A Prayer of St. Clare

What you hold, may you always hold,

What you do, may you always do and never abandon.

But with swift pace, light step, unswerving feet,

So that even your steps stir up no dust,

May you go forward securely, joyfully, and swiftly,

On the path of prudent happiness,

Not believing anything, not agreeing with anything

That would dissuade you from this resolution

Or that would place a stumbling block for you on the way,

So that you may offer your vows to the Most High

In the pursuit of that perfection

To which the Spirit of the Lord has called you.

 

-- St. Clare (1250) was the superior of the convent
of Poor Clares in Assisi, Italy, for forty years.