The Lord set His heart on us and chose us out of love.
Our Kokomo Poor Clare community was founded on March 6, 1959. Our united, joyful and grateful response is to "love Him totally who gave Himself totally for our love" (St. Clare). We do this in our cloistered Gospel form of life at the heart of the Church and the world. In this way, we contribute, "with hidden apostolic fruitfulness, to the growth of the People of God". (St. John Paul II, Vita Consecrata # 8).
Thanksgiving Day is the opportunity we have as a nation to thank God for all the gifts He has given us as individuals and as a nation. During this time of Eucharistic Reivival in the U.S. it's also the perfect day to recognize the greatest of all gifts--Jesus' Real Presence in the most holy Eucharist.
A frequent comment we hear from visitors at the parlor screen is, “But you’re so joyful!?” Yes, we admit, our life is a bit of a paradox, since for many today, a cloistered life of prayer and penance seems irreconcilable with happiness and fulfillment.
In a world where everything is geared toward convenience, speed, instant communication and timesaving devices, one might look twice at the title of this article, but St. Clare didn’t hesitate to call work a grace. In her thirteenth century Rule, she wrote, “Let the sisters to whom the Lord has given the grace of working work faithfully and devotedly…at work which pertains to a virtuous life and the common good.”