Day 8: Choose Poverty

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Listen, daughter, and pay careful attention:  Forget your people and your father's house. Let the king be enthralled by your beauty; honor him, for he is your lord." (Psalm 45:10-11)

The Parable of the 10 Virgin teaches us that only five of the virgins will be allowed to meet the bride and groom, because their lamps are still burning.  Psalm 45 invites us to be vigilant so that our heart - free of clutter and made beautiful by being watchful and loving - might stir the King's desire and make us worthy of joining the Wedding banquet!

So Saint Clare tells Saint Agnes of Prague:

If so great and good a Lord, then, on coming into the Virgin's womb, chose to appear despised, needy and poor in this world, so that people in utter poverty and want and in absolute need of heavenly nourishment might become rich in Him by possessing the kingdom of heaven, then rejoice and be glad! Be filled with a remarkable happiness and a spiritual joy! Contempt of the world has pleased you more than its honors, poverty more than earthly riches, and you have sought to store up greater treasures in heaven rather than on earth, where rust does not consume nor moth destroy, nor thieves break in and steal. Your reward then, is very great in heaven! And you have truly merited to be called a sister, spouse, and mother of the Son of the Father of the Most High and of the glorious Virgin. (1rst Letter to St. Agnes)

Christ has chosen and taken the wildest path. He, the bridegroom of mankind and King of the universe, took flesh from our flesh.

His humility has shed light on the secret thoughts and attitudes of a great many: the wish to gain power and wealth to use with contempt for human dignity.

Saint Clare understood that Humans are beautiful and deserve to be respected and dignified.

Since Clare was of noble birth she could have chosen to accept the inheritance of her family and lead a life indifferent to those who have nothing. But she opened her eyes and her heart. She chose to follow Poor Christ, and go the desert so that Love would speak to her heart, and she lived the Gospel together with sisters, whom she welcomed as a gift.

While some aspire to obtain more riches and power, Clare chose poverty with Christ. On this path she experienced “intense happiness” and the only true glory: forever sharing the life of God!

Clara knew that God is our One real wealth, the Fountain of Life of this world and the afterlife.

In her Testament, St. Clare asks the Church to ensure that her community remains faithful to the commitment to follow Poor Christ:

Out of love for the Lord who was born poor in a crib and remained naked on the cross, I ask the Church to always guide this little flock on the path of the poverty and humility of the Son of God and of the glorious Virgin, His mother”. 

Saint Clare followed Christ, her bridegroom. We can do the same by asking for the grace of a freer, cleaner and humbler heart! We must learn to leave our riches and false securities behind to discover true joys, not just material ones!

We suggest that you pray to the Lord for mercy through Cardinal Rafael Merry del Val's “Litany of Humility” (which he prayed daily):

Prayer

Lord Jesus. Meek and humble of heart, Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being extolled, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being honored, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being praised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being preferred to others, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being consulted, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being approved, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being humiliated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being despised, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of suffering rebukes, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being calumniated, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being forgotten, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being ridiculed, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being wronged, Deliver me, Jesus.
From the fear of being suspected, Deliver me, Jesus.

That others may be loved more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That, in the opinion of the world, others may increase and I may decrease, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be chosen and I set aside, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be praised and I unnoticed, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be preferred to me in everything, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may become holier than I, provided that I may become as holy as I should, Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.

Meditation of the Day

Which goods do I possess, and which goods possess me?

Am I saddened by the wish and the desire to possess more?

What if today I experienced the joy of getting rid of something to make somebody else happy?

I listen, I lend my ear: what am I called to leave behind to live more intimately with the One who is the only True Good? How will I follow humble and poor Christ today?  

Why not display the litany of Cardinal Merry in my prayer corner, on the wall of my bedroom or in a place where I can easily find them? This will make it easier for me to recite it often to ask for the grace of  a humbler, poorer heart (like St. Francis and St. Clare), and follow Jesus and His mother.

Community prayer

St. Clare's Blessing

I bless you in my life and after my death as much as I can and more than I can. With all the blessings with which the Father of mercies has and will have blessed His sons and daughters in heaven and on earth, and a spiritual father and mother have blessed and bless their spiritual sons and daughters. Always be lovers of God and your souls and the souls of your Sisters, and always be eager to observe what you have promised the Lord. May the Lord be with you always and, wherever you are, may you be with Him always. Amen.

Thank you! 73 people prayed

Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone. Col 4:6

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9 Joyful Days with Saint Clare of Assisi

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