His Life His Thoughts His Prayers Her Thoughts Her Prayers The Story of Clare Francis Clare Sister Ann Sister Clare Agnes Sister Clare Ruva Sister Gabriel Sister Graça Sister Joseph Sister Maria The Arundel Community Sisters’ stories Vocation Addresses of Poor Clare Convents Trip around the house Kenya Hollington Introduction To Prayer Our Prayer Guided Prayer Our Work Shop Trip around the guest house Home Beginnings Community Foundations Prayer Work FAQ's Links Glossary "THE CONVENT" FAQs Do you miss male company/Do you ever feel attracted to others in a romantic way? Of course!! There is in most normal human beings a desire to belong to someone in a special way and we like all human beings still experience normal human needs, desires, feelings, sexual urges etc. But as celibates we try to find ways of channeling these feelings in more creative ways through closeness to Jesus, prayer and having healthy nourishing friendships with either sex and a lot of exercise does help!! What if you fall in love? Falling in love is ok; it’s what you do with it. There is no guarantee that once you become a nun you will never fall in love. But like any other commitment when it does happen you have to recall the original commitment you made to the one you love – be it to marriage, or to live as a consecrated person or a priest and God- willing recommit yourself again. This obviously involves pain, but it can also be a time of growth and a way of deepening and making one’s vocation even stronger. Who are the Poor Clares? The Poor Clares are a religious Order for women who want to lead a contemplative life i.e. a life dedicated to God through prayer. They were started by St Francis and St Clare in 1212 in Assisi in Italy. They want to become united to God through following the life and teaching of Jesus Christ, through prayer and living in community. Their work and mission is to pray for the world and the Church. There are Poor Clare convents in every continent in the world. Why do women today want to become Poor Clares? The reason common to all the Sisters is that they feel a strong attraction to God. Jesus said: “You have not chosen me, no, I have chosen you” (John 15:16) and each Sister is very aware of that choice, and wishes to respond to this invitation generously with their whole lives. How do you know you have a call? You do not hear a voice from heaven calling to you!! Circumstances in your life play a big part. For example you may meet a Franciscan or a Poor Clare sister who inspires you. Someone may teach you how to pray, and you get to know and love Jesus personally. You may read a book that tells you about the contemplative, Poor Clare life. All these kind of things point the way. But in the end you just know in your heart that God is inviting you to respond to him totally, in a spirit of poverty and humility, and trusting in him to see the whole thing through. There is an emptiness in you that you know nothing else can fill except complete commitment to God. To put it briefly you find you have fallen in love with God. Wouldn’t these women be better employed feeding the starving millions or working among the poor? Yes, if that is where they were called. But those who hear God’s invitation to give up everything for his sake, do not do it to opt out of the responsibilities we all have for those in need. First, they live day in day out, in a community which is a true cross-section of society. They aim to live out the Gospel command of love in this environment, alert to their Sisters’ needs, willing to supply them and to make each one feel that they matter. It is this kind of love that reaches out beyond our walls. Further, each Sister has a radio and newspapers are there for them to read. They all know about the troubles in the world: the poverty, the way in which people are searching for meaning in their lives, the violence, the sickness. They identify with these needy people and carry them in their hearts to God in prayer. In this way they reach out to many more people than they could ever serve in a limited situation. We are here for the world and the Church, and not just to have a cozy time with God. Why POOR Clares? Simply because we own no money, own no house or land, have no fixed income or investments! This sounds foolhardy and irresponsible, but it was seen by St Francis and St Clare as the way that Jesus lived, and it is intimately linked to his teaching. Jesus said: Go, sell what you have and give the money to the poor, and COME FOLLOW ME. Think of the birds. They do not sow or reap; yet God feeds them. And how much more are you worth than the birds! How then do you live? We try to live a simple life-style. However, we do have money! This comes from State and Professional pensions and Allowances for the sick, just as any citizen would get. We also have many generous benefactors. However, no individual sister owns any money. She is given some by the Bursar when she really needs it. We do earn money, by making vestments, running a small guest house, making and selling cards and knitted garments in our shop. We do most of the housework in this large building ourselves – the cooking, washing, cleaning etc. In the garden we cut the grass, look after the fruit trees, and tend the flower beds. We don’t employ people unless it becomes really necessary. We care for our own elderly and sick sisters. People are good enough to leave us legacies from time to time. We really do trust in the Lord to see to our material needs – and he does! Why don’t you go out? In actual fact there are occasions when we do go out! St Clare in her Rule says there are three reasons for going out: if it is reasonable, evident and approved. So we go to the doctor, dentist, hospital, optician and one or two sisters are designated to go shopping for things we cannot get delivered or through the internet or a catalogue. For the most part we stop at home because the convent is our “sacred space” where we get in close touch with God without the noise and distractions that surround people most of the time. We live here to be in constant touch with God, just as a newly wedded couple like to be in their place alone with each other. What are vows They are a sign of our commitment and consecration to God as our Supreme Love. Poor Clares take three vows: Chastity - focuses our love very completely on God, Father, Son and Spirit. Through the love that God gives to us we are freed by this vow to love more widely and more genuinely. We give to God our bodies, emotions and feelings and our right to marry. Poverty - frees our hearts from being tied down by possessions and opens us up to a greater freedom, to live in imitation of Christ who was poor for our sake so that we could become rich in him. We give to God our right to possess things. Obedience - by this vow we give to God our most precious gift – our freewill. In this we are imitating Christ who was obedient unto death on a cross.