Unmoving at the center of the snowy clearing, an ethereal hush descends. I stand spellbound by the pearly gleam of the untouched miracle. Finally daring, I breath in, sharp icy air piercing my lungs and
stinging my nose. Exhailing slowly, I watch in wonder still as my warm breath spins in a misty dance before vanishing.

Stately elders in their bristly coats of Kelly, olive and sage are draped in hefty stoles of glistening white. Gently watchful, they creak and sway in the wind, bowing to one another. Frozen chandeliers hang suspended from rocky crevices, and cling to the tips of branches, flirting with the sunlight.

Looking up, I catch the clouds rolling in their carefree way across the winter sky. Drip, drip, drip, drop. Tiny feet scamper unseen in the canopies. A chickadee calls sweetly. And, I am alone yet not at all. Laying silently on the lush winter carpet, I close my eyes and revel in the majesty of this glorious gift.

Sharon Reed
Dartmouth College
Museum Curator

I thank You
Beloved Divine Presence
For being this day’s
Soft Companioning of Cloud
And Steadfast Friendship
Of the Trees which line this winding road

What comfort it is
For me to know
That You Are
Always To Be Found

Never Far
You Are
The Holy Ground
Ever beneath my straying feet

So Great as to
Create All Things
So Humble as to meet
One so small as I

With my canticles and cares
With all my pacing prayers

When I settle down
I always find You there

In the Silent
In the Still

In relinquishing my will
To the higher goals of Perfect Love

And when I am set to stumble
You do not forget me or leave me to fall
But call me onward toward Home
Through the Kind Correctives of Your Grace

You lead me to
The Gentle Place
Of Ultimate Belonging.

​~Sr. Brigid Clare, with love and prayers for my Franciscan Family. 

~A Psalm of Uncertainty~

The road behind me
has washed away
in a torrent of hopeful tears.

The road before me,
today a vaporous mystery,
awaits a construction of faith.

On this tiny speck
of solid ground which bears Your Name,
I stand and call to You…

I am relying upon
Your Grace to be greater
than my sorrow and bitterness.

I am relying upon
Your strength to carry me
when I feel weary and worn.

I am relying upon
Your Wisdom to guide me
into tomorrow’s unknown country.

I am relying upon
Your LOVE to lift and lead,
to surround and saturate.

*”I determine amidst all uncertainty always to trust.
I choose to live beyond regret,
and let You recreate my life.”

I trust in You alone
to provide and protect,
to hold and heal,
to inspire and indwell
all the days of my life.

My vow is to You, O Gracious One,
for You have been with me always,
no matter the adversity.

In my loneliest hours,
You are there.
In my darkest moments,
You are the Light of Hope.

You are the Perfect Love
Who casts out all fear.
The tiny speck of solid ground
beneath my feet, supporting,
and never letting me fall.

From the womb
I have known Your Grace,
and my gratitude has been ever present.

You are with me
in my hour of uncertainty,
as I choose the materials
with which to build the road before me.

Help me to choose wisely
and with great love.

May my steps be pleasing to You,
and worthy of the Grace
You shower upon me.

My Heart.
My Home.
My Health.
My Hope.
My Heaven.
My All.
You Are.

​And I am Yours.

​~Sister Brigid Clare
(*quoted prayer verse is from St. Brendan the Navigator)

I open my heart
to pour out
all that does not
serve the Purpose of Love;
every grievance void of Grace,
every pernicious lie
of victimization which denies
the startling Truth of Imago Dei;
Christ within this humble clay.

I open my heart
to invite and receive
The Holy One’s
Blessed, Best Dream for me;
moment by miraculous moment
made into Sweet Reality
by Love’s Hand Guiding,
Love’s Word Speaking,
Love’s Bounty providing,
Love’s Kiss within my soul,
inspiring me to wallow and walk
in Wonder, in Beauty, in Peace,
and in the Consummate Joy
of Knowing and Being Known.

I open my heart
to pour out Presence and Empathy;
to leave a gentle dusting
from the Gifts graciously given me,
to share my little bit
with all the Love I can muster,
and pray my simple spark might
be part of the Ever Growing Light
of Parousia drawing nigh.

I open my heart
to invite and receive Healing
and Wholeness, and Faith
beyond feeling; and Courage
to walk with eyes opened wide
equally in celebration and suffering,
gathering strength sown deep inside,
long recessed and hidden, shy,
vulnerable and doubt-ridden, I
vow in this miraculous moment,
now to start walking in
The Way of the Open Heart.

~Sister Brigid Clare
Photo taken in my childhood church, The Shrine of the Sacred Heart, Baltimore, Maryland, on the 40th anniversary of my First Holy Communion. 

