Saint Clare: Loaves for the Journey;
The Bread of Contemplation
[Kneel]
P: O most dearly beloved, gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him.
(St. Clare – Second Letter)
All: We adore You, most holy Lord Jesus Christ, here and in all Your churches which are in the whole world, and we bless You, because byYour holy cross You have redeemed the world. P: One thing I have asked from the Lord, this I seek; to dwell in the House of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord and to contemplate His temple.
(Ps. 27:4)
All: O Lord, I love the house where You dwell, and the place where Your glory abides.
(Ps. 26:8)
P: Very frequently while she was prostrate on her face in prayer, Clare flooded theground with tears and caressed it with kisses, so that she might always seem to have her Jesus in her hands, on whose feet her tears flowed and her kisses were impressed.
(Life, #19)
All: Gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him.
(St. Clare)
READING [Sit] (Isaiah 6:1-7. Other Scripture Readings may be used.) I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne high and elevated… Upon it stood the seraphim: each had six wings: with two they covered their face, and with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. And they cried one to another; “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God of hosts, all the earth is full of his glory”… And the house was filled with smoke. And I said, “Woe is me… because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people that has unclean lips, and I have seen with my own eyes the King the Lord of hosts. And one of the seraphim flew to me, and in his hand was a live coal, which he had taken with the tongs off the altar. And he touched my mouth, and said, “Behold, this has touched your lips, and your iniquities shall be taken away.”
PERIOD OF SILENT PRAYER HOMILY [Kneel]
P. The day had arrived on which we commemorate the Last Supper by which our Lord "loved His own unto the end." Towards evening at the approach of the agony of our Lord in the Garden, Clare, sad and afflicted, followed in spirit our Lord praying in the Garden, her own soul became sorrowful unto death...
(Life #31)
All: Her memory continually pictured Him Whom love had impressed upon her heart
(Life #20)
P. During the whole of that night and the following day, she remained wholly absorbed and totally insensible to everything external. She was seated upright in bed with her eyes wide open and immovably fixed, being entirely intent upon the sufferings of Christ.
(Life #31)
All: While thus still living in this perishable world, she was already intimately united to her heavenly Bridegroom, and tasted of the delights of Heaven.
(Life #20)
P: God in His sweetness, had provided for His humble handmaid.
(ibid)
All: That celestial light with which her mind was replenished, shone forth bodily in her outward behavior.
(ibid)
P: Place your mind before the mirror of eternity!
(St. Clare – Third Letter)
All: Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!
(ibid)
P: Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance,and transform your entire being into the image of the Godhead through contemplation.
(ibid)
All: Gaze upon Him, consider Him, contemplate Him, as you desire to imitate Him.
(St. Clare)
P: O Lord, I love the house where You dwell,
All: the place where Your glory abides.
(Ps. 26:8)
Final prayer : [Kneel] P: O Mother Saint Clare,* P. and All: your holy life radiates its light to guide us on the way to Christ. Teach us to love Him as you did. O beloved saint, teach us to believe, as you did, that in the Blessed Eucharist we find Jesus, who dwells here in our midst.
You now follow the Lamb wherever He goes: speak to Him of our troubled spirit. Ask Him to heal us, body and soul, and to wash away our sins in His precious Blood.
(Pause for silent reflection and petition)
P: O handmaid of Christ,* P. and All: look with compassion on all who call on you for help. Remember the needs of our family, our loved ones, and all those for whom we pray. Defend us from everything that would endanger our Holy Catholic Faith, especially in these times of confusion, scandal and division. Give us unity and peace in the Church and in society. We ask that our pleas will become a canticle of petition ascending from your pure heart to the Heart of Jesus, who is Lord forever and ever. Amen.