At rest in prayer,
Saint Clare unraveled and pruned
some lines of the living word
pertaining to Mother Mary,
as at the wedding miracle
when she anticipated the Master’s sacred hour
by intervening at Cana,
when the holy Clare perceived,
in the water sanctified,
that Jesus pushed closer his hour
instead of disrupting Mary’s gracious perception
of wedding hosts run short of wine,
and then when Mary emptied out her years,
like Cana’s first-served wine,
he sanctified her jar of life,
transfiguring her body
with the bounty of eternal years,
so that the wedding banquet continued
with water jars filled to the brim
containing the wine of everlasting trust.
In later hours at prayer,
Saint Clare recalled
how Mary went to the streets,
in search of Jesus,
and found him absorbed
in teaching his Father’s parables,
delineating
that those who lived his Father’s words
were mother, brother, sister for him,
and young Clare just cringed to hear it,
until she thought
that Mary never deviated
from the fiat she first pronounced,
she always stood as the perfect disciple.
The paralytic’s trusting friendsÂ
put down the stretcher,
with faith apparent and clear,
so Jesus raised him up,
and his stretcher too,
so Clare deccided
that Christ would elevate his mother,
for no disciple would doubt
the word’s eternal lifespan,
and those who lived its every tittle.
A special passage, Clare reflected,
was Mary with the gardener,
he simply pronounced her name, Miriam,
and she shed the smallest doubt
that here was standing
the Lord of the glorious garden,
while Clare concluded,
he said the same a thousand times
to his mother,
pronouncing her name
or the pleasing title mother
with tones of love,
the same sustaining tones
this Lord of the garden used,
as though reminding her
that he would plant
an ever-blooming park
for her delight,
and Clare was eager
to hurry to join her there.
August 2015
Bonaventure Stefun, OFM Cap.
See the reflections from the Lent-Easter series here.
Advent-Christmas reflections are also online.