How do you live your life? Are you always concerned with your problems and difficulties? Or do you entrust yourself totally to God? - Daily Reflections August 11,2015

MOSES AND ST. CLARE

 

In January 2013, a shocking news reached me. The monastery of the Poor Clare Sisters in Cologne was closed shortly before its 90th anniversary. The few remaining sisters, one of whom is a Filipina, had to move to other convents.

       Why was it shocking? Because I considered this monastery as my second home. My mother told me that when I was still a baby, she brought me frequently to the Poor Clare Sisters who promised her that they would always pray for me. When I was seven years old, I became an altar server there for the next 10 years, until I entered the seminary. When I was ordained in Japan and returned to Germany later, my first Mass was with them. I am convinced it was through their prayers that I was able to persist in my vocation. My affinity to these sisters inspires me to visit the tomb of St. Clare whenever I visit Assisi.

       In the First Reading, Moses spoke to Joshua and the Israelites shortly before his death. He told them about future battles and how God will defeat their enemies. St. Clare died without such audience. She spoke to her own soul: “Go in peace; you have followed the good way; go in confidence, because your Creator has sanctified you, has cared for you constantly, and has loved you with all the tenderness of a mother for her child. O God, blessed be you for having created me.”

       No doubt, Moses was also dedicated to God, but one can only marvel at the dedication that St. Clare showed in the last moments of her life. How true is the saying, “One dies as one lives.” While Moses led his people from crisis to crisis, through battles and many obstacles, St. Clare had given up everything worldly and entrusted herself totally to her beloved Master, Jesus. She had become like the child that Jesus speaks about in today’s Gospel — becoming small and trusting totally in the love and care of God. What a beautiful way to reach the end of one’s life! Fr. Rudy Horst, SVD

 

REFLECTION QUESTIONS: How do you live your life? Are you always concerned with your problems and difficulties? Or do you entrust yourself totally to God?

 

Lord, only You know when I will close my eyes forever. I ask for the grace to live my life so that I will be able to cross from this world into eternity peacefully and without regrets.