The Second Letter to Agnes of Prague: CA:ED, p. 48

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CA:ED, 48The Second Letter to Agnes of Prague

The Second Letter to Agnes of Prague - 48

¹¹that you always be mindful of your commitment^a like another Rachel always seeing your beginning.^b

What you hold, may you hold,
What you do, may you do and not stop.
¹²But with swift pace, light step, unswerving feet,
so that even your steps stir up no dust,^c
¹³may you go forward
securely, joyfully, and swiftly,
on the path of prudent happiness,
¹⁴believing nothing,
agreeing with nothing
that would dissuade you from this commitment
or would place a stumbling block for you on the way,
so that nothing prevents you from offering
your vows to the Most High in the perfection
to which the Spirit of the Lord has called you.^d

¹⁵In all of this, follow the counsel of our venerable father, our Brother Elias, the Minister General, that you may walk more securely in the way of the commands of the Lord.^e ¹⁶Prize it beyond the advice of the others and cherish it as dearer to you than any gift. ¹⁷If anyone has said anything else to you or suggested any other thing to you that might hinder your perfection or that would seem contrary to your

The Latin word propositum [commitment] had a well-defined meaning in medieval religious literature: a firm decision to adopt a precise way of life and to persevere in it. It appeared for the first time in Athanasius’s Life of Anthony, was later used by Jerome, Augustine, Cassian, and in the papal literature of the early thirteenth century. Cf. J. Gribomont and G. Rocca, “Propositum,” Dizionario degli Istituti di Perfezione 7, ed. Guerrino Pelliccia and Giancarlo Rocca (Rome: Edizioni Paoline, 19); Herbert Grundmann, Religious Movements in the Middle Ages, tr. Steven Rowan with introduction by Robert E. Lerner (Notre Dame, London: University of Notre Dame Press, 1995), 75-153.
The figure of Rachel should be examined in the context of the medieval tradition that considered her as representing the withdrawn life of prayer, asceticism and contemplation. St. Jerome (+419) saw Rachel coming from the two Hebrew words ra’ah [to see] and halel [to begin] and interpreted it as “seeing the beginning.” Cf. Regis J. Armstrong, “Starting Points”; Paul-Marie Guillaume, “Rachel et Lia,” Dictionnaire de Spiritualité Ascetique et Mystique 15 (Paris: Beauchesne, 1987), 25-30.
Cf. Gregory the Great, Dialogues, Prologue (PL 77:152A). This exhortation is also used by Thomas of Celano, Life of St. Francis 71: “[Francis’s] chief concern was to live free from all things that are in the world so that his inner serenity would not be disturbed even for a moment by contact with any of its dust.” Thomas of Celano, “Life of Saint Francis” 71, The Saint, 242.
Clare articulates the dynamic principle of the spiritual life, the Spirit of the Lord, and echoes the teaching of Francis, cf. Francis and Clare 26, n.1; 44, n. 1; 63, n.3; Van Asseldonk, “The Holy Spirit,” GR 1(1987): 93-105.
Cf. Michael Cusato, “Elias and Clare: An Enigmatic Relationship,” Clare Centenary Series, Vol. VII (St. Bonaventure, NY: Franciscan Institute Publications, 1993), 95-115.

Epistola Ad Sanctam Agnetem De Praga IIFontes, 2270

Epistola Ad Sanctam Agnetem De Praga II, Fontes Franciscani, p. 2270

¹¹ut tui memor propositi velut altera Rachel tuum semper videns principium,

quod tenes teneas,
quod facis, facias, nec dimittas,
¹²sed cursu concito, gradu levi,
pedibus inoffensis
ut etiam gressus tui pulverem non admittant,
¹³secura gaudens et alacris
per tramitem caute beatitudinis gradiaris,
¹⁴nulli credens, nulli consentiens,
quod te vellet ab hoc proposito revocare,
quod tibi poneret in via scandalum,
ne in illa perfectione,
qua Spiritus Domini te vocavit,
redderes Altissimo vota tua.

¹⁵In hoc autem, ut mandatorum Domini securius viam perambules, venerabilis patris nostri fratris nostri Heliae, generalis ministri, consilium imitare; ¹⁶quod praepone consiliis ceterorum et reputa tibi carius omni dono. ¹⁷Si quis vero aliud tibi dixerit, aliud tibi uggesserit, quod perfectionem tuam impediat, quod vocationi divinae contrarium videatur, etsi debeas venerari, nolitamen eius consilium imitari,

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Clare of Assisi: Early Documents, p. 48

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