Pope Leo XIV received monks and nuns from three Italian Benedictine communities on March 30 and reflected on the Benedictine charism, emphasizing lectio divina, community life, and intercession, as well as ongoing formation.
“In identifying ‘the instruments of good works,’ Saint Benedict, in Chapter IV of the Rule, urges us to ‘keep guard over one’s every act,’” Pope Leo said. “You, contemplative Benedictine nuns, Benedictine monks, know well how much prayer and prayerful reading of the Word of God, especially in the lectio divina, assist in this vigilance, enabling those who practice them to understand the truth about themselves, in the recognition of their own weaknesses and sins and in the celebration of the Lord’s graces and blessings.”
The Pope concluded:
Dear brothers and sisters, thank you for the immense and hidden good you do for the Church, through your offering, your unceasing prayer, your service, and the witness of your life. Continue this work, which is “the work of God” (cf. Saint Benedict, Rule, 43, 3).
I entrust you to Mary Most Holy, Mother of Silence, Woman of Listening, to Saint Benedict, to Saint Scholastica, and to the many Benedictine saints, and I bless you from my heart.