Aug. 11th - St. Clare of Assisi

Today is the memorial of St. Clare, the patron of television. Even before Clare was born it was revealed to her mother, that her unborn daughter would become a light to the world. As a young girl she was favored with personal beauty and a charming personality. She was interested in the poor and frequently denied herself things in order to give what she could to the poor. She loved prayer and her sweetest delight was her deep devotion to the Blessed Sacrament.

When she was 18, she heard St. Francis preach in the cathedral of Assisi during Lent of 1212. His words on contempt of the world and penance, and in particular the holy example he set, affected Clare such that she felt God was calling her to lead a similar life in seclusion in a convent.

On March 18^th, 1212, on Palm Sunday, St. Francis and some of his followers came with lighted candles to meet her in the little chapel of Our Lady of the Angels. She came wearing her richest garments. Before the altar she joyfully removed her beautiful head-dress, and St. Francis cut off her hair and covered her head with a veil. In place of her rich garments, she received a coarse penitential garb and was girded with a white cord. After she took the habit, her father wanting her to be married, furiously attempted to drag her home. With the help of St. Francis, she co-founded the Poor Clares. Her own sister, Agnes, became a nun in her convent.

Due to her prayers, there are episodes of multiplications of loaves and of bottles of oil that appeared in the convent when there was none before.

In 1240, she turned away an attack by Saracen (Muslim) soldiers who broke into the convent cloister. She held a monstrance with a Host, and from the Host a ray of light came from the Eucharist, frightening off the attacking soldiers.

Once when she was sick in bed and unable to attend Christmas Midnight Mass, while in bed, she was able to see the Mass and heard the priest’s homily. When the sisters returned after Mass, she said she saw the beautiful Midnight Mass and re-told them the homily they had just heard. And for this reason she is the patron of television today.

St. Clare lived a very deep life of poverty. Today, let us ask St. Clare to help us to be detached from material things, so that we may be attached to Jesus alone. May her prayers help us to come to a great devotion to Our Lord in the Sacred Host and may she continue to inspire many more vocations to the religious life.