Follow in Jesus' Footsteps

"If a man wishes to come after me, he must deny his very self, take up his cross, and begin to follow in my footsteps." 

Matthew 16:24

Today is the Feast Day of Saint Claire of Assisi. What an amazing young woman she was! She was beautiful and of a wealthy family. They lived in a palace in Assisi and owned a castle on the slope of Mount Subasio. Claire was probably used to clothes of embroidered rich silk from the clothes shop of Saint Francis' father. But she rejected her pampered lifestyle to take up the cross of Jesus.  Even when she was young, she prayed with dedication and devotion. 

She was only 18 years old when she heard St. Francis preach during a Lenten service. After that, she asked him to help her leave her father's home and devote the rest of her life serving God. She lived in poverty for the rest of her life, and other young ladies would join her "Order of the Poor Ladies of San Damiano". They wore no shoes, ate no meat, slept on the ground, and lived like the poor, but in silence most of the time, praying and working. 

What would provoke a young woman to voluntarily leave a comfortable life for a life of deprivation and manual labor? Only the desire to obey God and follow in His footsteps! Lord, may we be yoked to Your will, and say yes to You!