Palm Sunday 2022

WHY IS A STATUE OF SAINT CLARE BEFORE THE ALTAR IN THE MONASTERY? READ THE STORY BELOW. On Palm Sunday of 1211 or 1212 the Bishop of Assisi was distributing palms to the faithful who crowded around the altar rail. But one young woman stayed back, lost in thoughts about the prospect of living in the manner of St. Francis, who had been preaching that Lent in Assisi. The bishop noticed the young woman and left the sanctuary to hand her a palm branch personally. That night, Clare secretly left her home, met with Francis, and vowed her life to the service of Jesus Christ. In the painting we see the bishop handing St. Clare a palm branch from his place on the altar. Behind him, St. Francis holds a pair of iron tongs. These often appear among the arma Christi, the objects such as the nails and whip involved in Jesus' torture and death. Francis points to them to indicate the life of self-sacrifice that is embraced by those who follow him. Acceptance of sacrifice is also symbolized by the red wound on the saint's hand, one of the "stigmata" that he received in a vision of Christ. The words on the open book also emphasize acceptance of the "tribulations" of a life modeled on Christ's: et omnes fideles references a citation Judith 8:23, "Sic Isaac, sic Jacob, sic Moyses, et omnes qui placuerunt Deo, per multas tribulationes transierunt fideles, "So Isaac, so Jacob, so Moses, and all that have pleased God, passed through many tribulations, remaining faithful."