I hadn't thought of this yet myself, but we find ourselves approaching the 800th anniversary of the tonsure of St. Clare. As goes the traditional calculation, on the eve of Palm Sunday in 1212, Clare ran away from her family, had Francis cut off her hair (you can go to Assisi and see it in a nice box), and thus began upon the circuitous path of her own religious life that led eventually to her being called the foundress of the Poor Ladies of San Damiano, the Second Order of St. Francis, the Order of St. Clare, the Poor Clares.
In celebration of all this, it seems that Benedict XVI has decreed that a plenary indulgence is available from this past April 16 all the way to after the feast of St. Clare next year, on August 12. The indulgence can be obtained, under the usual conditions of course, by visiting a Poor Clare monastery for some meditation or pious exercise, concluding at least with the recitation of the Our Father and a creed. It is also available for those who participate in any prayerful celebration of this anniversary. As usual, the indulgence can be kept for oneself or applied to the holy souls in purgatory, and is available once a day for the whole period mentioned above.
Of course this is very exciting for me, as I visit the local Poor Clare monastery for Mass once or twice a week.
The only thing I wonder about is the significance of the date of April 16. I would have expected it to be March 20, the traditional date of Clare's 'entrance' into religious life. The only thing I can think of is that April 16 is the old feast of the Profession of St. Francis. Other ideas?
2 comments:
thanks for sharing this great post, Fr. C! it's interesting that you're posting about St. Clare and the indulgence, because, ever since my trip to Assisi, where i had the chance to see everything related to St. Clare (i posted many photos on my facebook page -you can see them there), i've been feeling more of a closeness to her and have been reading and meditating a lot more about her life. some would think that St. Clare is just someone who followed St. Francis and is like a clone of him. St. Francis definitely inspired St. Clare, but Clare had a very deep spirituality of her own. i'm a professed member of the Secular Order of St. Francis and try to keep up with my reading and reflection of his life and the Rule of the Order, but i recommend to all members (and to everyone, really) to get to know St. Clare. she's an amazing and holy Saint and a great example for us in today's world.
i'm not sure what the significance of April 16th is. so, i guess my visit to Assisi and the Poor Clare Monastery there doesn't count toward the indulgence? i attended a Mass and Profession of one of the Poor Clares. i was there at the end of this past december.
PAX!
April 16 is Pope Benedict's birthday and in 2012 is the day after the Octave of Easter, if that is significant?
I have never understood indulgences.
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