Vatican
City, 5 October 2013 (VIS) – Shortly after 4.15 p.m. the Pope
reached the Basilica of St. Clare, where the cloistered nuns of the
order founded by St. Clare, friend of St. Francis, reside. The
pontiff descended into the crypt to venerate the body of the saint
and then, in the chapel of the choir, prayed before the cross of St.
Damian, which according to tradition spoke to St. Francis, telling
him to repair His house. In this chapel the Pope, accompanied by the
Council of Cardinals, met with the cloistered nuns and spoke with
them off the cuff, beginning, “I thought that this meeting would be
like the ones we have held twice at Castel Gandolfo, alone with the
nuns but, I have to confess, I don't have the courage to send the
cardinals away. Let us all remain together”.
“When
a cloistered nun consecrates her life to the Lord, a transformation
occurs that we do not usually understand. Normally we assume that
this nun becomes isolated, along with the Absolute, alone with God;
it is an ascetic, penitent life. But this is not the path of a
Catholic or indeed Christian cloistered nun. The path always passes
via Jesus Christ. Jesus is the centre of your life, of your penance,
of your community life, of your prayer, and also of the universality
of prayer. And therefore, what happens is contrary to what we imagine
of an ascetic cloistered nun. When she follows the path of
contemplation of Jesus Christ, the path of prayer and penance with
Jesus Christ, she becomes greatly human. Cloistered nuns are called
upon to have great humanity, a humanity like that of the Mother
Church; to be human, to understand all aspects of life, to be able to
understand human problems, to know how to forgive and to pray to the
Lord for others”.
“Today
during Mass, speaking of the Cross, I said that Francis had
contemplated it with open eyes, with open wounds, with flowing blood.
And this is your contemplation: reality. The contemplation of
Christ's wounds! This is why it is so good when people attend the
visiting room of a monastery, asking for prayers and talking about
their problems. Perhaps the nun does not say anything extraordinary,
but her word is inspired by her contemplation of Jesus Christ,
because the nun, like the Church, is on a path to becoming an expert
in humanity. And this is your path: not too spiritual! When [nuns]
are too spiritual, I think of the foundress of the monasteries of
your 'rivals', St. Theresa, for example, who when one of her nuns
came to her to speak about, oh, about these things, said to the cook,
“give her a steak!”. The humanity of Jesus Christ! Because the
Word became flesh, God became flesh for us, and this gives you a
great, human, beautiful and mature holiness, the holiness of a
mother. And this is what the Church wants you to be: mothers. … To
give life. When you pray, for example, for priests, for seminarians,
you have a maternal role towards them; … you help them to become
good shepherds for the People of God. But don't forget about St.
Theresa's steak! It is important”.
“The
second thing I wanted to say to you, briefly, relates to community
life. Forgive and support each other, because community life is not
easy. … Make sure that the monastery is not a purgatory, but rather
a family. Look for solutions with love; do not harm anyone among you
to solve a problem. … Cherish community life, because when the
community is like a family, the Holy Spirit is among the community. …
I beg for you the joy that is born of true contemplation and of a
beautiful community life. Thank you for your welcome and pray for me,
please; don't forget”.
No comments:
Post a Comment