Pope Francis has issued a series of new regulations to help contemplative women Religious renew their life and mission in the Church and the world.
The new regulations include a mandate that “initially, all monasteries are to be part of a federation” based on “an affinity of spirit and traditions” with the aim of helping formation, sharing assets and exchanging members. Monasteries voting for an exception from joining a federation will need Vatican approval.
All institutes of contemplative women Religious will need to update their constitutions or rules so as to implement the norms and have those changes approved by the Holy See.
The 38-page document, Vultum Dei Quaerere (“Seeking the face of God”), contains 14 new articles ruling on various aspects of life within monasteries and their jurisdiction.
The bulk of the document outlines 12 aspects of consecrated life that call for “discernment and renewed norms” in an effort to help contemplative women fulfil their specific vocation and “essential elements of contemplative life”, the Pope wrote.
The text also notes today’s pervasive “digital culture” and praises the potential of the internet for communication. However, the Pope calls for “prudent discernment” in the use of new media so that they do not lead women to “wasting time or escaping from the demands of fraternal life in community” or become harmful to one’s vocation or an obstacle to contemplative life.
Mandatory norms each monastery will have to follow are: to verify the centrality and place of prayer in daily life; provide for lectio divina and Eucharistic adoration; find ways to involve the local church more; and provide “suitable moments of silence”.
Cardinal Sarah: let’s recover the meaning of adoration
Christians are called to be like St Mary Magdalene, who adored Christ upon finding him, an action that has somewhat lost its meaning in the Church, according to Cardinal Robert Sarah, prefect of the Vatican’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments.
He said the feast of St Mary Magdalene also serves as a reminder of the need to recuperate “the primacy of God and the primacy of adoration in the life of the Church and in liturgical celebrations”.
“I believe – and I say so humbly – that we Christians perhaps have lost a bit of the meaning of adoration. And we think: we go to church, we gather together like brothers, and it is good and beautiful. But the centre is there where God is. And we adore God,” he wrote in an article published in the Vatican newspaper, L’Osservatore Romano.
“What does it mean to adore God then? It means to learn to be with Him, to stop in order to speak with Him, to feel that His presence is the most true, the most good and the most important of all,” he wrote.
This year Pope Francis raised the memorial of St Mary Magdalene to a feast day.
Mercy ‘lowers blood pressure’
A bishop has told Native Americans at a Mass in Montana that mercy is a “gift that sets you free, lowers blood pressure and gives our body much-needed rest”.
Bishop George Thomas of Helena was speaking at a powwow that drew 10,000 people from 50 tribes. About a fifth of Native Americans are Catholic. Bishop Thomas said: “Call to mind those who have wronged you … Forgive them.”
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.