Christ as a Mirror - The Fourth Letter of St Clare to St Agnes

This is one of my favorite letters mostly because of the part about running with our Beloved and His embrace.  I took private vows at one point in my journey and renewed them every year and on the day I would read the Song of Songs.  I felt like I was truly the spouse of Christ on those days.

I also think that the contemplation of Christ as a mirror is one that is easier and more understandable to me, but Ina good way.  I think I got that contemplation wrong in the past.  I was holding up that mirroepr as a way to contrast myself with Him.  To chastise myself and berate myself.  I see now that isn't what Clare, a so loving mother was doing.  Clare is asking us to look in the mirror of Christ and see ourselves, honestly.  We should see that we are Christs brothers and sisters, there is a resemblance.  How can we see Christ in others if we can't see Him in ourselves?

The start of Clare's letters always seem strange to me.  We see Clare as a saint, almost someone unreal.  It is almost like a lie or a strange boast to write how imperfect she is.  We would never revel I our imperfections like she did.  But maybe because she sees her self honestly in the mirror of the Beloved. She knows herself and loves herself as she honestly is.  She knows she is saved by Him whom she adores, she isn't afraid of who she is.

Carrying Christ within us - St Clare's third letter to St Agnes

Wow!  What an idea, that we should spiritually carry the Beloved in our bodies at all times.  We take the Eucharist within us at least once a week, do we realize we are carrying the Lord within us?  What would it mean if we really contemplated the idea of carrying Christ within us at all times?  What would we have to change?

If we carry Christ within us we carry Him out to others in the world.  Can we be selfish or mean or just uncaring if we carry Christ with us?  To carry Christ within us would mean to carry Love with us at all times!  What Joy to carry love everywhere and to everyone!  We would have to look at each person the way the Beloved sees them, desiring always to be united with that person for eternity.

We would also have to look at ourselves with both love and honesty.  We would have to honestly see our faults and yet still love ourselves.  I that if we could honestly both see and love ourselves we could both honestly see and love those around us.  I think that looking at the world with Him would be to see the world as the thing He loving created and so not as something I would need to possess.

This will be my contemplation this week, but I think I will need to go to confession first.  The funny thing is I know He is already there, but I am the one not ready to recognize the fact.

Stay the Course - The Second Letter of St Clare to St Agnes

In reading the second letter of St Clare to St Agnes the theme that strikes me is to stay the course and don't let anyone dissuade you from that course.  The course is her life as a bride of Christ and living in poverty.  Agnes has given up a life in court and a chance to be married to the Emperor.  Instead she has chosen to live the life of the Poor Ladies of Assisi.

Clare tells her to walk this path of happiness tranquilly, joyfully, briskly, and cautiously. You can undstand the first three.  We are usually told to take whatever path we choose and run with it, but Clare also adds to walk that path with caution and to follow the Minister Generals advice over others.  Everyone these days tries, and back then as well, wants to tell us we don't need to do anything difficult to be a Christian.  There are those who say all you have to do is give your life to God and then live your life the way you want, all sins are forgiven.  If you have really given your life to God how can you lead your self centered life.  You life is Gods life now and if you are living for Him you can't just live your life your way.

Luckily for us, God's life is a life of love.  Clare Reminds us that this is a life contempt able to the world.  If your life is not contempt able to the world you maybe on the wrong path.  If you live a life of love, filled with Christ and not concerned with worldly things, the world will think you are a fool.  That is a good sign that you have chosen the path of happiness.

Clare ends her letter reminding us to spend time gazing on and contemplating Christ.  Without that it will be impossible for us to follow Him.  We will lose our way and the strength to continue.  Christ is both our guide and our strength.  He is literally the food for our journey.

Trusting in Christ - St Clare of Assisi's first letter to St Agnes of Prague

I am reviewing some of the writings of St Clare and St Francis this month because it is part of the formation of new Secular Franciscans and because as a Franciscan I need to from time to time.  Some of my favorite writings are the letters of St Clare to St Agnes.  They are so beautiful and full of truly passionate imagery.  From her letters you see that Clare was no repressed passionless nun, but a woman who's heart is full of love and passion for Christ.

In the first letter she explains to Agnes how she has chosen the better spouse.  She has given up the riches of Ceasar for the riches of Heaven.  This letter reminds me that detachment is not a giving up on the "good things" comfort, stability, self reliance, but a reliance on God.  If I rely on God, he will provide what I need and I don't need to worry about anything else.  The lack of worry then gives me freedom.  The lack of dependence on my self means that I can hold closer to God and respond quickly to what He asks of me.  The image of two fighters one clothed and one naked demonstrates this perfectly.  The naked hatred of the devil for us and all the worldly cares we clothes ourselves with hampers us in our fight with him.

