The most complete biography of St. Clare of Assisi available in English. Companion of St. Francis and foundress of the female branch of the Franciscans.
Clare: Her Light and Her Song is a vivid portrait of a strong woman who scandalizes family and friends to follow her beloved mentor, Francis of Assisi, in a life of joyous poverty. Thoroughly researched, this biography faithfully depicts Clares as seen by her contemporaries, including cardinals and popes. Her story is enriched by accounts of the wars, political intrigues and towering figures of the tumultous thirteenth century in which she played a significant role. The first woman to receive Papal approval for her own Rule of Life, Clare continues as a model for women of the twenty-first century. She has been named Patroness of Television!
Excerpt
Spring in the year 1212! The building is empty, so very empty. The brightness of its stone walls dazzles Clare as she approaches, coming up the steep path shaded by olive trees. A bright, light-washed future beckons her. Her whole being stirs as she treads in Francis' dusty footprints toward the abandoned chapel of San Damiano. She is eighteen, her sister Agnes at her side, fifteen. Scattered clouds do not dim the bright May sunlight. The Umbrian countryside lies somnolent under its rays as if it also enjoys the noonday siesta of its citizens.
Francis had carefully chosen this time of day to conduct Clare and Agnes from the community of recluses of Sant' Angelo de Panzo down the slope of Monte Subasio and around the outskirts of Assisi. He and Brother Philip lead them up the cart lane which passes through the city's Porta Nuova from the plain. Few persons are stirring at this hour and they pass along it unnoticed except by the breeze which gently tugs at their rough lazzo robes.
When the steep path brings them within sight of the facade of San Damiano, Clare feels the urge to run and embrace the rugged walls that glint in the sun. This! This is to be the place where her searching spirit can expand unfettered. Perhaps Francis hears the catch in her breath and softly chants:
"When Israel came forth from Egypt,
the house of Jacob from an alien land,
the mountains skipped like rams,
the hills like the lambs of the flock."
And exuberantly they run until they stand in breathless joy in the cool shade of the portico.
Does Clare realize how monumental this moment is when her bare feet first step into the sanctuary of San Damiano? Forty years later, bequeathing to her sisters her most precious memories, she will write: "And thus by the will of God and of our most blessed Father Francis we came to dwell at the church of San Damiano..."
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