FRANJINI SPISI KLARI I NJEZINIM SESTRAMA
The Writings of Francis to Clair and Her Sisters

Summary/Abstract: (Dedicated to the Poor Clares at Brestovsko on the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the death of st.Clare and the 15th anniversary of the arrival of Poor Clares in Brestovsko, in BiH) On the occasion of the 750th anniversary of the death of Clare we wanted to familiarize our readers with the character of st. Clare according to the writings that st. Francis wrote to Clare and her sister. Pope John Paul II in his improvised talk to Poor Clares in their first monastery in Assisi on March 12, 1982, encourages us to think about the importance of “franciscan friendship” in our contemporary spirituality: “It is difficult to separate the names of Francis and Clare, these two phenomenon, these two legends, legends of holiness. There is something profound between them, something that can only be understood by means of franciscan, christian, and Gospel spirituality. It cannot be grasped by human means. The Francis-Clare duo is a reality that is comprehensible only in christian, spiritual, and heavenly categories. But it is also a reality of this land, this city, this Chruch. Everything was incarnated here. It is not purely a matter of spirit; they were not purely spirits. However, in the living tradition of the Church, of christianity and humanity, what remains is not only a legend. What remains is the manner in saw his sister and the manner in which he betrothed Christ. He saw himself in her image, the bride of Christ, the mystical bride with whom he shaped his holiness. He saw himself as a brother, a poor man in a holy image of that real bride of Christ. In her he finds the image of the most perfect bride of the Holy Spirit, the most holy Mary… In our time it is important to rediscover saint Clare, it is important for the life of the Church; it is important to rediscover that charism and that vocation. It is necessary to rediscover the divine legend of Francis and Clare.” We can imagine the value of the many letters that Francis wrote, of which only these four to Clare and her sisters have been preserved, as a table of true salvation, stronghold, consolation in the bitter and persistent struggle to maintain the franciscan ideal. These writings reveal the deep relationship between Francis and Clare and her sisters, with that which for them was inspiration and breath of life. Therefore we find in them the important elements which make up the charism of Clare: the purpose of the life of a Poor Clare is to live the Gospel in an absolute way; the value of franciscan ascetics which prove compatible with the Gospel; the Gospel path in complete poverty as the most successful one; living christianity in a lifestyle of poverty by the example of the crucified Jesus and his Mother. Also emerging from these writings is a fundamental unity and mutuality of Francis and Clare’s evangelical life, with which they follow in Spirit, Christ and his Mother, in the Church and for the Church, in the service of humanity and creation. Fra

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