Apophatic or Kataphatic Spousal Spirituality

[miserere]

St. Clare's spirituality is definitely more kataphatic, according to the definitions above.  I was in a PCC monastery for a year and since leaving have also tried to understand her spirituality better.  For me, at least, the core of her spirituality seems spousal - she is passionately in love with Christ, and from there comes the love of poverty, for that is what Christ chose.  One lives in poverty out of love for the Divine Spouse, and also looks forward to the heavenly reward and riches of Christ.  So in daily life, one would unite Holy Poverty, work, penance, etc. to the Poor Crucified in a spirit of spousal love.  

St. Clare's letters to Bl. (St.?) Agnes of Prague are an excellent source of her spousal spirituality.  You can find them, as well as many more of her writings and writings of St. Francis and St. Colette, at http://www.poorclarestmd.org - just click on the menu icon in the upper right.

[God's Beloved]

47 minutes ago, miserere said:

St. Clare's spirituality is definitely more kataphatic, according to the definitions above.  I was in a PCC monastery for a year and since leaving have also tried to understand her spirituality better.  For me, at least, the core of her spirituality seems spousal - she is passionately in love with Christ, and from there comes the love of poverty, for that is what Christ chose.  One lives in poverty out of love for the Divine Spouse, and also looks forward to the heavenly reward and riches of Christ.  So in daily life, one would unite Holy Poverty, work, penance, etc. to the Poor Crucified in a spirit of spousal love.  

St. Clare's letters to Bl. (St.?) Agnes of Prague are an excellent source of her spousal spirituality.  You can find them, as well as many more of her writings and writings of St. Francis and St. Colette, at http://www.poorclarestmd.org - just click on the menu icon in the upper right.

Thank you very much Miserere!  i visited the site.  Clare's almost poetic words to Agnes,have often made me reflect deeper on the gift of virginity in consecrated life--

" When you have loved Him, you shall be chaste;
when you have touched Him, you shall become pure;
when you have accepted Him, you shall be a virgin. "

Virginity for her seems not a denial of something, but clearly an acceptance by Someone (which again leans towards a kataphatic approach). And Clare's unique way was to further live this spousal love by imitating the poverty of Jesus on the Cross: stripped,humiliated and emptied ...