“These sites combine two very important elements for the contemplative life: the beauty of creation, which refers to that of the Creator, and the silence guaranteed by their remoteness from the cities and highways of communication.”
The Pope charted the history of man’s quest for God – and God’s quest for man – conducted through silence and prayer.
From the Old Testament, he noted that God spoke to the prophet Elijah on Mount Sinai in “the gentle breeze” rather than through wind, earthquake or fire.
He then highlighted the thirteenth-century life of St. Clare of Assisi - whose feast day is tomorrow – observing how she created a community at San Damiano on the outskirts of Assisi, “living on prayer and small jobs.”
“God speaks in silence, but you need to know how to listen,” said the Pope. “For that, monasteries are oases in which God speaks to humanity; in them one finds the cloister, a symbolic place, because it is an enclosed space but open to the sky.”
Hence, when we are “looking at things from a spiritual perspective,” the spirit of monastic places actually provides the “backbone of the world!” he said.
Pope Benedict suggested it was “no coincidence” that so many people, especially during times of rest, choose to stay for a few days in convents or monasteries, since “the soul, thank God, has its own needs!”
The Pope then concluded his address by pointing to the Virgin Mary as the person who can best “teach us to love silence and prayer.” He finished the audience by leading pilgrims in the recitation of the Our Father and imparting his apostolic blessing.