From Pope Benedict XVI…
My beloved Poor Clare Sisters, may St Francis, St Clare and the many Saints of your Order help you “to persevere faithfully until to the end” in your vocation. You are in special way, under the cloak of the Virgin Mary, whom today the liturgy leads us to contemplate at the foot of the cross, associated intimately to the mission of Christ and participating with a mother’s pain in the work of the salvation. On Calvary Jesus gave us his mother and has entrusted us to her as her children. The gift of virginal motherhood is also for you who follow her divine Son’s cross and embrace with serenity the difficulties and the trials of daily life.
Thus, beloved sisters, the Pope asks you to become burning torches of love, ‘hands joined’ vigilantly in unceasing prayer, totally detached from the world, to support the ministry of him whom Jesus called to guide his Church. You are poor sisters who, following the example of St. Francis and St. Clare, observe ‘the holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, living in obedience, without anything of your own, and in chastity.’
Public opinion does not always acknowledge the silent commitment of those who, like you, try to put the Gospel into practice with simplicity and joy. But, be certain, the contribution that you make to the apostolic and missionary work of the Church in the world is truly extraordinary, and God will continue to bless you with the gift of many vocations, as he has already done.
Meeting with the Sisters of the Poor Clare Monastery of the Immaculate Conception, Castel Gandolfo, 15 September 2007
Dear young friends: only Jesus knows what “definite service” he has in mind for you. Be open to his voice resounding in the depths of your heart: even now his heart is speaking to your heart… He needs the powerful love of the contemplative religious, who sustain the Church’s witness and activity through their constant prayer… Ask our Lord what he has in mind for you! Ask him for the generosity to say “yes!” Do not be afraid to give yourself totally to Jesus. He will give you the grace you need to fulfil your vocation.
Prayer Vigil at Hyde Park, London, 18 September 2010
