"I Will Always Take Care of You!"

“I will always take care of you!”

During this time of Eucharistic revival in our nation, St. Clare is an excellent model for all of us in her love and devotion for the Most Holy Eucharist.  In honoring the 800th birthday of St. Clare, St. John Paul II wrote, “In reality, Clare’s whole life was a eucharist because…from her cloister she raised up a continual ‘thanksgiving’ to God in her prayer, praise, supplication, intercession, weeping, offering and sacrifice.  She accepted everything and offered it to the Father in union with the infinite ‘thanks of the only-begotten Son.”   This element of St. Clare’s spirituality is often reflected in holy cards portraying her holding a monstrance.  The story behind this well-known image is a profound example of her deep faith in Jesus’ Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament. 

The following is a brief summary of the account given under oath in the process for her canonization: 

Sometime during the 1240’s, a band of Saracen soldiers raided the countryside around Assisi and attacked the monastery of San Damiano.  These men were barbarians and had a reputation for their cruelty and violence.  As they climbed the walls and entered the cloister to assault the Sisters, St. Clare, who was ill at the time, asked to be helped out of bed.  She then requested that the pyx containing the Blessed Sacrament be brought to her.  After prostrating herself on the ground, she prayed, “Lord, look upon these servants of yours, because I cannot protect them.”  Then the Sisters heard a voice say to her, “I will always protect you!”  With that the Saracens literally turned around and fled in haste without doing any harm.  

What an amazing story of absolute trust in God’s faithfulness!  We can learn so much from the example of St. Clare, because we all have “Saracens” in our own lives—sins we feel we cannot overcome, temptations we struggle with, the evils of the culture around us, problems at work, at school, in our family…the list goes on.  Sometimes we feel overwhelmed, as if it’s beyond us—and sometimes it is!  During this time of Eucharistic revival in our nation, may St. Clare teach us to live truly Eucharistic lives and turn to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament when we come up against our own modern day “Saracens.”  And if we listen carefully, we, too, will hear Him say to us in the silence of our hearts, “I will always take care of you!”