In mid-July, the Poor Clare sisters will host the first ever “Come and See” event at their monastery in Sauk Rapids. The sisters will welcome women ages 19-30 for a “sneak preview” of what a life of prayer and contemplation could be like.
The event, set for July 12-13, will begin at 10 a.m. Saturday and conclude Sunday afternoon. It will include vocation stories and sharing with the sisters, meals, Liturgy of the Hours and Mass with Father Matthew Crane, the sisters’ chaplain.
“Holy Mother Clare had a wonderful phrase that really sums up her ideal prayer,” said abbess Mother Mary Matthew Tomczyk. “She says very simply, ‘Gaze upon him, consider him, contemplate him as you desire to imitate Him.’ That’s what we want to incorporate into the weekend, to give participants a chance to gaze on Him in adoration, to consider Him and consider our life and a deeper relationship with the Lord, and to contemplate Him in prayer.”
The sisters of St. Clare’s Monastery are members of the Franciscan Order of St. Clare, an order of nuns founded by St. Clare of Assisi in 1212 and considered the second of the three Franciscan orders. They serve the Church through a life of prayer, penance, contemplation and manual work.
In 1923, 11 sisters arrived in Sauk Rapids to establish the monastery, and in July 1924 they were officially enclosed as a contemplative community. The cloistered monastery is now home to 13 sisters with two in formation. Over the years, it has housed up to 30 sisters at one time.
“We want to let young women know that our life is so beautiful,” Mother Mary Matthew said. “It’s hidden, and it’s a mystery … but it is so beautiful to those that God has called to it. We want to encourage more women to look at this life.”
Interested women can register by calling the monastery at 320-251-3556.
Pictured above: Poor Clare Sisters in their chapel at St. Clare’s Monastery in Sauk Rapids. (Dianne Towalski / The Central Minnesota Catholic)