I saw the temples crumble
stones turned to bread
to feed the poor

what once was high now humble
so those with less
are offered more

 saw the sacred vestments 
wrapped round 
a mother's freezing child

and in their warm contentment
saw Bethlehem's Babe
and Mary mild

I saw the fire burning 
the Heart aflame 
that livens all

and in my own 
heart's yearning
heard my Poverello's call~

"Rebuild God's Church,"
is what he said,
"with mortar of Love and stones of Bread".

~Sister Brigid Clare
​(This song came into my heart as I made my way home from Compline this evening. Usually I select an image to accompany my words, but I can find no adequate image for what I saw and felt in my spirit tonight. I will only say what is already known; that God loves us all so deeply, especially "the least of these". Gentle Blessings to All.)

I want my life
to become ruins,
daises to grow
where once floors were swept.

Dear God, dismantle
all the structures –
the walls I built,
closed ideas I kept.

I want the sky
to be my ceiling,
birds to fly through
windows once shut tight.

Remove my heart
from its cold, stone casing –
Expose it to Your
elements and light.

I want my life
to become ruins,
peaceful, open,
welcoming the breeze.

Dear God, tend to
the greening of my spirit –
visit me beneath
the sheltering trees.

​~Sister Brigid Clare

I am but a little one
after Your Heart
wrapped in ribbons
of Your gentle grace
content in every space
Your Presence dwells

in the quiet of
my simple room
my faint heart swells
as prayer pervades
my soul, my song;
a cloud of sweet perfume

all this longing
in my breast
finds its Home and Final Rest
In Your warm and precious Love alone

I am but a little one
grown in the Light of Brother Sun
another foolish heart to call Your Own.

​~Sister Brigid Clare 
Gentle Blessings to All.

Dear Poverello,
who am I
that you in Love
would greet me

with arms
outstretched
and twinkling eye
in Perfect Joy to meet me

who am I
to look upon
your lovely
lowly face

as warmly you
bid me
enter through
this absolute embrace

I am happy to
leave all behind
and step
inside your door

who am I
Dear Poverello
that you
invite me to be poor

~Sister Brigid Clare 
photo: Chapel door of the church/school where I first heard of Francis when I was a child.

Holy One,
Whose Ultimate Name is LOVE,
my heart is grieved today
as Your children, Sisters and Brothers All,
continue to war against each other
and kill for the sake of the lesser names
by which they know and call You.

I pray for all misguided souls
who cause harm where You will healing,
who cause panic where You will peace,
who cause despair where You will delight.

I pray for all innocent souls
who live in fear where You will freedom,
who live in grief where You will grace,
who live in pain where You will promise.

Hear my cry, O Holy One!
Earth is in need of Your Light and Mercy;
in need of Your Comfort and Guidance.

How long will we be lost to false power’s pettiness and greed?
How many must suffer and die for the lie of division?

Gather, O Wondrous Wisdom and Word of LOVE;
Gather those who hear Your Heartbeat,
who know that Your Voice reverberates beyond all human language,
who know the Reality of Your Power lies far beyond
the bounds of culture, politics, and religion.

Gather those with impulse to pray
and humility to heed the call to Unconditional Love;
those willing to walk in repentance and reparation
for the collective atrocities committed in the name of “god”.

I give myself to Presence and Prayer.
I give myself to Light and LOVE.
I give myself in service to the Holy One
Who wills the children of Earth to be Wholly One,
in Perpetual Peace, and in the Only True Power;
the Peace and Power of the Ultimate and Unfailing LOVE
from Whom we have come, and to Whom we shall return.

“Let there be Peace on Earth,
and let it begin with me.”

For all the troubled people and places in the world,
I pray.

​~Sister Brigid Clare

Not for fear but for Love,
my God, do I turn again and again
to Your warm and gracious Presence.

I need not summon,
for You are Always Here.

I need not invoke,
for my very breath is Your Name.

Still, for Love of You…I call.

You keep me
and those I Love
within the Circle
of Your Infinite Care.

Through trial and triumph,
Your Unfailing Love is round about us;
Your Holy Spirit, sure and true within us,
to guard and to guide by day and by night.

O Beautiful One,
Maker of All Worlds;
hear my prayers,
see our great need.

By the Radiant Light
of Your Most Sacred Heart,
correct us where we are misguided;
in all low thoughts that hinder and harm
ourselves, others, and our earthen Home.

Raise our minds and hearts
to Your Realms of Glory and Truth,
that we may rightly bear Your Image
and be the Good News You have sent
into today’s hurting, yet still hopeful world.

Not for fear, but for Love,
my God, I ask in stark humility,
that You would open the Heavens,
and pour out Your Grace and Healing
upon Earth and All the Life She so delicately holds.

Open our eyes, our ears,
our hearts, our hands,
that we might remember Who We Are,
and finally understand and walk in The Way of Love.

Gentle Blessings to my Franciscan Family.
~Sister Brigid Clare