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holy poverty and bodily want.a 7Thus You took a spouse of a more noble stock,b Who will keep Your virginity ever unspotted and unsullied, the Lord Jesus Christ,
8Whom in loving, You are chaste;
in touching, You become more pure;
in embracing, You are a virgin;c
9Whose strength is more robust, generosity more lofty,
Whose appearance is more handsome, love more courteous,
and every kindness more refined,
10Whose embrace already holds you;
Who has adorned Your breast with precious stones, placed priceless pearls on Your ears,d
11surrounded You completely with blossoms of springtime and sparkling gems
and placed on Your head
a golden crown as a sign of Your holiness. Sir 45:14 e
12Therefore, most beloved sister, or should I say, Lady worthy of great respect, because You are the spouse and the mother and the sister 2 Cor 11:2 Mt 12:50 of my Lord Jesus Christf 13and are beautifully adorned with
- Historians do not agree on the identity of the emperor (Caesar, the Latin word employed by St. Clare). Most probably he was Emperor Frederick II, widower from 1228, since a contemporary historian, Albert of Stade, states plainly in his Chronicle: “The same year, on the feast of Pentecost, the sister of the King of Bohemia, Lady Agnes, at the prompting of the Lesser Brothers, entered the Order of the Poor Ladies of the Rule of the Blessed Francis at Prague, rejecting for Christ’s sake the Emperor Frederick who had earlier asked for her in marriage.” Cf. Albertus Stadensis, Chronicon Alberti Abbatis Stadensis (Helmaestadii, n.p., 1587).
- Cf. Office of the Feast of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, January 21, Matins, I Nocturn, Lesson II.
- For the most part these lines (8-11) are taken from the ancient legend of St. Agnes, the Roman Martyr, which was incorporated not only into the antiphon and responsories of the liturgy of her feast but also into those of the liturgical consecration of a virgin. By characterizing the state of virginity with phrases from the life of St. Agnes with its emphasis of glory, rapture, and inviolable innocence, the consecration liturgy and, in this instance, Clare, presented her as an appropriate model to imitate. Cf. M. Teresa Tavorina, “Of Maidenhood and Maternity: Liturgical Hagiography and the Medieval Ideal of Virginity,” American Benedictine Review 31(December 1980): 384-399. In this instance, see Office of the Feast of St. Agnes, Virgin and Martyr, January 21, Matins, I Nocturn, III Reponsory and II Lesson.
- Cf. Office of the Feast of St. Agnes, Matins, I Nocturn, II Antiphon.
- Cf. Office of the Feast of St. Agnes, Matins, I Nocturn, II Antiphon and II Lesson, II Responsory; II Nocturn, I Responsory; II Antiphon; III Nocturn I Responsory. Also Office for Feast of a Martyr, Matins, III Nocturn, I Responsory which contains this reference to Sirach 45:14.
- While this phrase may be influenced by the Letter of Pope Gregory IX to Clare, cf. infra 131-132, it also contains a biblical image that is frequently used by St. Francis to describe the relationships flowing from the presence of the Holy Spirit in the soul, cf. 1LtF I 7; 2LtF 50. Clare uses the formula twice more in her third and fourth letters (3 LAg 1; 4 LAg 4). For an excellent treatment of this theme, see Optatus Van Asseldonk, “The Holy Spirit in the Writings and Life of Saint Clare,” GR 1 (1987): 93-105.
Epistola Ad Sanctam Agnetem De Praga I, Fontes Franciscani, p. 2263-2264
6quae omnia respuentes, toto animo et cordis affectu magis sanctissimam paupertatem et corporis penuriam elegistis, 7sponsum nobilioris generis accipientes, Dominum Iesum Christum, qui vestram virginitatem semper immaculatam custodiet et illaesam.
8Quem cum amaveritis casta estis,
cum tetigeritis mundior efficiemini,
cum acceperitis virgo estis;
9cuius possibilitas fortior, generositas celsior,
cuius aspectus pulchrior, amor suavior
et omnis gratia elegantior.
10Cuius estis iam amplexibus astrictae,
qui pectus vestrum
ornavit lapidibus pretiosis
et vestris auribus
tradidit inaestimabiles margaritas,
11et totam circumdedit vernantibus
atque coruscantibus gemmis
atque vos coronavit aurea corona
signo sanctitatis expressa.
12Ergo, soror carissima, immo domina veneranda nimium, quia sponsa et mater estis et soror Domini mei Iesu Christi, 13virginitatis inviolabilis et paupertatis sanctissimae vexillo resplendentissime insignita, in sancto servitio confortamini, pauperis Crucifixi ardenti desiderio inchoato,