Lenten Reflection: Sixth Week of Lent
The First Letter of Saint Clare to Agnes of Prague (1234)
Therefore, most beloved sister, or should I say, Lady, worthy of great respect: because You are the spouse and the mother and the sister of my Lord Jesus Christ (cf 2 Cor 11:2, Mt. 12:50)
and have been beautifully adorned with the sign of an undefiled virginity and a most holy poverty: Be strengthened in the holy service which you have undertaken out of a burning desire for the poor Crucified,
Who for the sake of all of us took upon Himself the Passion of the Cross (Heb 12:2), delivered us from the power of the Prince of Darkness (Col 1:13) to whom we were enslaved because of the disobedience of our first parent, and so reconciled us to God the Father (2 Cor 5:18).
O blessed poverty,
who bestows eternal riches
on those who love and embrace her!
O holy poverty,
God promises the kingdom of Heaven
and in fact, offers eternal glory and a
blessed life to those who posses and desire you!
O God-centered poverty,
whom the Lord Jesus Christ
Who ruled and now rules heaven and earth,
Who spoke and things were made,
condescended to embrace before all else!
For Prayer and Reflection:
who bestows eternal riches
on those who love and embrace her!
O holy poverty,
God promises the kingdom of Heaven
and in fact, offers eternal glory and a
blessed life to those who posses and desire you!
O God-centered poverty,
whom the Lord Jesus Christ
Who ruled and now rules heaven and earth,
Who spoke and things were made,
condescended to embrace before all else!
For Prayer and Reflection:
- How is "blessed and holy poverty" embraced in your daily life?
- Is the living of your holy poverty a challenge to the values of today's consumeristic and materialistic society?
- Where do you identify "the power of the Prince of Darkness" in the world today?
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