St. Clare, a religious of the 13th Century, provides a beautiful witness to the link between the earthly meal and the heavenly banquet. Having come from a distinguished family with ample food and drink, she carried her spirit of generosity into her life of austere poverty. She knew the meaning of shared sustenance and its reflection of supernatural realities, and most importantly, she understood that all of creation is a gift to be handed on without measure or discrimination. There was no ego in her provision for others, and no limit to her denial of self.

Clare trusted God, as good and generous as He is, would provide. Indeed, so sturdy was her faith that He worked miracles through her and fed many with seemingly little food – the proverbial “loaves and fishes” story revisited as He fed His little flock of Poor Clares and their companions. Lord make us as humble and generous as St. Clare.

While Christians are mindful of the fact that this world is not our true home and that sin prevents the establishment of utopia, it is here that we can mirror the sacrament of baptism in the realm outside the soul. It is God’s gift to us that we can lift up our mundane tasks of washing and purifying and link them to Christ’s own work. What infinite meaning we can add to mopping up that spilled drink or cleaning out the broom closet one more time if we remember that we are imagining the sacraments of baptism.

We must acknowledge the trust the Church places in us and then use our feminine genius to discern how best, practically, to build this culture, which the world so desperately needs for its spiritual and physical health. We must refuse to be daunted by the task ahead and concentrate on our own families and immediate communities, for what could be euphemistically seen as rebuilding the culture “brick by brick” is essentially “soul by soul.”

Mother Teresa could have been overwhelmed by the needs of her first outpost of charity. But she simply focused on picking up the first body and only after that the second – and so forth. With God’s grace and His gift of fortitude, she reaches dozens, scores and ultimately countless thousands.

Women first learn and then teach others that human relations are authentic if they are open to accepting the other person: a person who is recognized and loved because of the dignity which comes from being a person and not from other considerations, such as usefulness, strength, intelligence, beauty, or health. This is the fundamental contribution which the Church and humanity expect from women. And it is the indispensable prerequisite for an authentic cultural change.

“Even from the outset the Church was feminine, and recognized her mission: “In the catacombs the Church is often represented as a woman in prayer, arms outstretched in the praying position. Like Christ who stretched out his arms on the cross, through him, with him and in him, she offers herself and intercedes for all men” (CCC, 1368).

Whatever effort we expend in building culture, it must be grounded in prayer and lifted to God as a gift from our hearts. Just as it is essential that a mother nourish herself adequately so she can nurse her infant, a woman has to dedicate herself to her own prayer life, constantly deepening her union with God, because only then can she feed and direct the souls in her spiritual care. There can be no room for pride in our projects; rather we must humbly cling to faith alone, which will guide properly the work of our hands.”