"Clare, the delicate eighteen year old, fleeing home on the night of Palm Sunday 1212, set off without hesitation on the adventure of a new experience, believing in the Gospel as Francis showed her, and in nothing else."
—St. John Paul II
Becoming a Poor Clare
The stages of initial formation prepare us for a life of vowed consecration to God as a Poor Clare nun. This period of growth and transformation takes place gradually within the unfolding days and seasons of the liturgical and Franciscan atmosphere that shapes our life. A key element to all the stages of initial formation is spiritual accompaniment. A sister is assigned to accompany those who have embarked on the journey to become a Poor Clare sister. Frequent conversations in a spirit of seeking the Lord's will helps to clarify how the Lord is working in our lives. The aim of initial formation and spiritual accompaniment is to progress on the journey of becoming what God wants us to be in order that we may fully and freely give ourselves to Him in religious profession.
Step One: Postulancy
The first stage of postulancy is really an introduction to our daily schedule, our customs and the history and spirituality of our Order. It's a settling-in period which gives space for continued discernment so that a postulant can gradually adjust to life in the monastery.
Step Two: Noviciate
The stage of Novitiate begins at a private ceremony with the reception of the holy habit and religious name. These years are a time for the novice to intensify her love for Christ and to grow in her understanding of Gospel living as she studies our Rule and the vows and experiences the challenges and joys of living in Community.
Step Three: Juniorate
After professing vows for three years, the junior professed sister begins to enter more fully into the life of the community in a variety of ways and receives more responsibilities in her areas of work, whether in the kitchen, sewing, gardening, study or anywhere else obedience may call her.
Step Four: Solemn Profession
At the Mass of solemn profession the sister vows to live as a Poor Clare for “the whole time of her life,” and receives a silver ring and a crown of thorns, symbolic of her union with Christ Crucified. This commitment makes her a witness of Christ’s redemptive love for the world.
O God,
I pray that I may know You and love You
So as eternally to rejoice in You.
And if, in the present life, I cannot do so fully,
Grant that my love and knowledge may at least grow on earth
That my joy may be fully in Heaven:
A joy expected here and there fulfilled.
O Lord our Father,
You counselled or rather commanded through Your Son,
That we ask for this fullness of joy, and You promised to grant it.
I ask of You, O Lord, that which, through Your Wonder-Counsellor,
You encouraged us to ask and promised to grant:
That our joy may be full!
Let my mind meditate on this joy, my tongue speak of it,
My heart desire it, my words extol it,
My soul hunger for it, my flesh thirst for it,
My whole substance yearn for it,
Until I enter into the joy of my God
Who is Triune and One,
Blessed forever.
Amen.
