St. Clare was born in 1174, the eldest daughter of noble parents. She left her privileged status at 18 years of age to become the first woman follower of St. Francis of Assisi.  Clare is known for her incredible love of Jesus and embracing poverty after the example of Jesus' self-emptying (Phil. 2:5-11).

Among her many virtues were her compassion and tenderness, her love for the poor and the lepers of her time, her devotion to her sisters, her steadfastness in embracing God's will in her heart...all from God's abundant graces granted her because of her total commitment to Gospel living.

St. Clare was an exemplary model of the charism of the order.  She was the first woman to write her own Rule. The day before her death, Pope  Innocent IV gave her the approval of her Rule (Way of Gospel Living). St. Clare died in 1253.

We are all called to:

Gaze on Him  Contemplate Him   Imitate Him!
From the 2^nd letter of St. Clare to St. Agnes of Prague.

Place your mind before the mirror of eternity!

Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!

Place your heart in the figure of the Divine Substance!

And transform your entire being into the image of the

Godhead Itself through contemplation.
From the 3^rd letter of St. Clare to St. Agnes of Prague (vs. 12 and 13).

And from the Legend of St. Clare (paragraph 19):

Clare would pray with the sisters for long periods of time after Compline and the torrents of tears that burst forth in her excited them in others. But after the others went to their hard beds to rest their tired bodies, she remained in prayer thoroughly vigilant and invincible so that she could then secretly receive the divine whispers (Job 4:12) when sleep occupied the others. Very frequently while she was prostrate on her face in prayer she flooded the ground with tears and caressed it with kisses so that she might always seem to have her Jesus in her hands on whose feet her tears flowed and her kisses were impressed.