FATHER’S DAY & SANTA CLARA: A REFLECTION
What you are doing, may you keep in doing and do not stop.
But with swiftness, agility, and unswerving feet,
May you go forward with joy and security
Knowing that you are on the path of wisdom and happiness.
Believe nothing, and agree with nothing
That will turn you away from this commitment.
Nothing should be allowed to prevent you
From offering yourself to the Most High in the perfection
To which the Spirit of God has called you. Amen.
--Claire of Assisi
It may seem odd on Father’s Day eve for me to post this reflection from this saint. But I find myself, as time and years go by, tiring of all of the desire for control so many people seem to have. It is one thing to struggle to control ourselves. But there is an inordinate desire for people to control others. Most times when I see this, and especially if I know the person trying to do the controlling, they do it because elements of their life are out of control. Relationships are broken or hurting. Addictions are running rampant. Mental health is crumbling by the day. Just being nice is becoming something like a distant memory. But remember we must.
Enter Santa Clara, as those of us in the folk Latin spiritualities call her. She is one of these spirits who cuts across numerous spiritualities, from traditional Catholicism to every form of Voodoo and beyond. I always think there is something really special about an Intelligence that is so essential to reality that it gets recognized across multiple traditions, time periods and places. If we look at the words she is saying here, we can see why. Her mysticism and relationship to God had grit to it. It was focused, like a laser beam. And if you ever work with her, you will experience for yourself how she suffuses everything around you and IN you with light.
All that stuff that I mentioned at the beginning is because the world keeps choosing darkness. It keeps choosing to take the low road and forgets that tires get flat there. But a spirit like Clara is a light that cannot be extinguished. She will walk the distance with us. In her luminosity, she calls us to turn toward that light and leave the control that’s not really controlling anything behind. It is a deception with zero returns.
On this Father’s Day, I hope that men who are fathers in any form remember to stay focused. There’s too many things that can distract us from the calling of fatherhood. I know in my own life I remain prayerful to keep hold of this. If you feel you need help with this in your life, Santa Clara is a wonderful saint to give just that and set you on your way. That is, after all, what God did with her.
Happy Father’s Day, everyone.
