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SPIDIR newsletter 66 |
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Newsletter
main page Contact the Newsletter Editor Contents of Issue 66 Autumn 2005
Notes by the Newsletter Editor from a talk on St Francis and St Clare by Jules Cave Bergquist at the SPIDIR AGM in July 2005
Whatever it was, the presentation made by Jules Cave Bergquist at the SPIDIR AGM in July was a brilliant illustrated presentation of the lives, practice, and spirituality of two of the most attractive saints in Christendom. Jules used slides of frescoes from Assisi to throw light on their lives and also to show how from very early on painters and the communities themselves interpreted the saints according to their own requirements. Why in the basilica frescoes for example is there no depiction of Francis kissing the leper? Why do the Poor Clares show Clare close to Francis, when the Franciscan-commissioned paintings keep them apart? For someone like myself, not knowing very much about these two inspiring figures, this presentation was an excellent introduction. Did you know for example that Clare was the first woman to write a rule for her order? That Francis having wanted as a child to be a knight, takes over much of the vocabulary of chivalry into his way of thinking about religion: wanting to be a knight for Christ, fighting for his lady, Poverty? That Francis toward the end of his life, almost blind, sharing space with rats running over him, saw his mission as a failure and it was Clare and her spiritual counselling that kept the brothers together after his death? That Clare having had a vision on her deathbed and hearing choirs of angels was declared by Pius XII to be the patron saint of television? But as well as learning much about the lives of the saints, we, as a meeting of people involved in spiritual direction, were left with questions and reflections about Francis and Clare as spiritual directors and what we could learn from them in our own understanding of spirituality. Neither of them were systematic thinkers. You have to glean indications from their writings, from the rules for communities, and from the Admonitions of St Francis. What then is the core of Franciscan spirituality? No doubt Francis would have declared that at its heart his movement simply wished to imitate Jesus. Jesus was (is) brother, leader, friend, who leads us to the Father. His way is humility, simplicity and poverty and an identification with the poor. We draw close to Christ through meditating on the life and particularly the death of Jesus in the cross. (There are few depictions of the resurrection in Franciscan churches; it is mostly the crucifixion that is shown). Mary is the example of humility in her obedience to God and her humility. In her the seed is planted, the Word grows within her, as it is to do in all Christians, and is then to be given birth to in the world – in word, preaching, and love to all of God’s creatures. This going out on the road to preach must also be balanced by a meditative withdrawal from time to time so that our spirituality is grounded in our prayer life. The Holy Spirit is the real minister general – and spiritual director. From the Poor Clares, we learn the stress on the inner life and communal work, hospitality and preaching the Word to the guest. In the afternoon after a period of questions, we were left with some extracts of Francis and Clare on prayer. I should like to share one or two of these to give you and idea of the depth of awareness and sense of balance both Francis and Clare evinced when contemplating the aims of their communities. From the writings of St Clare on Prayer: Reg CI VII – The Manner of
Working: The Third letter to Blessed
Agnes of Prague: From the writings of St Francis: Admonition XIV – The Poverty of
Spirit A letter to St Anthony Admonitions. XXVII How virtue
drives out vice |
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