Study well your reflection

From the Office of the Readings on 8/11/26 the feast of St Clare of Assisi

From a letter from St Clare of Assisi to St Agnes of Prague

"Happy indeed is she who is granted a place at the divine banquet, for she may cling with her inmost heart to him whose beauty eternally awes the blessed hosts of heaven; to him whose love inspires love, whose contemplation refreshes, whose generosity satisfies. Whose gentleness delights, whose memory shines sweetly as the dawn; to him whose fragrance revives the dead, and whose glorious vision will bless all the citizens of that heavenly Jerusalem.  For his is the splendor of eternal glory, the brightness of eternal light, and the mirror without cloud.  

"Queen and bride of Jesus Christ, look into that mirror daily and study well your reflection, that you may adorn yourself, mind and body, with an enveloping garment of every virtue, and thus find yourself attired in flowers and gowns befitting the daughter and most chaste bride of the king on high.  In this mirror blessed poverty, holy humility, and ineffable love are also reflected.  With the grace of God the whole mirror will be your source of contemplation.  

"Behold, I say, the birth of this mirror. Behold his poverty even as he was laid in the manger and wrapped in swaddling clothes.  What wondrous humility, what marvelous poverty! The King of angels, the Lord of heaven and earth resting in a manger!  Look more deeply into the mirror and meditate on his humility, or simply on his poverty.  Behold the many labors and sufferings he endured to redeem the human race.  Then, in the depths of this very mirror, ponder his unspeakable love which caused him to suffer on the wood of the cross and to endure the most shameful kind of death.  The mirror himself. From his position on the cross, warned passersby to weigh carefully this act, as he said: All of you who pass by this way, behold and see if there is any sorrow like mine. Let us answer his cries and lamentations with one voice and one spirit: I will be mindful and remember, and my soul will be consumed within me.  In this way, queen of the king of heaven, your love will burn with an ever brighter flame. "

There are lots of ways I could describe myself when I look in the mirror. I used to have red hair. Then I had a white shock that grew on one side. Lately, the white shock seems to have spread across more of my head and the red has taken a back seat to more muted color. I have freckles in the summer and these days, I'm wearing glasses because it's just too hard to read without them. I can see evidence of motherhood and the difference 20 years of marriage has had, but maybe that's just 20 years in general, not specifically marriage. I can't tell my favorite music by looking in the mirror, but I'm sure my face changes when I hear it. My hands tell a story of lots and lots of handwriting because, while I'm certainly fast on a computer, I do still love the feeling of putting actual pen to actual paper. I can't tell my job from looking in the mirror, but there are times there's evidence of barn chores on me when I come back inside, and if I've spent too much time in the garden, the "sun kissed" cheeks will make an appearance. This year I haven't seen as many summer freckles as my physical limitations have kept me from much of what I've previously spent time doing. The messy bun on top of my head tells me it's time for a shower, and the tired eyes tell me that I've spent enough time writing for the day and it's time for bed.

Yet St. Clare says to adorn yourself with every virtue and see in your reflection poverty, humility and love. Contemplate these things as part of your identity in Christ. If Christ is your mirror, then you reflect Him. This strikes me because it goes hand in hand with submitting to the will of the Lord. You need not strive to perfect yourself. Rather, just gaze upon the Lord, your mirror, and allow Him to show you how to conform yourself to Him.

Rather than looking to trends, fads, posts, or even the people around you for your standards, St. Clare tells us to look in the mirror - which is Christ Himself - and meditate on His humility and His poverty. What does looking on the face of Christ show you about yourself? When you look at Him, do you hear Him tell you He loves you?

I remember sitting in Adoration and praying, "Lord, teach me how to look at you the way I look at my baby." (I wrote about this here) and what He told me was, "Sarah, that's how I look at you."

My identity is not in my job, my state in life, my hobbies, and certainly not my talents. My identity is in Him. My complete joy and peace come only in reflecting Him. The only way to reflect Him is by looking at Him. You can find Him in others as well as in Adoration itself. When looking at others, try setting the intention of seeing the Lord in the faces of all you encounter.

"to him whose love inspires love, whose contemplation refreshes, whose generosity satisfies. Whose gentleness delights, whose memory shines sweetly as the dawn; to him whose fragrance revives the dead, and whose glorious vision will bless all the citizens"

This makes me think of Philippi

ans 4:8 "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is gracious, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.^"

According to St. Clare, the Lord is all of those things we are instructed in Sacred Scripture to think about. His love inspires love, contemplating the Lord refreshes, and His generosity satisfies. His gentleness delights and his memory shines sweetly. His fragrance revives the dead. and His glorious vision blesses all.

What do you see in the mirror? The enemy will shout lies when you look at your reflection. Set yourself against those lies by speaking what St. Clare tells St. Agnes. See the features of the Lord in the mirror. See them as the mirror in which you see yourself and submit yourself to be conformed to match His Image. You are loved.