Pope observes Day for Contemplative Life

November 22, 2013 - On Thursday, when day the Vatican observed the Day for Contemplative Life on the occasion of the Year of Faith that ends on Sunday, Pope Francis visited the motherhouse of the Camaldolese nuns in the Monastery of St. Anthony the Abbot in Rome. It was the liturgical feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Pope shared a meditation on Mary who, he said, is "the most expressive icon of Christian hope". "We cannot wait for God's tomorrow; we want it now!" not like Mary for whom "God's tomorrow is today," the Pope said during a Vespers service with the cloistered Camaldolese nuns who form part of the Benedictine family of monastic communities. He called on the nuns to be women of hope, saying that hope is “nourished by listening, contemplation and patience.” Pope Francis said that at the foot of the cross, everything appeared to be really over, all hope cut off. Mary could have said that the promises of the Annunciation deceived her; yet her faith does not waver and she sees the future resting on this faith. She knows how to wait for God's tomorrow. For her, “God's tomorrow is today." "The only lamp burning on the tomb is the mother's lamp," the Pope noted, wondering if “this lamp is still burning in monasteries; if people are still waiting for God's tomorrow in monasteries." "We owe much to this mother of hope," someone who "sustains us in times of darkness, difficulty, seeming setback, and human defeat," the Pope added.