Yield to silence and God in front of nature and monasteries, pope says

Silence and the beauty of creation are conditions that “point to meditation and God,” Benedict XVI said in today’s general audience in Castel Gandolfo. From a spiritual perspective, such places “are a basic structure of the world.” Many Spanish-speaking pilgrims will travel with the Pontiff to Madrid for World Youth Day next week.
08/10/2011

Castel Gandolfo (AsiaNews) – Benedict XVI has urged Catholics to visit monasteries and hermitages and yield to silence and the contemplation of nature. The “beauty of creation” and “silence” are conditions that “point to meditation and God”. For him, the “soul, thanks to God, also has its needs”. Thus, “the fact of letting oneself be filled by silence, tasting it, predisposes to prayer”. Prophet Elijah is an example, the pontiff noted. Faced with earthquakes, the wind and fire, Elijah did not hear the voice of God. Instead, he “recognised it in a light breeze”. Hence, “we must learn how to listen” to the Lord, the pope explained.

Monasteries were born within the Christian tradition for this reason. The “places where God speaks are a closed space that is open to heaven,” the theologian pope said. “Silence and the beauty of the places where a monastic community lives reflect the spiritual harmony men try to create,” he added. “From a spiritual point of view, such places of the spirit are a basic structure of the world.” It is not an accident that during the summer and times of rest, “many people visit monasteries”, hermitages, convents founded by great saints “in particularly beautiful places, in valleys, mountains and even on small islands.” the rest