Light of Assisi: The Story of Saint Clare

Sister Margaret Carney has delivered a brief but informative introduction to the life of St. Clare of Assisi which may hopefully inspire further reading and imitation of one of medieval Christianity’s most remarkable saints, one who has unfortunately been obscured over the years by the persona of St. Francis of Assisi and the movement which attracted Clare to form a common life of Gospel poverty for women. As the author notes in her forward, Clare “has long suffered the inevitable overshadowing of the enormous stature of Francis among Christian saints and religious geniuses.” It is only since Clare’s 800th centenary in 1993 that English language readers have had the benefit of new biographies buttressed by the explosion in medieval studies in the past half century.Clare’s personal life of austerity, fasting, and Christic devotion would have assured her a place in the Church’s calendar of saints, but her association with Francis of Assisi and her role in establishing the feminine identity of Franciscan life is a grace unto itself. The author is careful to respect Clare’s “powerful charism of her own—a gift bestowed by the Spirit of the Lord and given to her in a fullness and forcefulness that was hers alone.” The uniqueness of Clare’s strength and vision is particularly visible during the last years of Francis’s life and certainly after his death, when the male order of friars was reshaped from its rustic lifestyle into the conventual order of St. Bonaventure, and Clare’s network of dedicated women was confronted by Rome to conform to the mores and legislation of preexisting women’s orders and traditions.It is true that Clare’s conversion grace was mediated through the preaching and example of Francis, and certainly the vision for her lifestyle came from the early friars, so it is impossible to tell her story without explaining Francis. The author addresses Francis’ own conversion and ministry in the right amount, explaining the distinctive theological traits of early Franciscan identity. By the thirteenth century much of the Church was worn out from war, poverty, and a paucity of sound preaching. The stage was set, then, for a new wave of enthusiasm—and here modern medievalists have made great strides in identifying the mystics who aroused pockets of fervent renewal in visible communities of devotion, penance, and good works. The birth of the Franciscan charism or vision must be seen in this light, with Francis’ insight that poverty was not a curse but a sharing in the very life of Christ.Clare created something of a dilemma for the friars and the Church. The author does not write from an overtly feminist position, but it is clear from the text that Clare’s charism was Franciscan, a call to preach the love of Christ by public good works, service, and example. While she and her sisters lived a structured austerity, Clare did not feel herself called to the existing structures of the day. Once settled in the church grounds of San Damiano, the sisters established a site of retreat, feeding, and health care. The friars, including Francis, found solace in this public space. And yet the concept of a sorority of women doing good works outside the walls of a sequestered cloister and living an austerity rarely seen at that time created concerns among Church authorities and even doubts for Francis, who attempted to convince Clare to tone down her rigors—despite his own unrestrained habits of piety and penance.The author discusses at some length the lengthy negotiations between Clare and several popes that extended after Francis’s death. In fairness, Rome’s concerns were not totally unreasonable. Clare was entirely orthodox in her faith—her devotion to the Eucharist was extraordinary. But other independent groups had wandered into heresy. As the male order of friars became more clerical and conventional, some of the old guard of friars felt that Francis’ early founder’s vision was being compromised, and an extreme conservative flank developed under the title of “the Spiritualists” who ultimately found themselves excommunicated from the Church for their insistence that no pope had the right to legislate on matters of Christ’s poverty. Their intriguing story is told in David Burr’s “The Spiritual Franciscans” [2003].It speaks to the sanctity and vitality of both Francis and Clare that popes and cardinals administered their authority over both orders with considerable respect and without the need for excessive pressure and sanctions. The law, however, was compelling enough. In 1218 the Poor Sisters’ cardinal protector, Hugolino, imposed a detailed rule down to the description of the habit. The author describes this constitution with provisions for silence, iron grills, beams across doors, etc. [One wonders if the intention was to keep strangers out or to keep sisters in.] This was a far cry from San Damiano life. Clare is described as making the best of it, but “Hugolino was unable to fully endorse the radical nature of their desire to live the Gospel in literal and comprehensive fashion.”The later years of Clare’s life saw the establishment of many new monasteries of women attracted to the initial vision of Clare, and the saint herself encouraged the next generation to revere the original charism of the founder. One of the comforts of her later life was to care for the sick Francis, now bearing the mark of the Stigmata or wounds of the crucified Christ. Clare’s post-Francis era extended over twenty-seven years; the book details Clare’s mature spirituality and the memory of her pastoral and written works which survived her own death.There is irony in the fact that today the formal Order of Saint Clare is a strictly cloistered community of sisters. Meanwhile, many new apostolic communities of sisters have developed in recent centuries and live in the world under the inspiration of Franciscan ideals. Hopefully, the author’s straightforward presentation of Franciscanism’s first lady will recapture Clare’s energy and become a strong reinforcement in establishing the rightful place of women in the ministry of the Church.

