Clare of Assisi (1194 – 1253 CE) was one of the first followers of St. Francis, and under his direction founded the Order of Poor Ladies, a monastic order for women in the Franciscan tradition. Members of the Order went barefoot, slept on the ground, ate no meat, and mostly kept silence. Clare herself ultimately wrote the Rule for the Order, which notwithstanding her own upbringing in a wealthy and influential family, emphasised absolute poverty. After her death the Order was renamed the Order of St. Clare, and is commonly referred to as ‘the Poor Clares.’

Place your mind before the mirror of eternity!
Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!
Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance!
And transform your whole being into the image of the Godhead Itself
     through contemplation!
So that you too may feel what His friends feel
     as they taste the hidden sweetness
     which God Himself has reserved
     from the beginning
     for those who love Him.

Translation Regis J. Armstrong, OFM CAP & Ignatius C. Brady, OFM