Extracts from Letters from
St. Clare of Assisi to
St. Agnes of PragueLetter 1234 A.D.
To the venerable and most holy virgin, the Lady Agnes, daughter of the most renowned and illustrious king of Bohemia, Clare, unworthy servant of Jesus Christ and useless handmaid of the enclosed ladies of the Monastery of San Damiano, her subject and handmaid in all circumstances, commends herself in every way and sends, with special respect, the prayer that Agnes attain the glory of everlasting happiness. . .
Hearing the account, one that brings you the highest honor, of your holy conversion and manner of life, an account that has been reputably disseminated not only to me but to nearly every region of the world, I rejoice and exalt exceedingly in the Lord. Concerning this news, I am not the only one able to rejoice, but also all those who serve and desire to serve Jesus Christ.
I rejoice because you, more than others, could have enjoyed public ostentation, honors, and worldly status having had the opportunity to become, with eminent glory, legitimately married to the illustrious emperor, as would befit your and his pre-eminence. Spurning all these things with your whole heart and mind, you have chosen instead holiest poverty and physical want, accepting a nobler spouse, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will keep your virginity always immaculate and inviolate.
Having loved him, you are chaste;
having touched him, you will be made
more pure;
having received him, you are a virgin.
His power is stronger,
his nobility higher,
his appearance lovelier,
his love sweeter,
and his every grace more elegant.
Quem cum amaveritis casta estis,
cum tetigeritis mundior efficiemini,
cum acceperitis virgo estis.
Cuius possibilitas forior, generositas celsior,
cuius aspectus pulchrior, amor suavior
et omnis gratia elegantior.
You are now held fast in the embraces of the one who has adorned your breast with precious stones and has hung priceless pearls from your ears.
He has completely surrounded you with glittering and sparkling gems, and has placed on your head a golden crown engraved with the seal of holiness.
Therefore, dearest sister-or should I say, most venerable lady, because you are spouse and mother and sister of my Lord Jesus Christ, and are most resplendently distinguished by the banner of inviolable virginity and holiest poverty - be strengthened in the holy service begun in you out of a burning desire for the Poor Crucified. For all of us he endured the passion of the cross, rescuing us from the power of the prince of darkness - by whose power we were kept in chains because of the transgression of our first parent-and reconciling us to God the Father.
Letter c. 1235-8 A.D.
To the other half of her soul and repository of the special love of her deepest heart, illustrious queen, spouse of the Lamb of the eternal King, the Lady Agnes, her own dearest mother and, among all the others, her special daughter, Clare, unworthy servant of Christ and useless handmaid of his handmaids who live in the Monastery of San Damiano in Assisi, sends greetings and her prayer that Agnes, together with the other most holy virgins, will sing a new song before the throne of God and of the Lamb, and will follow the Lamb wherever he goes.
O mother and daughter, spouse of the King and all ages, even if I have not written to you as frequently as both your soul and mine would have desired and longed for, do not for a moment wonder or believe in any way that the fire of my love for you burns any less sweetly in the deepest heart of your mother. The truth is that a shortage of messengers and the obvious perils of travel have hindered me. But now, as I write to your love, I rejoice and exult for you in the joy of the Spirit, spouse of Christ, because like that other most holy virgin, Saint Agnes, you have been in an astonishing way espoused to the immaculate Lamb, who, having assumed responsibility for all the vanities of this world, takes away the sins of the world.
Happy, indeed, is the one permitted to share
in this sacred banquet so as to be joined
with all the feelings of her heart to him
whose beauty all the blessed hosts of the
heavens unceasingly admire,
whose affection moves,
whose contemplation invigorates,
whose generosity fills,
whose sweetness replenishes,
whose remembrance pleasantly brings light,
whose fragrance will revive the dead,
and whose glorious vision will bless
all the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem,
because the vision of him is the splendor of
everlasting glory,
the radiance of everlasting light,
and a mirror without tarnish.
Felix certe
cui hoc sacro datur potiri convivio,
ut ei adhaereatur totis cordis praecordiis,
cuius pulchritudinem
omnia beata caelorum agmina
incessabiliter admirantur,
cuius affectus afficit,
cuius contemplatio reficit,
cuius implet benignitas,
cuius replet suavitas,
cuius memoria lucescit suaviter,
cuius odore mortui reviviscent,
cuiusque visio gloriosa beatificabit
omnes cives supernae Ierusalem:
quae cum sit splendor aeternae gloriae,
candor lucis aeternae
et speculum sine macula.
Look into this mirror every day, O queen, spouse of Jesus Christ, and continually examine your face in it, so that in this way you may adorn yourself completely, inwardly and outwardly, clothed and covered in multicolored apparel, adorned in the same manner with flowers and garments made of all the virtues as is proper, dearest daughter and spouse of the most high King. Moreover, in this mirror shine blessed poverty, holy humility, and charity beyond words, as you will be able, with God's grace, to contemplate throughout the entire mirror.
Look closely, I say, to the beginning of the life of this admired one, indeed at the poverty of him who was wrapped in swaddling clothes and placed in a manger. O marvelous humility! O astonishing poverty! The King of the angels, the Lord of heaven and earth is laid to rest in a manger! Consider also the midst of his life, his humility, or at least his blessed poverty, the countless hardships, and the punishments that he endured for the redemption of the human race. Indeed, ponder the final days of this mirrored one, contemplate the ineffable love with which he was willing to suffer on the tree of the cross and to die there a kind of death that is more shameful than any other.
That mirror suspended upon the wood of the cross from there kept urging those passing by of what must be considered, saying: O all you who pass by this way, look and see if there is any suffering like my suffering. In response let us with one voice and in one spirit answer him who is crying out and lamenting: I will remember this over and over and my soul will sink within me. Therefore, seeing this, O queen of the heavenly King, you must burn ever more strongly with the fervor of charity!
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