most holy Lord Jesus Christ,
here and in all your churches
throughout the world,
and we bless you
because by your holy cross
you have redeemed the world.

O Lord make haste to help us.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

OPENING HYMN

Clare devoted herself to the Lord’s affairs that she might be holy in body and spirit.

PSALM 18[19]

The heavens proclaim the glory of God*
and the firmament shows forth the work of his hands.
Day unto day takes up the story*
and night unto night makes known the message.

No speech, no word, no voice is heard †
yet their span extends through all the earth,*
their words to the utmost bounds of the world.

There he has placed a tent for the sun; †
to the furthest end of the sky is its course.*
There is nothing concealed from its burning heat.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

Pause for quiet prayer & reflection on Psalm

Clare devoted herself to the Lord’s affairs that she might be holy in body and spirit.

Clare accepted the loss of everything: and so she found something better and lasting.

PSALM 44 [45]

My heart overflows with noble words.†
To the king I must speak the song I have made;*
my tongue as nimble as the pen of a scribe.

You are the fairest of the children of men †
and graciousness is poured upon your lips: *
because God has blessed you for evermore.

O mighty one, gird your sword upon your thigh; †
in splendour and state, ride on in triumph *
for the cause of truth and goodness and right.

Take aim with your bow in your dread right hand.†
Your arrows are sharp; peoples fall beneath you.*
The foes of the king fall down and lose heart.

Your throne, O God, shall endure for ever. †
A sceptre of justice is the sceptre of your kingdom.*
Your love is for justice; your hatred for evil.

Therefore God, your God, has anointed you †
with the oil of gladness above other kings: *
your robes are fragrant with aloes and myrrh.

From the ivory palace you are greeted with music. †
The daughters of kings are among your loved ones.*
On your right stands the queen in gold of Ophir.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

Pause for quiet prayer & reflection on Psalm

Clare accepted the loss of everything: and so she found something better and lasting.

Clare laid aside her finery, and subdued her body with fasting.

PSALM 44 [45]

Listen, O daughter, give ear to my words:*
forget your own people and your father’s house.
So will the king desire your beauty; *
He is your lord, pay homage to him.

And the people of Tyre shall come with gifts,*
the richest of the people shall seek your favour.
The daughter of the king is clothed with splendour,*
her robes embroidered with pearls set in gold.

She is led to the king with her maiden companions. †
They are escorted amid gladness and joy; *
they pass within the palace of the king.

Sons shall be yours in place of your fathers: *
you will make them princes over all the earth.
May this song make your name for ever remembered. *
May the peoples praise you from age to age.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,

as it was in the beginning is now and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen.

Pause for quiet prayer & reflection on Psalm

Clare laid aside her finery, and subdued her body with fasting.

They are escorted amid gladness and joy.

THE FIRST READING

Phil. 3:7-16, 20-21; 4:4-9

A reading from the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians

For Christ I have accepted the loss of everything.

Because of Christ, I have come to consider all these advantages that I had as disadvantages. Not only that, but I believe nothing can happen that will outweigh the supreme advantage of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For him I have accepted the loss of everything, and I look on everything as so much rubbish if only I can have Christ and be given a place in him. I am no longer trying for perfection by my own efforts, the perfection that comes from the law, but I want only perfection that comes through faith in Christ, and is from God and based on faith. All I want is to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and to share his sufferings by reproducing the pattern of his death. That is the way I can hope to take my place in the resurrection of the dead. Not that I have become perfect yet: I have not yet won, but I am still running, trying to capture the prize for which Christ Jesus has captured me. I can assure you I am far from thinking that I have already won. All I can say is that I forget the past and I strain ahead for what is still to come; I am racing for the finish, for the prize to which God calls us upwards to receive in Christ Jesus. We who are called “perfect” must all think in this way. If there is some point on which you see things differently, God will make it clear to you; meanwhile, let us go forward on the road that has brought us to where we are. For us, our homeland is in heaven, and from heaven comes the saviour we are waiting for, the Lord Jesus Christ, and he will transfigure these wretched bodies of ours into copies of his glorious body. He will do that by the same power with which he can subdue the whole universe.

