New Poor Clare Foundation

[Clareni]

[quote name='Pax_et bonum' timestamp='1332972488' post='2409819'] OSCs follow the rule from Pope Urban IV which allows for communal ownership of property. Many communities adopted this rule though St. Clare at San Damiano never did. The fact that most of those communities seem to have modified or taken off the habit gives the impression to me that they've probably done away with other "antiquated" aspects. The Rule says, "We declare that no Sister, whatever be her rank or office, may have woolen socks. Those who are able to do so go completely barefoot indoors..." So I doubt that they're following the same Rule that the Franciscan Sisters Minor will soon be adapting. I think [/quote]

I am still struggling to understand the rule of St. Clare and its relation to the Poor Clare communities of today. There is a lot of conflicting information online such as this from Capuchins.org:

>Since Vatican Council II, most of the Poor Clares follow “the Primitive Rule,” the one written by St. Clare herself and >approved by Pope Innocent IV two days before Clare’s death in 1253. These include:
[b]>Capuchin Poor Clares[/b] (O.S.C.Cap.) – [url="http://www.capuchinpoorclares.org/"]www.capuchinpoorclares.org[/url]
[b]>Colettine Poor Clares[/b] (P.C.C.) – [url="http://poorclare.com/obs-cl.html"]poorclare.com/obs-cl.html[/url]
[b]>Poor Clares of the Rule of St. Clare[/b] (O.S.C.) – [url="http://poorclare.com/obs-c.html"]poorclare.com/obs-c.html[/url]

This article goes on the cite two other Poor Clare orders, Urbanist Poor Clare of the Primitive Observance (O.S.C.) – [url="http://poorclarenun.com/roots.html"]poorclarenun.com/roots.html[/url] and the Poor Clares of Perpetual Adoration (P.C.P.A.) – [url="http://poorclare.com/obs-cac.html"]poorclare.com/obs-cac.html[/url]
that follow the modified rule of Pope Urban IV

I did find the rule posted online in an English translation and was struck by its radical commitment to poverty which I do not think is being replicated in the existing orders. Here are two examples that struck me:

(quoting St. Francis in Chapter 6 "Lack of Possessions")
>I, little brother Francis, wish to follow the life and poverty of our most high lord Jesus Christ and of his holy mother and to >persevere in this until the end; and I ask and counsel you, my ladies, to live always in this most holy life and poverty. And >keep most careful watch that you never depart from this by reason of the teaching or advice of anyone.

Chapter 8 then details how the sisters will uphold the example of Francis.

>Let the sisters not appropriate anything at all, neither a house nor a place nor anything at all; instead as pilgrims and >strangers in this world who serve the Lord in poverty and humility, let them confidently send for alms.

I did not see anything in the rule explicitly forbidding woolen socks, but it does say that for serving outside the monastery "These sisters may wear shoes" (Capter 3) and the sisters who are ill may wear "woolen stockings" (chapter 8). This would imply that normally the sisters did not wear shoes or wool socks. "Pax_et Bonum," where did you find the copy of the rule that you quoted? I would like to compare to the one I found on line.

I have no doubt that this new group of Poor Clares will follow the demanding standard set by St Francis and St. Clare.

[Pax_et bonum]

It was quoted in a book I have. [url="http://www.amazon.com/Brothers-Sisters-Glimpses-Cloistered-Life/dp/1569245231"]Brothers and Sisters: Glimpses of the Cloistered Life[/url] It's just cited as Poor Clares' Rule.
It really is confusing.

Have you read this? [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12251b.htm"]Poor Clares[/url]

[quote]Meanwhile, St. Clare had secured from innocent IV the confirmation of a new rule differing widely from the original rule drawn up by [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06796a.htm"]Ugolino[/url], and modified by his successors on the [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12260a.htm"]papal[/url] throne. For forty years she had been the living rule from which the community at San Damiano had imbibed the spirit of St. Francis. A few days before her death she placed the [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04340c.htm"]convent[/url] under a rule which embodied that spirit more perfectly than did [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06796a.htm"]Ugolino's[/url] Rule. The [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03052b.htm"]Bull[/url] "Solet annuere", 9 August, 1253, confirming St. Clare's Rule, was directed to the Sisters of San Damiano alone. The new rule was soon adopted by other [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04340c.htm"]convents[/url] and forms the basis of the second grand division of the Poor Clares. It is an adaptation of the [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06217a.htm"]Franciscan[/url] Rule to the needs of the Second Order. Its twelve chapters correspond substantially to those of the [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06217a.htm"]Franciscan[/url] Rule, and in large sections there is a verbal agreement between the two rules. In a few instances it borrows regulations from the original rule and from the modified form of that rule published by [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08017a.htm"]Innocent IV[/url]. The most important characteristic of St. Clare's Rule is its express declaration that the sisters are to possess no [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12462a.htm"]property[/url], either as [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/07762a.htm"]individuals[/url] or as a community. In this regulation the new rule clearly breathes the spirit of the seraphic founder. It is improbable, however, that St. Francis was the author of it or that it was approved by [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/06796a.htm"]Gregory IX[/url], as is sometimes asserted. With the data obtainable no categorical answer can be given to the question of authorship, though the compiler may well have been St. Clare herself (Lemmens in "Röm. Quartalschr.", I, page 118). The original [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/03052b.htm"]Bull[/url] of [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/08017a.htm"]Innocent IV[/url] confirming the Rule of St. Clare was discovered in 1893 in a mantle of the [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04171a.htm"]saint[/url] which had been preserved, among other [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12734a.htm"]relics[/url], at the [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/04340c.htm"]monastery[/url] of St. Clare at [url="http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01801a.htm"]Assisi[/url] (Robinson, "Inventarium documentorum", 1908).[/quote]
It sounds like the FSM are going to be using this Rule especially since they're becoming PCs on August 9th. The brothers linked to [url="http://ourladyofthepearl.com/Documents/Rule_St_Clare.pdf"]this Rule[/url] on their site which has 12 chapters, so maybe that's the Rule they're going to use.

Edited April 8, 2012 by Pax_et bonum

[MichelleNicole]

I am very interested in this religious community. I have read and viewed the Brother's website many times. Has anyone here visited the sisters? If so what is their daily Schedule like? Do they have perpetual Adoration? Do they get up at midnight for Matins?

Thank you with much love and prayers; Michelle

[Pax_et bonum]

Here's their Horarium:

 

 

They don't have perpetual Adoration, but in addition to the times specifically mentioned on their schedule, the Blessed Sacrament is exposed for their Holy Hours.

[MichelleNicole]

Thank you so much for sharing this information. Do you know if reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary is part of their spirit?

Michelle

[Gabriela]

Thank you so much for sharing this information. Do you know if reparation to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary is part of their spirit?

Michelle

 

I don't know about Poor Clares, but I know the Visitandines have special devotions to the Sacred and Immaculate Hearts.