I love the sort of poems embedded in the letter describing the Beloved and how He loves us and cares for us, they are like passionate love letters of any you g girl for her love.  We can love Christ that way.  We don't have to love Him in some detached distant, Oh yes, I love the Lord kind of way.  We can love Him deeply and passionately, and loves us in the same way.

I will continue to review the rest of the letters in the next week or so.  You can read all the letters at the link below.

http://www.franciscanfriarstor.com/archive/stfrancis/St_Clare_of_Assisi/stf_st_clare_of_assisi_writings.htm#The%20second%20Letter%20to%20the%20Blessed%20Agnes%20of%20Prague%C2%A0

Matt 28: 11-20 - Just How it Continues to Be

Starting with verse 11, chapter 28 of Matthew's Gospel talks about what happened when the guards found Jesus's body was gone.  The funny thing is that if the Chief Priests really felt completely sure that Jesus's body had been stolen would they have responded as they did?  I think they would have laughed at the guards and told them to away.  I think they doubted what they had done and feared it would be found out that they had killed the son of God.  They were so afraid they paid the soldiers to lie.

The same thing I think happens today.  Those who most fear that there is a God and that they have denied Him are the most outspoken that He isn't real.  Fear makes us do stupid and regrettable things. Those who mearly doubt but keep an open mind and seek are not the ones we need to worry about.  We should pray for those who fear there is Lord and calm their fears by showing them what a loving God He is.

"When they saw Him, they worshipped, but they doubted", this is us.  We can see Him, if we look, but even when we see, we doubt.  Doubt is not our enemy.  Doubt keeps us looking and seeking the Lord.  I think many of us, if we truly knew the Beloved was there in every moment we would grow bored with it, just like we do in our human relationships.  Having doubt doesn't keep the Lord from commissioning us either.  Just because you doubt sometimes doesn't mean that you have not been commissioned by God to proclaim the Gospel.

Why does God do that?  Why send out those who doubt?  I think most of us think that Saints didn't doubt. But if you read their own writings and the fantasy that is often written later, you find they did doubt.  Saints are humble, doubt comes with humility or humility comes with doubt, I think.  Those who are arrogant think they know everything, even God.  They make God in their own image and use that against other people.  Be happy you doubt, and seek the Lord always.

John Chapter 21.- Gods Love

This is by far my favorite Easter story.  As an addict I really identify with those who have fallen and how hard it is to seek forgiveness because of shame.  Peter so loves the Lord and is so happy at seeing Him that the joy and love over comes the shame.  Still once Jesus starts to question him it must have been painful.

Seeking forgiveness is painful at times, and I think that the more hurtful the sin the more shame is associated with it and the more painful it is to seek forgiveness and restoration, but when you do receive forgiveness the greater the relief.  If it wasn't that way, if it wasn't so difficult, I doubt the relief would be as deep and fulfilling.

The Lord doesn't just forgive Peter though, He forgives Peter and also gives him a job to do, leading the whole church.  God is often that was.  When we return to Him, He forgives us wholeheartedly and then sends us on a mission.  We all have a mission, we are all called to live our faith and to spread it.  Those who have been forgiven much are great ambassadors for God.  They know the Love of God, they have experienced that love.

We can only profess the Love of God if we know that love and live that love.  Belief in God is only the starting place, you have to love God and know He loves you to bring anyone else to God.  God is love, to know God you must know His love, you have to know His forgiveness.  If we don't spread the faith out of that love, we will fail.

1 John 5:1-6 Loving God, His Children, and His Commandments

How can keeping God's commandments show love for all His children?  This only works if we keep those commandments out of love and not legal observance and if we keep them all.  The two greatest are to love God with everything we have and to love our neighbor as ourselves andes Jesus loved us.   There are times when we as Christians forget this and go for the more legalistic view.  Legalistically keeping the Sabath and holding it over others is not loving so is it really keeping His commandments?  

If we start by loving God, getting to know Him, spending time with Him, having a relationship with Him, we should come to love all His creation.  By loving His creation without whole hearts we will want to keep His commandments out of love for God and His creation and it will not be burdensome.   

If we try to keep His commandments without coming to know and to love Him it will be a great burdon to keep them, because we will not love His creation.  This is the key, we do not obey God out of fear of punishment, but out of Love.  Our God is Love.  This is the only way that it is possible without becoming bitter and angry. 

 Those who keep the God's commandments out of fear or legalistically and not out of love will see those laws as slavery, keep them from what they want to really do out of spite.  When we see God's love and know God's love for us and love Him in return sin loses its glamour.  We want to love God and all He created with same love we are given.