Clare of Assisi: When You have loved, You shall be chaste

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When You have loved, You shall be chaste

Clare of Assisi, Clare of Assisi poetry, Christian, Christian poetry, Catholic poetry, [TRADITION SUB2] poetry, poetry

by Clare of Assisi
(1193? - 1254) Timeline

English version by
Regis J. Armstrong, OFM CAP & Ignatius C. Brady, OFM

Original Language
Italian

When You have loved, You shall be chaste; when You have touched, You shall become pure; when You have accepted, You shall be a virgin.
Whose power is stronger,
Whose generosity is more abundant,
Whose appearance more beautiful,
Whose love more tender,
Whose courtesy more gracious.
In Whose embrace You are already caught up;
Who has adorned Your breast with precious stones
     and has placed priceless pearls in Your ears
     and has surrounded You with sparkling gems
     as though blossoms of springtime
     and placed on Your head a golden crown
     as a sign of Your holiness.

-- from Francis and Clare: The Complete Works: The Classics of Western Spirituality, Translated by Regis J. Armstrong, OFM CAP / Translated by Ignatius C. Brady, OFM

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Themes

Crown

Heart

Sexual Union

Spring Blossom

Womb

Recommended Books

	All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time, by Robert Ellsberg
	Francis and Clare: The Complete Works: The Classics of Western Spirituality, Translated by Regis J. Armstrong, OFM CAP / Translated by Ignatius C. Brady, OFM
	Sacred Voices: Essential Women's Voices Through the Ages, Edited by Mary Ford-Grabowsky

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This poem may sound a little formally "religious" for some tastes, but if you really read it, you'll see it's deep beauty. Even with its references to virginity and chastity, it is speaking on several levels of meaning. The poem has a sort of monastic, spiritualized eroticism to it that is surprisingly common to sacred poetry.

This is a poem by a lover of the Divine addressed to those who yearn to know a similar embrace or union.

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