Among my many blessings as a Franciscan woman is visiting Assisi, the birthplace of Saints Francis and Clare. To reach the monastery of San Damiano where Clare lived with her sisters, one has to walk down a long countryside road with breathtaking views of grassy hills and fields.
Once inside the walls of San Damiano, I feel Clare's spirit, in the chapel where she spent hours gazing upon the San Damiano crucifix, the refectory where a bouquet of flowers marks the place at the table where she ate her sparse meals, and in the common dormitory, where she and her sisters slept on straw mats and where she took her last breath at the age of 59.
For Clare, living her contemplative vocation within the monastery, the “enclosure” was not meant to keep the world out, but rather to be that intimate place where the heart becomes the dwelling place of the God she loved. Clare's “light” and holiness radiated out to the townspeople. Eyewitness accounts were given of Clare healing people who came to her door, never keeping anyone away. While lying ill on her straw mat, she used her sewing skills to spin cloth to make corporals and altar cloths for nearby churches.
During this pandemic, we have all experienced being "enclosed," confined within our homes, social distancing from family and friends, inhibited from traveling any distance. We have experienced solitude and the opportunity, for longer periods of prayer and communion with our God. We too, can be a “light” to others by reaching out to them through FaceTime, emails, phone calls, letters and cards, each connection bringing joy to others and brightening their lives. We too, like Clare, can bring healing to a hurting world.
