From the Letters of St. Claire to Blessed Agnes of Prague
8. When You have loved [Him], You shall be chaste; when You have touched [Him], You shall become pure; when you have accepted [Him], You shall be a virgin. " (from Matins of St. Agnes)
9. Whose
power is stronger,
Whose generosity is more abundant,
Whose appearance more beautiful,
Whose love more tender,
Whose courtesy more gracious.
10. In
Whose embrace You are already caught up;
Who has adorned Your breast with precious stones
And has placed priceless pearls in Your ears
11. and
has surrounded You with sparkling gems as though blossoms of springtime and
placed on Your head a golden crown as a sign [to all] of Your holiness.
15. O
blessed poverty, who bestows eternal riches on those who love and embrace her!
16. O
holy poverty, to those who possess and desire you God promises the kingdom of
heaven and offers, indeed, eternal glory
and blessed life!
17. O
God-centered poverty, whom the Lord Jesus Christ
Who ruled and now rules heaven and earth, (Introit
of the Common of the Blessed Virgin Mary) Who spoke and things were made, 10
condescended to embrace before all else!
30. What a great laudable exchange:
to
leave the things of time for those of eternity,
to
choose the things of heaven for the goods of the earth,
to
receive the hundred- fold in place on one,
and
to possess a blessed and eternal life.
What you hold, may you [always] hold.
What you do, may you [always] do and never
abandon.
12. But
with swift pace, light step, [and] unswerving feet, so that even your steps
stir up no dust,
13. go
forward securely, joyfully, and swiftly, on the path of prudent happiness,
14. believing
nothing, agreeing with nothing which would dissuade you from this resolution or
which would place a stumbling block for you on the way, so that you may offer
your vows to the Most High in the pursuit of that perfection to which the
Spirit of the Lord has called you.
21. If
you suffer with Him, you shall reign with Him,
[if you] weep [with Him], you shall rejoice with
Him;
[if you] die [with Him] on the cross of
tribulation, you shall possess heavenly mansions in the splendor of the saints
and, in the Book of Life, your name shall be
called glorious among men.
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