Pope Francis says This is Love "Contemplatives, monks, nuns: people who pray, work, pray, in silence, for all the Church." - "Their prayer is oxygen for all the members of the Body of Christ..."

POPE FRANCIS at the GENERAL AUDIENCE
in Saint Peter's Square on Wednesday, 26 April 2023

_______________________________________

The passion for evangelization: the apostolic zeal of the believer. 2. Witnesses: monasticism and the power of intercession. Gregory of Narek

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Let us continue our catechesis on the witnesses of apostolic zeal. 

We started with Saint Paul, and last time we looked at the martyrs, who proclaim Jesus with their lives, to the point of giving their lives for Him and for the Gospel. But there is another great witness that runs through the history of faith: that of the nuns and monks, sisters and brothers who renounce themselves and who renounce the world to imitate Jesus on the path of poverty, chastity, and obedience, and to intercede on behalf of all. Their lives speak for themselves, but we might ask: how can people living in monasteries help the proclamation of the Gospel? Wouldn't they do better to put their energies into the mission? Coming out of the monastery and preaching the Gospel, outside … outside the monastery? In reality, the monks are the beating heart of the proclamation. This is curious: they are the beating heart. Their prayer is oxygen for all the members of the Body of Christ, their prayer is the invisible force that sustains the mission. It is no coincidence that the patroness of the missions is a nun, Saint Therese of the Child Jesus. Let us listen to how she discovered her vocation – she wrote: “I understood that the Church had a Heart and that this Heart was burning with love. I understood it was Love alone that made the Church’s members act, that if Love ever became extinct, apostles would not preach the Gospel and martyrs would not shed their blood. I understood that love comprised all vocations. … Then, in the excess of my delirious joy, I cried out: O Jesus, my Love .... my vocation, at last I have found it.... my vocation is love! … In the heart of the Church, my Mother, I shall be Love” (Autobiographical Manuscript “B”, 8 September 1896). Contemplatives, monks, nuns: people who pray, work, pray, in silence, for all the Church. And this is love: it is the love that is expressed by praying for the Church, working for the Church, in the monasteries.

This love for everyone inspires the life of nuns and monks, and is translated into their prayer of intercession. In this regard, I would like to offer you the example of Saint Gregory of Narek, Doctor of the Church. He is an Armenian monk, who lived around the year 1000, who left a book of prayers, in which the faith of the Armenian people, the first to embrace Christianity, is poured out; a people that, joined to the cross of Christ, has suffered so much throughout history. And Saint Gregory spent almost his entire life in the monastery of Narek. There he learned to peer into the depths of the human soul and, by fusing poetry and prayer together, marked the pinnacle of both Armenian literature and spirituality. What is most striking about him is the universal solidarity of which he is an interpreter. And among monks and nuns there is a universal solidarity: whatever happens in the world, finds a place in the heart, in their heart, and they pray, and they pray. The heart of monks and nuns is a heart that captures like an antenna, it picks up what happens in the world, and prays and intercedes for this. And in this way: they live in union with the Lord and with everyone. And one of them said: “I have voluntarily taken upon myself all faults, from those of the first father down to the last of his descendants, and I have held myself responsible for them”. It is what Jesus did: they take upon themselves the problems of the world, the difficulties, the ailments, many things, and they pray for them. And these are the great evangelizers. Monasteries are … but how can they live closed up, and evangelize? It is true… because with the word, for example, by intercession and daily work, they are a bridge of intercession for all people and all sins. They weep, even shedding tears, they weep for their sins – after all, we are all sinners – and they also weep for the sins of the world, and they pray and intercede with their hands and heart raised up. Let us think a little of this – if I may permit myself the use of the word – “reserve” that we have in the Church: they are the true strength, the true force that carries the People of God forward, and this is where the habit comes from that people have – the People of God – of saying “Pray for me, pray for me”, when they meet a consecrated man or woman, because they know there is a prayer of intercession. It will do us good – to the extent we are able – to visit a monastery, because there one prays and works. Each one has its own rules, but their hands are always occupied: engaged in work, engaged in prayer. May the Lord give us new monasteries, may he give us new monks and nuns to carry the Church forward with their intercession. Thank you.

____________________________________

Special Greetings

I extend a cordial welcome to Italian-speaking pilgrims. In particular, I greet the Franciscan Hospitaller Oblate Sisters who are celebrating their General Chapter; the Shalom Movement of the Diocese of San Miniato; the “Pietro Rossano” Association, with the Bishop of Alba; the confirmed ones of the Diocese of Treviso, accompanied by their Bishop, encouraging each one to be a joyful witness of Christ among their peers. Understood? Joyful witnesses of Christ among peers.

I greet with affection the soldiers of the Pozzuolo del Friuli Brigade and I thank them for their generous service around the Vatican City, as well as for the gift of the artistic mosaic. I am pleased to welcome the participants in the pilgrimage promoted by the Salesian Sisters of the Sacred Hearts in remembrance of the centenary of the death of Saint Filippo Smaldone. May the incisive pastoral action in the ecclesial and civil fields of this saint help you to persevere in the testimony of faith and adherence to the values of the Gospel.

Finally, a thought for young people, the sick, the elderly and newlyweds, inspired by the appearance of Christ to the two "disciples of Emmaus" (cf. Lk 24:13-35). Know how to encounter Jesus in prayer and reflection, and your heart, as it happened for the wayfarers of Emmaus, will burn with the desires, enthusiasms and certainties that only the divine Master can suggest.

