Tag: Poverty

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Minute Meditation – The Poverty of God

Clare desired to follow Francis’s evangelical way of life and may indeed have done so in the early part of her career. Although she described herself as “la piantacella,” the little plant of Francis, she was clearly no wilting flower. She had a strong, independent spirit and a real desire to join in Francis’ evangelical project. Whereas Francis saw poverty as the means for living authentic gospel life, Clare fought for the “privilege of poverty,” because poverty was the key to Christian life. The Incarnation spoke to her of the “poverty of God” manifested in God’s self-giving love. 

— from the book Franciscan Prayerby Ilia Delio, OSF

//Franciscan Media//

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Daily Message from Pope Francis – We See Jesus in the Lives of the Poor

FRIDAY, JUNE 18, 2021

“In everything, Jesus teaches that poverty is not the result of fate, but a concrete sign pointing to His presence among us. We do not find Him when and where we want, but see Him in the lives of the poor, in their sufferings and needs, in the often inhuman conditions in which they are forced to live. As I never tire of repeating, the poor are true evangelizers, for they were the first to be evangelized and called to share in the Lord’s joy and His kingdom (cf. Mt 5:3).” Pope Francis
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Minute Meditation – For Love of the Poor

You don’t need a lot of elaborate statistics to know that there are billions of people who are suffering crushing poverty at this very moment. If you start to pay attention, you feel this inside yourself. We may often distract ourselves or deny it, but there’s no getting around the fact that we are connected in more ways and to a greater extent than we can ever fathom. The deeper we go in our spiritual practice, the more obvious and undeniable these connections become.

Being present to the poor through friendship, solidarity, and service isn’t just a helpful set of moral principles. It’s a virtuous circle, with each feeding and amplifying the others, and all leading to a more authentic way of being in the world. Because when we make room for these in our life, we’re making room for love, the common bond that can bridge any gulf poverty may create.

— from the book Making Room: Soul-Deep Satisfaction through Simple Living
by Kyle Kramer

//Franciscan Media//

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The Patron Saint of Televisions and Computer Screens – Saint Clare of Assisi

St. Clare of Assisi is a beloved Italian saint who was born in 1193 to an aristocratic family. She later renounced her wealthy status to follow St. Francis of Assisi’s call to embrace a lifestyle of humility and poverty. She spent several months at different monastic communities before joining other sisters in a small convent at the Church of San Damiano, given to them by Francis’s Order of Friars Minor.

St. Clare was the superior of the convent of San Damiano while still practicing the virtues of humility, charity, piety, and penitence. She cared for the sick sisters and took up basic chores such as cooking and cleaning. Her devotion to the Eucharist was so great that she performed two miracles. On two different occasions, Saracen mercenaries were about to attack the convent and impose a siege on Assisi. St. Clare simply showed the invaders the Blessed Sacrament, and they ceased in their efforts. These miracles led to her canonization in 1255.

Later in her life, St. Clare became too sick to attend Mass, and she was incredibly disappointed. It is believed that one day, she was lying in her bed when a large image appeared across her wall, as if it were a television screen. The image showed her the Mass, so St. Clare was able to watch Mass from her own bed and make an Act of Spiritual Communion. When the television was invented in the 1950s, Pope Pius XII named St. Clare the patron saint of televisions and screens, since she watched television before anyone had likely thought of the concept!

We honor St. Clare because she devoted her life to the wholehearted pursuit of Christ. We may not be called to enter a monastery or convent, but we still serve others as St. Clare did. We can imitate her virtues by visiting the lonely, caring for the sick, or doing our menial tasks with love and without complaint.

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Minute Meditations – New Beginnings

Clare recalled these new beginnings in later years. That she and her sisters had survived the painful trials of the foundation was not nearly as surprising to her as it was to Francis. “When the blessed Francis saw, however, that although we were physically weak and frail, we did not shirk deprivation, poverty, hard work, trial or the shame or contempt of the world—rather we considered them as great delights, as he had frequently examined us according to the example of the saints and his brothers—he greatly rejoiced in the Lord” (Testament, 27-29). Taking each word of this recollection on its merits, we must imagine that the early years of life in San Damiano were a continual struggle at levels material, social, and spiritual.

— from the book Light of Assisi: The Story of Saint Clare

by Margaret Carney, OSF

//Franciscan Media//

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Saint of the Day – April 13 – Blessed Margaret of Castello

Bl. Margaret of Castello (1287–1320) was born to noble Italian parents who were awaiting the birth of the child of their dreams. Instead, they bore a daughter who was blind, dwarfed, lame, and hunchbacked. Margaret’s parents were horrified by the physical appearance of their newborn child, so they hid her and kept her existence secret. A servant had her baptized and named her Margaret, meaning, “Pearl.” When she was six years of age she was nearly discovered, so that her father confined her to a cell inside the wall of a church with her necessities given through a window. The parish priest took it upon himself to educate Margaret. She lived in this way until age sixteen, when her parents took her on pilgrimage to a shrine famous for miraculous healings. There they prayed earnestly for their daughter to be cured of her deformities, which they loathed. When no cure came, her parents abandoned her in the streets and returned home, never to see her again. Margaret begged for food and was helped by the town’s poor who took turns sheltering her in their homes. She became a Dominican Tertiary and took up the work of serving the sick, dying, and imprisoned. Margaret was known for her great joy, sanctity, and profound mystical experiences. She died at the age of 33, and hundreds of miracles were credited to her intercession both before and after her death. Her body is incorrupt. She is the patron against poverty, and of the disabled, handicapped, and unwanted. Her feast day is April 13th.

//The Catholic Company//