I want you to be happy, always in the Lord; I repeat, what I want is your happiness. Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near. There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus. Finally, fill your minds with everything that is noble, everything that is good and pure, everything that we love and honour, and everything that can be thought virtuous or worthy of praise. Keep doing all the things that you learned from me and have been taught by me and have heard or seen me do. Then the God of peace will be with you.

RESPONSORY

God will sustain us to the end, until the coming of the Lord.

THE SECOND READING

A reading from the letter of St. Clare to Blessed Agnes of Prague.

Consider the Poverty, Humility and Charity of Christ.

Happy the soul to whom it is given to attain this life with Christ, to cleave with all one’s heart to him whose beauty all the heavenly hosts behold forever, whose love inflames our love, the contemplation of whom is our refreshment, whose graciousness is our delight, whose gentleness fills us to overflowing, whose remembrance makes us glow with happiness, whose fragrance revives the dead, the glorious vision of whom will be the happiness of all the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem. For he is the brightness of the eternal glory, the splendour of eternal light, the mirror without spot. Look into that mirror daily, O queen and spouse of Jesus Christ and ever study therein your countenance, that within and without you may adorn yourself with the flowers and garments that become the daughter and chaste spouse of the most high King. In that mirror are reflected poverty, holy humility and ineffable charity, as, with the grace of God, you may perceive.

Gaze first upon the poverty of Jesus, placed in a manger in swaddling clothes. What marvellous humility! What astounding poverty! The King of angels, Lord of heaven and earth, is laid in a manger. Consider next the humility, the blessed poverty, the untold labours and burdens which he endured for the redemption of the human race. Then look upon the unutterable charity with which he willed to suffer on the tree of the cross and to die thereon the most shameful kind of death. This mirror, Christ himself, fixed upon the wood of the cross, bade the passers-by consider these things: “All you who pass this way look and see if there is any sorrow like my sorrow.” With one voice and one mind let us answer him as he cries and laments, saying in his own words: “I will be mindful and remember and my soul shall languish within me.” Thus, O queen of the heavenly King, may you ever burn more ardently with the fire of his love. Contemplate further the indescribable joys, the wealth and unending honours of the King, and sighing after them with great longing, cry to him: “Draw me after you: we shall run to the fragrance of your perfumes, O heavenly bridegroom.” I will run and faint not until you bring me into the wine cellar, until your left hand be under my head and your right hand happily embrace me and kiss me with the kiss of your mouth. In such contemplation be mindful of your little mother and know that I have inscribed your happy memory indelibly on the tablets of my heart, holding you dearer than all others.

RESPONSORY

United to Christ her spouse, she became the mother of many virgins,
a virgin, she had spiritual daughters.

Clare cast all her cares upon the Lord.
She trusted in Him and received His help.

Lourdes Magnificat (sung)

R/

Rejoice, for who am I that God has shown me favour

R/

In me is manifest God’s greatness and his glory

R/

His mercy never ends and He exalts the lowly.

R/

The Kings who sit in state are humbled and defeated.

R/

Fulfilling what he swore long since in revelation.

R/

One Holy Trinity, for ever and for ever.

Clare cast all her cares upon the Lord.
She trusted in Him and received His help.

INTERCESSIONS

O Lord hear us we pray: O Lord give us your love.

O Lord hear us we pray: O Lord give us your love.

O Lord hear us we pray: O Lord give us your love.

O Lord hear us we pray: O Lord give us your love.

O Lord hear us we pray: O Lord give us your love.

Christ our Lord, you have welcomed your holy virgins to the wedding
feast of heaven – invite all the dead to the feast of eternal life.

O Lord hear us we pray: O Lord give us your love.

Our Father …..

CONCLUDING PRAYER

Lord God,
in your mercy you led St. Clare to the love of poverty.
Help us by her intercession, to follow Christ in poverty of spirit,
so that, in the kingdom of heaven, we may see you in your glory.
We make our prayer through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Amen