Spirituality personified.

Finally, I feel I have more knowledge about St. Clare the person and not just St. Clare the saint. I appreciate the way this book steers clear of hagiography. I gained a good understanding of St. Clare's life and times and why she is such a revered saint. (One of my favorites.)

Love how they introduce Saint Francis and Saint Clare in this book

Light of Assisi: The Story of Saint Clare by Margaret Carney, OSBReviewed by Eileen Quinn Knight, Ph.D.What a delight to review the story of Saint Clare! Her interactions with St. Francis is certainly well documented but this is particularly about Saint Clare. The purpose of this book is simple: to introduce St. Clare of Assisi to those who do not know her and those who wish to know her better. European experts in early Franciscan history have long worked on important projects that preserved and extended our knowledge of St. Clare. Recently there has been a small trickle of studies of her spirituality that has turned into a steady stream of important works. The Most important contributions are the volumes that have given us excellent translations of her writings, primitive biographies, and related documents from the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. We have a wealth of poetry, music, art and theatrical offerings to enrich her portrait. What has been missing in the midst of this rising tide of materials is a biography that can lead a reader from her birth to her death, simply telling her story while taking into account aspects of modern scholarship.This book works to weave the threads of Clare’s story with the threads of Francis, but it also gives due importance to the long stretch of years that followed his death—years in which Chare’s position in the Franciscan world was of great significance. The book is her story. It is the task of scholars to critique each other’s work, to forge ahead to solve unanswered questions, and to keep an open mind-always ready to abandon an old and deficient answer for a new and more trustworthy one. A storyteller has to decide which of many possible interpretations can be incorporated into her narrative. Story has one function; can be incorporated into her narrative.The author learned about Clare while writing a doctoral thesis about her Rule. From that experience thirty years ago, she understands that Clare offers two extraordinarily important lessons. The first is the recognition of how important women-and this woman in particular are to the Franciscan story. The second is more subtle. It is the lesson that Clare’s important stems from the fact that she was the recipient of a powerful charism of her own, a gift bestowed by the Spirit of the Lord and given to her in a fullness and forcefulness that was hers alone. This charism, matched with the equally full and forceful charism of Francis created something akin to nuclear fission. It unleashed a mighty power of example and of hope for people who wanted to live the authentic Christian message. Clare’s story shows us that what matters is not the effort to ‘draw down’ from the spiritual wealth of others we admire What she shows us that what we need is the courage to unlock as though only the sharing of a supplicant’s gift can make us good. What she shows us is that we need only the courage to unlock what is within us, to spend our days powered by the graced anointing that we already possess.The stories told by Dr. Carney are filled with hope, strength and love. She relates the life of St. Clare in a most relevant manner. It provides us with the understanding of the voices and visions she had for us to imitate and admire. It is a compelling book that should be read and passed on.

Wonderful account - also much about St Francis and a bit about St. Agnus, St Clare’s sister. Inspiring!

This is a fabulous book about an amazing woman. I have been wanting to know more about St Clare since reading something else less fleshed out, where she was mostly alluded to. This fills out her life better.