Essay \"The Rules of Saint Francis and Saint Clare\" - grade A PDF

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10145128 John Young Tuesday October 27th 2015 The Rules of Saint Francis and Saint Clare Monasticism has been a critical component in the continuous development of Christianity. Christian monastic communities demonstrate the immense degree of commitment one can demonstrate by virtue of their faith in Christ the Lord. Further, monastic communities are recognized for their pious acts selfless contributions to people in their communities and the world who are experiencing sickness, famine, devastated by natural disaster or are suffering from political turmoil. Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Clare of Assisi are exceptionally influential figures in Christian monastic history and continue to inspire through their exhibited commitment to Christ. Indeed, unlike Jesus, no one is perfect and accomplishing God’s work is no easy task. In order to guide and regulate their monastic communities, both Saint Francis and Saint Clare comprised a collection of Rules as a way to organize and standardize the members behaviour to ensure that they will be able to work as effectively as possible to fulfill their religious obligations to Christ. Undoubtedly, Saint Francis inspired Saint Clare and it is noted that her Rule is similar to his in terms of context and structure specifically pertaining to similar values and patterns of living as outlined in each of their written Rules. Specifically, each Rules emphasis the way in which a member of the monastic community is to dedicate themselves to the work of God and worship as a Christian; additionally, there is a significant difference noted between the two Rules. To illustrate, similarities between both Rules include the way in which those who are chosen to accept this life are to be received, the devotion to absolute poverty which is stressed repeatedly in both texts, lastly, a difference is noted between the two Rules that includes the length of time a member is required to fast during throughout the year. There are related themes in each Rule regarding the way in which those who choose to enter the monastic life are to be received. For example, chapter two of the Rule of Saint Francis’ is titled, “Concerning Those Who Wish to Adopt this Life.” Similarly, chapter two of the Rule of Saint Clare’s is titled, “Those Who Wish to Accept this Life and how they are to be Received.” Both chapters outline instructions as to the procedural way a person is to be initiated into the monastery. Moreover, the chapters incorporate the importance of the leader and the Minister to

Barton 2 examine the potential member regarding the sacraments and gospels of the Catholic faith. Each hopeful member is required to profess their belief in the Catholic Church and be willing to stay faithful until the end of their lives. Furthermore, those who are being initiated into the monastery must, according to both Saint Francis’ Rule and Saint Clares’ Rule, sell or give away all of their material possessions to the poor and money they make is to be distributed to the poor. To illustrate, chapter two of Saint Clare’s Rule describes the importance that a sister is required to promise “…to observe always our life and form of poverty.” Furthermore, chapter two of Saint Clare’s Rule states that a woman who desires to become a part of the monastery “should go and sell all that she has and taken care to distribute the proceeds to the poor.” Therefore, a person’s obedience to God is initially demonstrated by their willingness to give away or sell their material possessions in order to be initiated into the monastery. Proclaiming faith in the Lord and giving away all of one’s material possessions truly demonstrates their willingness to serve God. It is an effective way to determine who truly desires to become a part of the monastery and who will be obedient worshipers of Christ. Accordingly, it is evident that both Saint Francis and Saint Clare wanted to ensure that the values and ways in which a member of the monastic community is expected to expresses their faith is to be consistent from the beginning of the initiation process. A compelling similarity within both Saint Francis’ Rule and Saint Clare’s Rule is the emphasis of devoting oneself to absolute poverty as a way of demonstrating obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. The degree to which the brothers and sisters are able to embrace and emulate Jesus Christ represents their devotion to their faith; this is why both Rules emphasis embracing extreme poverty. According to both the Rules of Saint Francis and Saint Clare, the notion of absolute poverty is essentially regarded as the first step after receiving divine inspiration from God to pursue the monastic life. For example, chapter six of Saint Francis’ Rule states the importance of embracing poverty and states, “Nor should they feel ashamed, for God made himself poor in this world for us. This is that peak of the highest poverty which has made you… poor in things but rich in virtues. Let this be your portion.” In comparison, section two of the introduction of the Rule of Saint Clare addresses and praises the daughters of Christ because they, “…have rejected the splendours and pleasures of the world, and following the footprints of Christ himself and his most holy mother, you have chosen to live in the cloister and to serve the lord in highest poverty to that, in freedom of soul, you may be the lords servant.” Moreover, a

Barton 3 person’s obedience to God is demonstrated initially by their willingness to give up their material possessions. To illustrate, chapter two of Saint Clare’s Rule describes the importance that a sister is required to promise “…to observe always our life and form of poverty.” Thus, in both of the written Rules, the concept of living through extreme poverty represents the way in which members of each monastic community strive to embody the word and teachings of Jesus Christ concerning humility, selflessness and generosity. A significant difference noted between the two Rules is the way in which fasting is to be conducted throughout the year. For Christian monasteries, fasting is a fundamental component of ascetic religious expression. Fasting exemplifies self-control, patience, passion and temperance. As a result, it was important for Saint Francis and Saint Clare to regulate and standardize the monastic community’s fasting practices. St. Francis’ Rule states that in chapter three brothers “should fast from the feast of all Saints until Christmas.” The feast of all Saints is celebrated on November first; therefore, the brothers would only be required to fast for approximately fifty-five days, which is comparatively different to chapter three Saint Clare’s Rule. For example, Saint Clare’s Rule states that sisters who are not sick, weak or serving outside of the monastery are required to “fast at all times except for Christmas when they may eat twice a day.” There are many reasons as to why Clare might have made this modification to her Rule. For example, it is possible that Saint Clare made this section unique in comparison to Saint Francis’ Rule as a way to demonstrate the poor Clare’s faith in a more extreme and devoted way. Further, perhaps Saint Clare’s motives for this change corresponds with the intention of separating her monastic group from the conception that it is merely a female version of Saint Francis’ establishment. In conclusion, both Saint Francis’ Rule and Saint Clare’s Rules are written comparatively similar with only minor revisions made by Saint Clare. Evidently, Saint Clare revered the values and methods of monastic worship as outlined in Saint Francis’s Rule and therefore embodied them or slightly modified them in a way that she thought would more accurately demonstrate faithfulness to God. Each Rule is an authoritative text outlining the standards and principles that the Monastery holds. Perhaps, without the Rules, Francis’ and Saint Clare’s monastic organization would have ceased to exist as a result of disorganization pertaining to dwindling regulated practices and work as well as standards of ethical behaviour. The values and patterns emphasized by both Saint Francis and Saint Clare include the way in which a person

Barton 4 is initiated into the monastery, the devotion to absolute poverty as a method of demonstrating obedience to God. Furthermore, it is interesting to note that the two rules differ in the sense that Saint Clare requires the members of the monastery to fast at all times except Christmas. In comparison, this is much longer than what Saint Francis’ expects of the brothers....