St. Clare of Assisi
  Our Guide to the Garden of Prayer

Prayer is like a secret garden,
made up of silence and rest and inwardness.
                                        -  Jean Vanier

PART  SEVEN

          St. Teresa of Avila was once asked how long she could pray without distraction.  The great doctor of prayer answered frankly, "For about the space of an Our Father."  The early sources make no direct mention of St. Clare of Assisi's struggles in prayer.  However, a closer reading of the texts reveal how Clare came to God in prayer as we do, - weak, poor and vulnerable.

          The Lady Clare was as anxious concerning the observance of her Order and the government of her Sisters as any man might be regarding the custody of his worldly treasures.  (Process of Canonization I, 14)  If anxiety about all the churches pressed hard upon the Apostle Paul, it is not surprising to find the same all-too-human concern pressing upon St. Clare.  And in all probability, this anxiety made itself especially known during her long hours of prayer.  The needs of the monasteries, the health of her Sisters, the longstanding insecurity about her Rule, the state of the Church and of the world - these and many other prospective distractions were transformed by Clare into what one Franciscan has called "The Prayer of Cares."  Instead of letting problems turn her away from God, the Seraphic Mother allowed them to launch her into the realms of deeper prayer and abandonment to the One in Whom she placed her trust.

           The Sisters who lived with her testified that the Lady Clare was assiduous in prayer.  (cf. Process III; VI)  A vibrant prayer life does not just happen.  It is, as the definition of "assiduous" indicates, the fruit of persistent and hard-working effort.  The law of prayer is self-denial.  (Lafrance)  In the battle of prayer, St. Clare spared no effort to uproot the spiritual weeds that kept her from a deep and loving communion with the Lord.  One makes the time for the Lord, with the firm determination not  to give up, no matter what trials and dryness one may encounter.  One cannot always meditate, but one can always enter into inner prayer, independently of the conditions of health, work, or emotional state.  (CATECHISM 2710)

            St. Clare advised one of her followers: Let not sadness or gloom take hold of you!  (3rd Letter of St. Clare to St. Agnes of Prague)  Everything can be turned into prayer, providing that one always keeps one's prayer firmly fixed on the Lord.  To set about hunting down distractions would be to fall into their trap, when all that is necessary is to turn back our heart: for the distraction reveals to us what we are attached to, and humble awareness before the Lord should awaken our preferential love for Him and lead us resolutely to offer Him our heart to be purified.  (CATECHISM 2729)

             Clare of Assisi was also aware that there are forces outside of the soul, seeking to prevent its coming to union with God.  She showed (her Sisters) how the cunning enemy lays hidden snares for pure souls, and tempts holy persons in one way and worldlings in another.  (Legend of St. Clare, 36)  But instead of allowing these temptations to deflect us from prayer, the Seraphic Mother urges us to face the spiritual combat with courage and faith: Pray and watch at all times!  Carry out the work you have so well begun, and fulfill in true humility the service of God you have undertaken.  Letter to Ermentrude)  The perseverance of St. Clare in the garden of prayer is an invitation to everyone to pray always and not lose heart (Luke 18: 1).  She joins her voice to that of the prophet Baruch:  If your hearts have been disposed to stray from God, TURN NOW TEN TIMES THE MORE to seek Him.  (Bar. 4:28)  For, every effort to pray is itself a priceless gift, an encounter in faith and love with the true and living God.