I will betroth you to me forever: I will betroth you to me with justice and with judgment, with loyalty and with compassion; I will betroth you to me with fidelity, and you shall know the LORD. (Hosea 2:21-22)

Happy Feast Day to you all! What a great and joyous day for St. Clare of Assisi Parish. Today we celebrate our patroness St. Clare of Assisi. Since the actual Feast falls on Tuesday 08/11 of this year, pastorally we are allowed to observe our Feast Day on Sunday instead. (General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, # 58) 

St. Clare was born around 1193 in Assisi, Italy. St. Francis of Assisi lived in the same town. Clare used to listen to Francis preach. Her heart burned with a great desire to imitate him. Like him, she wanted to live a poor, humble life for Jesus. But her parents would never agree to such a plan. So on the night of Palm Sunday, 1212, when she was eighteen years old, she left her comfortable home and her family whom she loved. In a little chapel outside Assisi, she gave herself to God. St. Francis cut off her hair and offered her a rough brown habit to wear. She stayed with the Benedictine nuns until more nuns would join her. Her parents tried in every way to make her return home, but Clare would not. Soon her fifteen-year-old sister Agnes joined her.

Other young women wanted to be “poor ladies” of Jesus, too. Before long there was a small religious community. They lived in a house at the church of San Damiano, which St. Francis himself had repaired. St. Clare and her nuns wore no shoes. They never ate meat. They lived in a poor house in an atmosphere of silent prayer. Yet they were very happy because they were living a life of poverty as Jesus had done. Once an army of rough soldiers came to attack the city of Assisi. Although very sick, St. Clare asked to be carried to the window. She had the Blessed Sacrament placed right where the soldiers could see it. Then she knelt and begged God to save the nuns and the city. “O Lord, protect these sisters whom I cannot protect now,” she prayed. And a voice within her seemed to say: “I will keep them always in my care.” At the same time, a sudden fright struck the attackers. They fled as fast as they could.

St. Clare was abbess of her convent for forty years. Twenty-nine of those years she was sick. But she said that she was joyful anyway because she was serving the Lord. Some people worried that the nuns were suffering because they were so poor. St. Clare spent most of her life defending what she called the “privilege of poverty.” The pope tried to soften her Rule’s requirement of poverty, but Clare convinced him that she and her nuns were called to live with no possessions, trusting completely in God. St. Clare died on August 11, 1253. Just two years later she was proclaimed a saint by Pope Alexander IV. (Saint A Day, iMissal)

St. Clare is the patron saint of those with eye disease, embroiderers, laundry workers, needle workers, telephones, and television. Why television? Because it was reported that one Christmas Eve (1252), Clare was so sick that she could not get out of bed even to go to Mass. While the other sisters were on their way to mass, she stayed in bed praying so she could take part in the mass with her prayer. Just then, the Lord granted her a miraculous vision, and she was able to see and hear the Mass on the wall in her room. Therefore, in 1958 Pope Pius XII declared St. Clare the patron saint of television. 

In honor St. Clare, let us reflect on her words of wisdom and ask her to show us how to keep Jesus as the center of our lives and hearts:

❦ “Totally love Him who gave Himself totally out of love for you.”

❦ “We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing. Imitation is not a literal mimicking of Christ, rather it means becoming the image of the beloved, an image disclosed through transformation. This means we are to become vessels of God's compassionate love for others.” (BTW, this is one of my favorite quotes)

❦ “Go forth without fear, for He who created you has made you holy, has always protected you, and loves you as a mother. Blessed be you, my God, for having created me.”

❦ “Gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him, as you desire to imitate Him.”

❦ “Love God, serve God; everything is in that.”

❦ “Our labor here is brief, but the reward is eternal. Do not be disturbed by the clamor of the world, which passes like a shadow. Do not let false delights of a deceptive world deceive you.”

Which quote inspires you the most?

St. Clare of Assisi, pray for us.

Hail Mary full of grace...

Peace in Christ,

Fr. Vincent-Vuong Nguyen

P.S.
PLEASE don’t forget today's Masses are: 7:00 am, 9:00 am (also live-streamed)

We are truly grateful for your continued financial support during this difficult time. Looking forward to welcoming y’all virtually!