Clare of Assisi speaks in her Third Letter to Agnes of Prague about Mary as a young girl who holds Christ on her lap.

“(18) May you cling to his most sweet Mother, who gave birth to the kind of Son whom the heavens could not contain, (19) and yet, she carried him in the tiny enclosure of her sacred womb, and held him on her young girl's lap.”

On ( Read more... )

The last days in this period of Advent my cards circled around the antagonism that the vast heavens could not contain Christ, but the tiny womb of Mary could. Clare of Assisi writes in her Third Letter to Agnes of Prague:

“(18) May you cling to his most sweet Mother, who gave birth to the kind of Son whom the heavens could not contain (19) and yet, ( Read more... )

Clare speaks in her Third Letter about Mary who carries Christ in her tiny womb, while the heavens could not enfold him. This is the focus of the cards for day 21 to 25.

“(18) May you cling to his most sweet Mother, who gave birth to the kind of Son whom the heavens could not contain, (19) and yet, she carried him in the tiny enclosure of her ( Read more... )

Clare of Assisi speaks in her Third Letter to Agnes of Prague about Christ whom the vast heavens could not contain, while Mary carried him in her little womb, and held him on her lap. The cards for day 21, 22, 23, 24 and 25, ending with Christmas Day, circle around this image.

“(18) May you cling to his most sweet Mother, who gave birth to the kind ( Read more... )

It is almost Christmas, the night of the birth of Christ. In her Third Letter Clare speaks about the birth of Christ. She says that the heavens could not hold Christ. They had to release him. The cards for day 21 to 25, ending with Christmas Day, circle around this themet:

“(18) May you cling to his most sweet Mother, who gave birth to the kind of ( Read more... )

Today the subject for the card is the sweetness of God. Sweetness is often associated with baby Jesus and restricted to that. We do not take part in his sweetness. In this passage from the Third Letter of Clare to Agnes, she is invited to taste hidden sweetness of God, and so to become part of it.

“(12) Place your mind in the mirror of eternity; ( Read more... )

It is just before Christmas. It is dark outside and chances are great that it is cold and rainy; we need to make our own light, love and passion. Again we read an excerpt of Clare’s Third Letter:

"[Let] not (…) bitterness and confusion envelop you, O Lady most beloved in Christ, joy of the angels, and crown of your sisters. (12) Place your mind in ( Read more... )

Day 16 to 20, very dark days of the year, are all dedicated to a passage in the Third Letter:

"(11) [Let] not (…) bitterness and confusion envelop you, O Lady most beloved in Christ, joy of the angels, and crown of your sisters. (12) Place your mind in the mirror of eternity; place your soul in the splendor of glory (…).”

Clare recommends Agnes not ( Read more... )

One this day, one of the shortest for Christmas, a day on which we are huddled inside in the confinements of our living rooms, we read a passage from Third Letter of Clare in which she encourages Agnes to see herself in the mirror of Eternity. From day 16 to 20 is the focus on the following excerpt.

(11) [Let] not (…) bitterness and confusion ( Read more... )

Clare stimulates Agnes to contemplate the Poor Christ and to suffer with him. The cards for day 13 and 14 focused on the contemplation and the suffering with Christ. Today the focus is on the rewards.

“(22) (…) your name will be recorded in the Book of Life and will bring you glory among men and women.”

What does contemplating and suffering with ( Read more... )