And brothers and sisters, let us not forget to pray for battered Ukraine.

My blessing to all.

*******

Je salue cordialement les personnes de langue française, particulièrement les pèlerins venus des diocèses, des paroisses et des établissements scolaires de France ainsi que la Communauté polonaise de Chelles. Frères et sœurs, en ce temps de Pâques, demandons la grâce d’un cœur compatissant duquel jaillit constamment une prière d’intercession qui devient solidarité et soutien concret pour ceux qui souffrent. Que Dieu vous bénisse !

[I cordially greet the French-speaking people, especially the pilgrims from the dioceses, parishes and schools of France, as well as the Polish community of Chelles. Brothers and sisters, in this Easter season, let us ask for the grace of a compassionate heart from which constantly flows a prayer of intercession which becomes solidarity and concrete support for those who suffer. God bless you!]

[I welcome all English-speaking pilgrims, especially groups from England, Denmark, Malta, Kenya, Kuwait, Australia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Philippines and the United States of America. In the joy of the Risen Christ, I invoke upon you and your families the merciful love of God our Father. The Lord bless you!]

Liebe Brüder und Schwestern deutscher Sprache, das fürbittende Gebet macht uns in besonderer Weise bewusst, dass wir Kinder des einen Vaters und untereinander Brüder und Schwestern sind. Wir all. Bitte betet für mich, ich bete auch für euch!

[Dear German-speaking brothers and sisters, the prayer of intercession makes us particularly aware that we are children of the one Father and brothers and sisters among ourselves. We all. Please pray for me, I too pray for you.]

I cordially greet a los peregrinos de lengua española. Through the intercession of the saints and the saints who led their lives to the Lord in the silence of the cloister — for example, Saint Gregory of Narek, Saint Teresita del Niño Jesus and so many others—, let us pray for the grace of feeling the need of God and prepare to pray interceding for all. Que Jesús los bengiga y la Virgen Santa los cuide. Muchas gracias.

Saúdo os peregrinos de língua portuguesa, especialmente os grupos vindos de Portugal e do Brasil! Seguindo o exemplo de São Gregório de Narek, façamos da nossa vida de oração uma constante intercessão pelos nossos irmãos e irmãs, particularmente pelos mais necessitados do amor misericordioso de Deus. Que o Senhor vos abençoe!

[I greet the Portuguese-speaking pilgrims, especially the groups who have come from Portugal and Brazil! Following the example of St. Gregory of Narek, let us make our prayer life a constant intercession for all our brothers and sisters, especially for those most in need of God's merciful love. May the Lord bless you!]

أُحَيِّي المُؤمِنينَ الناطِقينَ باللغَةِ العربِيَّة. عندما نُصَلِّي فإنَّنا نَدخُلُ بانسجامٍ مع رحمةِ الله: رَحمَتُهُ تجاهَ خطايانا، وَرَحمٌاَر حمَتُهُ لكلِّ مَن طَلَبُوا أنْ نُصَلِّيَ مِن أجلِهم. هذه هي الصَّلاةُ الحقيقيَّة. باركَكُم الرّبُّ جَميعًا وحَماكُم دائِمًا مِن كُلِّ شَرّ!

[I greet the Arabic-speaking faithful. When we pray we are in tune with God's mercy: mercy towards our sins, mercy towards us, but also mercy towards all those who have asked to pray for them. This is true prayer. May the Lord bless you all and protect you always from all evil!]

Pozdrawiam serdecznie pielgrzymów polskich. Już za kilka dni, w Narodowym Sanktuarium św. Józefa w Kaliszu, będziecie obchodzić Dzień Męczeństwa Duchowieństwa Polskiego w czasie II wojny światowej. Życzę, by świadectwo polskich męczenników pobudzało kapłanów, osoby konsekrowane, wiernych świeckich, a szczególnie młodzież, do odwagi i ofiarności w służbie Bogu i braciom. Z serca Wam błogosławię.

[I cordially greet the Polish pilgrims. In a few days, at the National Shrine of St. Joseph in Kalisz, you will celebrate the Martyrdom Day of the Polish clergy during the Second World War. I hope that the testimony of the Polish martyrs will inspire priests, consecrated persons, the lay faithful, especially the young, to courage and generosity in the service of God and brothers. I bless you from my heart.]

Radosno pozdravljam hrvatske hodočasnike, a posebno članove Hrvatskog Vojnog učilišta iz Zagreba, kao i djelatnike Vojnog ordinarijata zajedno s njihovim biskupom, Msgr. Jurom Bogdanom. Dragi prijatelji, uskrsno vrijeme u kojemu hodimo jest plodonosan trenutak kršćanske nade; potičem vas da je nosite svima, kako bi vidjeli u vama istinske svjedoke Krista Uskrsloga, koji uvijek pobjeđuje svako zlo i daruje svoj mir onima koji ga traže iskrena srca. Udjeljujem svima vama i vašim obiteljima moj blagoslov. Hvaljen Isus i Marija!

[I am pleased to greet Croatian pilgrims, especially the members of the Croatian Military Academy in Zagreb, as well as the officers of the Military Ordinariate accompanied by their Bishop. Dear friends, the Easter season we are experiencing is the fruitful moment of Christian hope; I encourage you to bring it to everyone so that they may see in you the true witnesses of the Risen Christ, who always conquers all evil and gives His peace to those who seek it with a sincere heart. I impart my Blessing to all of you and your families. Praised be Jesus and Mary!]

__________________________________________