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Prayer and penance By Michelle Martin Mother Abbess Mary Francis was 25 years old when she took her first—and, she expected, her last—train ride as a Poor Clare nun, moving from Chicago to be part of a new monastery in Roswell, N.M.. That was in 1948. Last month, the 77-year-old abbess flew back to Chicago with six nuns to re-establish the order in the Archdiocese of Chicago, 10 years after the original monastery here closed because of a lack of members. “It is nice,” said Mother Mary Francis. “This is our sixth daughter house, and this is where I really found my vocation.” The Poor Clares, an 800-year-old order of contemplative, enclosed nuns, brought their mission of prayer to the vacant convent at St. Symphorosa Parish on Chicago’s Southwest side. They plan to build a new monastery in Lemont as soon as possible. In a time when many religious congregations find themselves with fewer and fewer young members, the Poor Clares of Roswell have not faced the same problem. Despite eschewing most of the values of the modern world, the monastery in Roswell houses 28 sisters, despite sending six to Chicago. “Sometimes we tease the postulants and ask, ‘Don’t you know there’s a vocation crisis?’” Mother Mary Francis said. Something about the Poor Clares has attracted young women to a life of prayer and penance, a life with middle-of-the-night prayers, bare feet and simple brown habits, limited food and no personal property. “People reach out and they understand that this is something real,” Mother Mary Francis said. “These cloistered people are about as real as you can get.” The rhythm of the monastery is dictated by the divine office, with time marked by bells and prayers, not cell phones and pagers. They model themselves on St. Clare of Assisi, a beautiful young woman who left a life of luxury for a life of penance. The sisters will celebrate St. Clare’s feast day Aug. 11. “I think our role is to place a large question mark on some worldly values, to keep green among the people the desire for our heavenly homeland,” Mother Mary Francis said. And while they separate themselves from the world, they do not forget it. Rather, they open their hearts to the world’s concerns and pray for them, said Sister Teresita, who will lead the Poor Clares in Chicago after the abbess returns to New Mexico. “Whatever else I could do, I would never have enough,” said Sister Teresita, of her own decision to enter the cloister. “If I were a mother, I could never have enough children. If I were a teacher, I could never have enough students. But now my calling takes in the whole world.” While the nuns are separated from the world, they keep in contact with it. They receive visitors in the parlor, talking through a makeshift grille, and respond to requests for prayers. “People bring us their problems, their sorrows and confide them to us,” Mother Mary Francis said. “They know these sisters care very much about them. The more we talk to people, the more room there is in our hearts.” One of Mother Mary Francis’ duties as a young nun was to act as the previous abbess’ secretary, typing letters to those who wrote to ask for prayers and sent alms. “I still remember all those people,” she said. “You think of this woman who’s having such trouble in her marriage, this dying child, this alcoholic man who can’t break the habit.” Contemplative nuns pray and do penance for the whole world, while living a life of joy at being chosen by Jesus Christ to become his brides, explains Mother Mary Francis in her book, “A Right To Be Merry.” The Poor Clares in particular still follow the rule laid down by St. Clare, calling on them to live by the work they do in the monastery and by the alms they receive. Mother Mary Francis also is writing anew book, “Forth and Abroad.” The nuns decided to return to Chicago after a visit from Cardinal George last fall, who invited them to the archdiocese. Now they eagerly await requests for prayers from people in the archdiocese. “The whole world is our apostolate of prayer and penance, but our first apostolate is our own archdiocese. This is our concern.” When traveling through the Chicago area, Mother Mary Francis marvels at all the cars on the highways and all the buildings full of people. “And I wonder, do they know that God made them?” she said. “How many of them know that God loves them? It must give us a heart for the world.” Contact the Poor Clares by writing to them at 6619 S. Austin,
Chicago, IL 60638. “A Right To Be Merry” also can be purchased
by writing to the monastery.
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