Pope Leo XIV welcomes Benedictine monastic communities in the Vatican, thanking them for the great good they do for the Church, and encourages them to continue performing their “work of God.”
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
“Dear brothers and sisters, thank you for the immense and hidden good that you do for the Church, through your offering, your unceasing prayer, your service, and the witness of your lives. Continue this work, which is the ‘work of God.’”
Pope Leo XIV gave this encouragement to three communities of Benedictine religious – the monastic community of the Abbey of Saint Scholastica in Subiaco, the monastic community of the Abbey of Saint Mary of the Mount in Cesena, and the Benedictine nuns of the Abbey of Saint Scholastica in Bari – together with a group of monks on Monday in the Vatican.
The Pope expressed his delight to meet with them and to reflect together on the value of the Benedictine charism in their lives, in the Church, and in the world.
Pope Leo recalled how Saint Benedict exhorted the faithful to “continually guard the actions of one’s life,” and pointed out that contemplative Benedictine religious are mindful of how prayer and prayerful reading of the Word of God help maintain this vigilance.
In this way, the Pope said, those who practice it are able to understand the truth about themselves, recognizing their own weaknesses and sins, and celebrating the graces and blessings of the Lord. In this way, our desire to belong to Him is strengthened, and the vow of our consecration is confirmed.
Therefore, the Holy Father underscored, Scripture should always be “the nourishment of your contemplation and of your daily life, so that you can share this transforming experience.”
Path of sanctification
The Pope stressed that the path of sanctification for a nun, “as rich in fervor and inspiration as it may be,” cannot be reduced to a merely personal journey, as it necessarily has a communal dimension, lived out in fraternal service, “reflecting Christ’s universal love for the Church and for humanity.”
The Holy Father encouraged them in their daily practice of “walking together,” in mutual listening, in communal discernment under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and in communion with the local Church and the Benedictine monastic Congregation, especially in fraternal assemblies, in common prayer, and in shared decisions.
Model for entire people of God
Monastic life, the Pope said, becomes, in a world often marked by self-absorption and individualism, a model for the entire People of God, reminding us that being missionaries, before doing things, requires a way of being and of living relationships.
He praised a particular aspect of cloistered mission, namely that of intercession, in which the Word, made prayer, unites us to Christ, who intercedes for us.
This, the Pope said, is a primary and fundamental aspect of the work entrusted to you, and invited them to draw inspiration from the prophetess Anna, who never left the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayer.
“Having been widowed and now advanced in years, she had made the house of God her home,” he said, adding how prayer and asceticism allowed her to recognize the Messiah.
Primacy of charity and love of Christ
The Pope also stressed the importance of ongoing formation, rooted in “knowing the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.”
As Pope Leo XIV praised their great efforts, lived in the primacy of charity, so that each monastery may become ever more a “school of the service of the Lord,” he entrusted them to the Blessed Mother, Saint Benedict, Saint Scholastica, and the many Benedictine Saints.
