Pope to nuns in Madagascar:
Little acts of love save the world
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| Pope Francis laughs with Carmelite nuns in Madagascar (Vatican Media) |
Pope Francis departs from his prepared text and speaks from
the heart during his visit on Saturday with a group of contemplative sisters in
Madagascar at the Monastery of Discalced Carmelites in Antananarivo.
By Sr Bernadette Mary Reis, fsp
Pope Francis visited the Discalced Carmelite Monastery
dedicated to St Joseph in Antananarivo on Saturday morning. After praying
Midday Prayer with a group of 100 sisters from all over Madagascar, Pope
Francis decided to leave his prepared text with them in order to speak to them
from his heart.
Exquisite love
Pope Francis began by recounting a story from the life of St
Therese the Little Flower that many religious and contemplatives can relate to.
While St Therese helps an elderly sister to get from one place in the convent
to the other, helps to feed her, etc., the older sister repays her with
continual complaints. The Pope repeated several times that, notwithstanding how
St Therese was being treated by the older sister, “she kept smiling”.
“This is a story that reflects a small part of what happens
in community life”, the Pope said. St Therese is a model because “with the
strength of obedience she carried out this task with exquisite love” to the
point that St Therese was able to say to Jesus that all the parties in the
world could never make her happier than even one act of love for this older
sister.
It's little acts of love
The Pope then turned to a temptation commonly faced by many
contemplatives who truly feel called to help their brothers and sisters, but
who almost never know how their lives of prayer and sacrifice actually help
them. Pope Francis said it is through these “small acts of love” and the
“courage to believe” that God is pleased with these little acts of love that
“God saves the world”. Dreams of changing the world, or changing religious life
for the better, begins “with these little acts of love”, the Pope said. And
what is more, they make God present in our midst, he said.
Love and prayer
Pope Francis then focused on another aspect of contemplative
life: the daily struggle against temptation. His recommendation to the sisters
is to make known to another sister, or to a superior, what is going on inside.
“This is the help; this is the defense that you have in community: one helps
another in order to form a united front”, he said. Convent walls or grills are
helpless in keeping spiritual worldliness from entering in. “Love and prayer”
are enough, Pope Francis said. St. Therese herself, the Pope reminded the
sisters, was tempted even on her deathbed to the point that she thought she had
lost her faith. Her experience shows us that there is no end to the daily
struggle to love, to the fight against temptation, and the pursuit of holiness.
Speaking from experience
In conclusion, Pope Francis revealed that St Therese herself
“accompanies an old man”, referring to himself. “She has taught me a lot of
things”. Then, the Pope admitted, “at times I am a bit neurotic and I send her
away”, like her older sister did. The Pope then ended, saying:
“At times I listen to her, at times…I do not listen to her
well enough. But she is a faithful friend. Because of this…I wanted to share my
experience of a Saint and to tell you what a saint is capable of doing and the
way to become a saint.”
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