From the Letters of St. Claire to Blessed Agnes of Prague

 

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.