Clare of Assisi – A Light for Peace and Justice
Introduction
For about a year and a half now we have been studying about Christian women who served in the kingdom of God during the Middle Ages. What we call the “Middle Ages” or the Medieval period lasted from around 500 AD to 1500 AD. From Genovefa (423 – 502) through Elizabeth of Portugal (1271- 1336) we have told the stories of God’s faithful and humble servants. There were queens, abbesses, nuns, Beguines, Franciscan sisters, writers, godly wives, mothers, empresses, social reformers, and many other women who served Christ.
In our last few posts, we emphasized how Godly families passed the faith on to their descendants. We saw how a godly mother – Blanche of Castile – raised saintly children – St. Louis and St. Isabelle. In our last post we discovered a woman who had a long line of saintly relatives – Elizabeth of Hungary and how that line continued with Elizabeth’s great niece – Elizabeth of Portugal.
One other thing that we noted was that many of the saintly women in the thirteenth century were influenced by the Franciscans. Because there were three orders in the Franciscan body many people could serve Christ full time. Men who took the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience would be part of the First Order. Francis helped Clare found the Second Order of sisters who also took the vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience. There would be a Third Order established for lay people. Married people and wealthy people could still take the vow of obedience. Married followers would commit to raising godly families while obeying the leaders in their local Franciscan monastery. Wealthy disciples could and did commit to using their riches to help the poor. Today the Third Order of Franciscans still has many adherents.
For the next several weeks, we will tell the story of Clare of Assisi. The Order of the Poor Clares still exists today with tens of thousands of sisters in over 70 countries.
Clare of Assisi – A Light for Peace and Justice
Her name shall be “light”.
Early one morning Ortulana woke to the first rays of the beautiful sunlight. She gazed out of the window of her 
home, a castle in Assisi. She was pregnant with her first child. Ortulana went to the chapel to pray for a safe delivery. She later told friends that the Lord spoke words of assurance to her. “Do not be afraid, for you will give birth in safety to a light that will give light more clearly than light itself and shine brilliantly in the world.”[1]Ortulana returned home filled with peace.
Eight days after her daughter was born in July 1194 Ortulana took her to the Cathedral of San Rufino to be baptized. “I will call her Clara (Clare),” Ortulana told the priest. “Her name shall be ‘Light’. I know she will be a light to the world.”
Ortulana was a devout woman. She had even thought about entering a cloister as a young girl. However, as a daughter in a wealthy family, she followed the path of most girls of high status and married into a family of prominence. Her husband Favarone was a knight and his family descended from royalty. Ortulana and Favarone were members of the elite ruling class in Assisi. They lived in a large house surrounded by servants and every luxury available.
In spite of the extravagant lifestyle expected of a leading lady in society, Ortulana secretly longed for a simpler and more fulfilling way to live the Christian life. Ortulana continued to attend church often and prayed. Though Clare was growing up as a privileged girl, Ortulana brought her along with her and taught her daughter to listen for the voice of the Lord. Ortulana knew that Clare was going to be special for the Lord. Ortulana prayed that God would give her something special too. Many years later, her prayers would be answered as she joined her daughter in the cloister.
Clare was a beautiful Italian woman who had been born into nobility. Even as a young girl she was known for her piety and her kindness. A story is told that she used to hide the food from her plate so that she could later give it to the poor.
When she was sixteen years old, Clare heard Francis of Assisi preach. Clare had been promised in marriage to a wealthy man, but she refused a life of ease. Instead, she put on sackcloth and went out to care for the poor.
Probably more books have been written about Francis of Assisi than any other saint alive. It goes without saying that by comparison, books about Clare of Assisi are scarce. Part of the reason for this is that there are few books about women saints to begin with. Another reason is that except for her letters and the testimonies of others about Clare’s life, we don’t have many materials to draw from. What we do have reveals to us a picture of a woman and her esteemed friend who were called to bring reform to the church and who lived in a way that resulted in a world that was changed forever.
Clare’s example for holy living was Francis of Assisi who also turned away a wealthy inheritance and went to live among the poor. He took a vow of poverty. While meditating on the cross, he received a call to rebuild the church. Francis took Christ’s words literally and began to repair church buildings that had been left to decay. Francis also took the message in a spiritual way and began to reform the church.
In this period known as the late Middle Ages the church was at the center of public life. By this time throughout Europe Christianity was the main religion, and in towns like Assisi the only religion. People practiced their religion publicly; it was not a private affair like it is in our day. People had obligations, like attending church, caring for and giving to the poor, and engaging in ethical business practices all under the authority of the local priests and bishops.
During this period of time, from Francis’s birth (1181 AD) until his death (1226 AD) there were six different popes. During Francis’s and Clare’s lifetimes the pope in Rome was becoming more and more powerful. Innocent III (1198 – 1216) took on the spiritual power and authority that popes still have today. They speak with the final authority on doctrine and church polity. They grant sainthood to worthy Christians. The pope was responsible for blessing new movements like those of Francis and Clare. This was important to Francis and Clare because they wanted the brothers and sisters to be able to manage their monasteries in a way that more nearly imitated the way Christ lived and ministered. They wanted the pope’s blessing, but they also wanted to run their monasteries themselves. They did not want the restrictions of the hierarchy of the institutional church.
Under only the authority of the pope, Francis and his followers were free to spend their time caring for the poor and sick. Francis believed that he was following more faithfully in Jesus’ footsteps. A time-honored saying that is attributed to him goes, “Preach the Gospel always, and if you must, use words.” His message of reform spread all across Europe and the East. St. Francis is still honored today for his example of love and care to even the lowest, most forgotten people.
To Be Continued……
[1] Thoman, Bret. St. Clare of Assisi: Light From the Cloister (Kindle Locations 2847-2849). TAN Books. Kindle Edition. This locution is documented by the third witness in the Process, 28, as well as Legend of St. Clare, 1, 1.
