The Mirror of Eternity

"Place your mind before the mirror of eternity."

- St Clare of Assisi, 3rd Letter to Agnes of Prague

How many times do you typically look in a mirror each day? I know personally that I only tend to look when I'm in a bathroom. I don't often spend a lot of time in front of one, maybe it's because of insecurities or because I already have an image of myself in my head.

A mirror helps us to see ourselves, at least our physical selves. Whether we like what see or not, we get a glimpse of what others see when they see us. In the grand scheme of things, there isn't much we can do about how we look. Sure, we can comb our hair or brush our teeth and things like that, but we can't do much about our own physicality. And so, if you're like me, you might not spend a lot of time in front of mirrors because you recognize this, and in turn you spiral into a bunch of different insecurities. And at this point, how do you see yourself as beautiful, as someone who is worth all of the good things life has to offer?

Clare of Assisi was someone who continually saw the beauty not just in herself, but in others as well. She was someone who would have supportive of those around her in seeing this beauty, if she wasn't, she wouldn't have had women follow her way of life. Clare was someone who firmly believed that the beauty of God existed in all of us. We get a sense of this not just from the stories of her life, but in her writings as well, especially in her letters to Agnes of Prague.

Clare lived during the Crusades, and at one point it looked as though Assisi would be under attack during one of the wars. With her sisters frightened as to what to do, Clare simply put a monstrance with the eucharist in it in the window. She believed whole heartedly that the beauty of God would shine forth from it, and change the hearts of the attackers, and the city would be safe. As the story goes, that is exactly what happened.

Clare uses a lot of symbolism in her writings, one of which is a mirror in place of the eucharist an the cross at times. In her third letter to Agnes of Prague, Clare uses this symbol of the mirror in place of the eucharist to help Agnes to see the beauty of God in herself. Clare tells Agnes that by placing herself fully in the mirror of eternity (that is the eucharist) then she will see the beauty of God not just found in the sacrament, but also that her sisters see in her.

If we stood in front of a mirror and thought about the beauty that is in us just because of who we are, then we start to put those insecurities that can run rampant in our minds to rest, and begin to see the transformative power that our beauty can have on others. Our world is in need of beauty, a beauty that only exists in you.

We can begin to see ourselves as the mirror of eternity, the beauty in the world that can transform those around us. Each of our beauty is so intrinsically unique that it gives us the opportunity to truly give ourselves in this world in this way.

Be the mirror of eternity not just for yourself, but for the people around you. Someone out there needs the beauty you behold in their life.