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St. Clare: Patroness of Television

 

 

One Christmas Eve, illness forced St. Clare to remain in the dormitory while her Sisters went to choir for Matins and the Midnight Mass. Grieving that she was unable to join the others in singing the praises of the newborn Christ, St. Clare sighed: "Lord God, behold I am left alone with Thee in this place."

And suddenly the wondrous music that was being sung in the Church of St. Francis began to resound in her ears, although the place was by no means so near that she could have heard this in a purely human manner. Even more, she was privileged to see the manger of the Lord that the Friars had erected there.

In the morning when her Sisters came to her, St. Clare said: "Blessed be the Lord Jesus Christ who, when you left me, did not abandon me. By His grace I have heard in very truth all the solemnities that this past night were celebrated in the Church of St. Francis."

This touching miracle inspired Pope Pius XII to proclaim St. Clare the patroness of television in 1958.

  
 
  Prayer

Father of mercies, Source of all light,
you made your virgin St. Clare
clean of heart and clear of vision.

Grant that she who,
desiring to participate in your praises, was
granted a vision of your holy services,
may guide those in the television industry
to be wholly at the service of
truth, goodness and beauty.

May her powerful prayers direct those
who have gone astray to labor more
diligently for integrity and the common good,
so that putting aside all that is solely
commercial, sensational or immoral,
the broadcasting media may serve as
a channel of your grace and
an instrument of your peace.

We ask this this through Christ our Lord.
Amen. 		St. Clare
patroness of television,
pray for us.

St. Clare,
patroness of television,
help us
to use the gifts of god
for His glory.

St. Clare,
patroness of television,
never permit us to debase
the gifts of God.
With ecclesiastical approval
+ Most Rev. James P. Keleher
September 23, 1990

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