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November 19
St. Agnes of
Assisi
1197-1253
Agnes was the sister of St. Clare and
her first follower. When Agnes
left home two weeks after Clare’s departure, their family attempted to bring
Agnes back by force. They tried to drag her out of the monastery, but all of a
sudden her body became so heavy that several knights could not budge it. Her
uncle Monaldo tried to strike her but was temporarily
paralyzed. The knights then left Agnes and Clare in peace.
Agnes matched her sister in devotion to
prayer and in willingness to endure the strict penances which characterized
their lives at San Damiano. In 1221 a group of Benedictine nuns in Monticelli
(near Florence) asked to become Poor Clares. St.
Clare sent Agnes to become abbess of that monastery. Agnes soon wrote a rather
sad letter about how much she missed Clare and the other nuns at San Damiano. After establishing other Poor Clare monasteries in
northern Italy, Agnes was recalled to San Damiano in
1253 when Clare was dying.
Agnes followed Clare in death three
months later. Agnes was canonized in 1753.
Comment:
God must love irony; the world is so full of it. In 1212, many in Assisi surely felt that Clare and Agnes were wasting their
lives and were turning their backs on the world. In reality, their lives were
tremendously life-giving, and the world has been enriched by the example of
these poor contemplatives.
Quote:
Charles de Foucald, founder of the Little Brothers
and Sisters of Jesus, said: "One must pass through solitude and dwell in
it to receive God’s grace. It is there that one empties oneself,
that one drives before oneself all that is not God, and that one
completely empties this little house of our soul to leave room for God alone.
In doing this, do not fear being unfaithful toward creatures. On the contrary, that is the only way for you to serve them
effectively" (Raphael Brown, Franciscan Mystic, p. 126).
St. Agnes of Assisi, Pray for us.
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