Clare & Alphonsa

Clare & Alphonsa Though living centuries apart under different cultural milieus, St. Clare from the city of Assisi in Italy and St. Alphonsa from the village of Bharananganam in India, lived the self-same spirituality bequeathed by their Spiritual Guru, the illustrious St. Francis of Assisi. The core of their spirituality, namely, burning love for the Crucified Christ to whom they were united in deep spousal relationship is the central theme of this book. In this comparative study of two saints, one medieval and the other contemporary, the author shows the striking parallelism between Clare and Alphonsa especially in the background of their heroic response to their divine call, opting for a hidden life after the example of the Son of God, remaining as devout sentinels before the Lord of the universe present in the Holy Eucharist, and, above all, their constant contemplation of the Crucified Christ with hearts burning with love for him. Clare and Alphonsa gave different interpretations of their love for the crucified Lord. Since poverty was the constant companion of Jesus from the cradle to the cross, and even in his tomb, Clare wanted to cling to the absolute poverty of Jesus by opting for the Privilege of Poverty. Alphonsa's heart melted at the suffering of her beloved Bridegroom on the Cross and desired to suffer more and more in union with Jesus. The Crucifix was the main book from which both the saints learned the valuable lessons of holiness. We are living in a world where consumerism has become the new way of life, where moral and spiritual values are on the decline, where the worth of a person is gauged not on the basis of the quality of his/her life, but solely on the projection of that person by the social media, which very often distorts truth. In such an appalling situation, spiritual luminaries like St. Clare and St. Alphonsa challenge us to prove that lasting peace of mind and genuine joy of heart can be achieved only by developing intimacy with the Crucified Christ in prayer and by making his suffering our own in our daily life situations. Contents Message Introduction 1. Biographical Sketches 1.1 St. Clare 1.2 St. Alphonsa 2. Similarities 2.1. Family 2.2. Birth 2.3. Divine Call 2.4. Obstacles 2.5. Heroic Step 2.6. Mystical Espousal 2.7. Intimacy with Jesus 2.8. Explanation of Sainthood and Holiness 3. The Founding of the Order of Poor Ladies . 3.1. The Beginnings 3.2. The Role of Francis 3.3. The Rule of Clare