated to the mid-sixteenth century (approximately 1550–1574), portrays an extraordinary moment in which an ordinary meal becomes an experience of divine contemplation.
According to the Little Flowers, St. Clare had long desired to share a meal with St. Francis. Wishing to console her, Francis invited her to Santa Maria degli Angeli, near Assisi, accompanied by one of her sisters. This was a place of profound significance for Clare, as it was at the little church of the Porziuncola that she had received her religious habit and begun her life consecrated to Christ. Francis and his brothers prepared a humble table outdoors, and the two saints sat together with their companions. As Francis began speaking about God, however, the gathering was overcome by divine grace. Their contemplation became so profound that they seemed transported beyond themselves. From the surrounding countryside, people saw what appeared to be a great fire consuming the church, the woodland, and the entire area. Rushing to extinguish the flames, they discovered that there was no earthly fire at all: it was the fire of divine love burning in the hearts of Francis, Clare, and their companions. Continue reading after advertisement
Italian Pectoral San Damiano Crucifix
The painting preserves many fascinating details that help us understand this spiritual encounter. At the center stands a small table decorated with a white embroidered cloth bearing the Latin inscription *Ubi charitas et amor, ibi Deus est* — "Where charity and love are, there is God." Bread, fruit, wooden bowls, a knife, and a ceramic pitcher bearing the Christogram IHS recall the simplicity of Franciscan hospitality. A golden crucifix and a cluster of white lilies rise above the table, evoking Christ and the purity traditionally associated with St. Clare. The saints are seated opposite one another, accompanied by kneeling religious figures and what is believed to be a female donor. Beyond them, the landscape reveals Assisi on its hilltop, the little Porziuncola in the plain, and the surrounding woodland. The golden radiance illuminating the scene recalls the miraculous fire described in the Little Flowers, transforming this humble gathering into a vision of heavenly communion. Continue reading after advertisement
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This episode beautifully expresses the spiritual friendship between Francis and Clare, whose lives were united by their shared devotion to Christ and their embrace of evangelical poverty. Their meal reminds us that Franciscan fellowship is about much more than sharing food or physical companionship: it is about recognizing God's presence in one another, allowing charity to become the center of every encounter. The inscription on the table offers perhaps the most fitting interpretation of the entire painting: Where charity and love are, there is God. Continue reading after advertisement
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