St.Clare of Assisi is not a shadow of Francis

From Clair’s“Letters to Agnes of Boehmia”

"Place your mind before the mirror of eternity!
Place your soul in the brilliance of glory!
Place your heart in the figure of the divine substance!
And transform your entire being into the image
of the Godhead Itself through contemplation.
So that you too may feel what His friends feel
as they taste the hidden sweetness
that God Himself has reserved from the beginning
for those who love Him" (3LAg 12-14 ).

Sometimes we are forced to think of Mother Clare as if completely overshadowed by the person and vision of St.francis of Assisi. But this is not to be counted that way. Reading through the sources, there is a strong sense of independence of Clair’s vocation. Francis never wanted her to be a shadow of his. She was such an elegant woman, whom God blessed with pristine discretion to be own her own on the path to Jesus. We cannot for the great regard and inspiration that was between Francis and Clair. But we should not make them dependent in any way. They both had their own ways, though those were almost identical. But we should never oversee the distinctness of graces. Together they complemented and completed the Franciscan ideal.

Remember Clair in no way a shadow of Francis, she had her own light, inspired and guided by Francis.