Daily Archives: August 11, 2026

The Feast of St. Clare of Assisi

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Peter said to Jesus, “We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, I say to you that you who have followed me, in the new age, when the Son of Man is seated on his throne of glory, will yourselves sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has given up houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for the sake of my name will receive a hundred times more, and will inherit eternal life.”  (Mt 19:27-29)

Today across the Church universal and especially among the Franciscan communities, we celebrate the Feast of St. Clare of Assisi. It is a very appropriate gospel chosen for the feast day. In the gospel we hear: “Peter said to Jesus, ‘We have given up everything and followed you. What will there be for us?’” It is a replay of the rich young man who comes to Jesus and asks what more must I do to inherit the Kingdom of God. Jesus tells him to sell everything he has and give it to the poor and then follow Jesus. At least the rich young man supplies the answer to what’s in it for him – even as he walks away sad.

Clare could rightly be called “a rich young woman.” She was born into one of the majores families of Assisi, the nobility with homes “up town”, wealth, land and privilege. She did not want… at least not in the traditional measure.

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First, the prophet must receive the Word

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The sequence of four first readings begins appropriately with Ezekiel himself (Ezekiel 2:8-3:4) 

God hands him the scroll and commands: “Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.” (Ezek 3:1) The scroll contains “lamentation and wailing and woe” (2:10), yet when Ezekiel eats it, “it was as sweet as honey in my mouth” (3:3). That gives you an important starting point for the entire series. Ezekiel is not commissioned simply to have opinions about Israel’s problems. He must first receive God’s word into himself. Only then may he speak.

And the sweetness is striking. What Ezekiel must proclaim will frequently be terrible news. Nevertheless, God’s word itself is good. Judgment is not something Ezekiel invents because he is angry with his people. He becomes the bearer of a word he himself has consumed.

Before the prophet can speak God’s word, he must allow God’s word to become part of him.

Image credit: A fresco from St. John the Baptist Church in Kratovo, Macedonia (photo: Rašo, via Wikimedia Commons)

Clare of Assisi – audaciously following Christ

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August 11th is the Feast of St. Clare of Assisi – in many ways considered a “second founder” of the Franciscan orders of men and women because of the influence her life, example, and spirituality have upon the religious orders of men and women that carry the name “Franciscan.” In honor of these celebrations, let us look at The Legend of St. Clare (1255) in which we read of Clare’s decision to follow Francis’ way of life.

“The Solemnity of the Day of Palms was at hand when the young girl went with a fervent heart to the man of God, asking [him] about her conversion and how it should be carried out.  The father Francis told her that on the day of the feast, she should go, dressed and adorned, together with the crowd of people, to [receive] a palm, and, on the following night, leaving the camp she should turn her worldly joy into mourning the Lord’s passion.

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The Pharisee Within

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This coming Sunday is the 20th Sunday in Ordinary Time. In the previous post we discussed the growing encounters and controversies with the Pharisees. The Pharisees are easily dismissed, after all, they are the antagonist in the narratives. A more optimistic reading of the context is that the Pharisees are the ones who were on track but have now lost the spirit, heart, and compassion of the Law. There is nothing wrong with wanting holiness to be a goal and desire of all the people. But the assumption that the rules and traditions of the Levites are the path of holiness for the people errs in that it assumes the Levites exist in a hierarchy that places them closer to God. In addition, when one forgets the bases of the traditions and whether they are “t” traditions or “T” traditions, then only problems lay ahead.

But there is the potential Pharisee in everyone of us who relies upon “t” tradition too heavily. What would be the reaction if all the Catholic Churches removed the holy water fonts? The end of faith and time as we know it? Doubtful, but certainly, the pastor who allowed it! What happens at the moment that you reach to dip your fingers into the water of the font and discover the font missing? Do you eventually reach the point where you muse, “Well, it was always there to remind us of our baptismal vows, the one we will renew in the Creed, the ones we received at the beginning of our journey of faith, the ones I remember on this journey today into the heart of the Eucharist.” Holy water fonts are wonderful, but are “t” traditions meant to remind you and lead you to the “T” traditions.

And there is the potential Pharisee in everyone of us that presumes upon the “T” tradition in the wrong way. What could be said about the person who comes to Reconciliation every week, confesses the exact same sins, and in between makes no effort in prayer or action to effect change in their life? What is the difference between magic and a sacrament? Some find that a shocking question, but I think it is a good one to help uncover one’s heart. An anthropology professor once told us that magic is the idea that one can do the exact thing, say the exact words in the right order, all at the right time, and then one controls the power of the gods.  “If I go at the appointed time, know the right words (Bless me Father for I have sinned…), confess my sins, then I GET forgiveness (emphasis pointedly added).” I have done the right thing with the right words at the right time so I have earned, am owed forgiveness…such is magical thinking or heartless juridical accounting where faith should be.

A sacrament never controls God or God’s power, it relies upon the promise of God, and so as we have been told, we ask and believe that what we have asked for is given: God, the Father of mercies, through the death and resurrection of his Son has reconciled the world to himself and poured the Holy Spirit among us for the forgiveness of sins; through the ministry of the Church may God give you pardon and peace, and I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.  Forgiveness is mercy from God and is never earned, but only received as a gift for the asking. Such is the way of faith.

The Catholic “traditions” are plentiful and there to help the faith. They are good. It is the Pharisee within that can introduce the merely juridical or magical attitude upon the good.

Image credit: Jean Germain Drouais, Christ and the Canaanite Woman, 1784, Louvre Museum | Public Domain