Before concluding this week of spiritual exercises and retreat, I have the pleasure – a moment of blessing – to be able to say thanks above all to our preacher who accompanied us, helped us, during these days, to live a profound, spiritual experience, very important in our Lenten journey, starting on Sunday with “The Temptations”and reflecting on the example, the testimony of Saint Bernard, monastic life and many other elements in the life of the Church.
I must admit that personally I found myself particularly invited to reflect at some moments. For example, this morning, when he spoke about the election of Pope Eugene III and Saint Bernard, he said: “What have you done? God have mercy on you.”
Then this chapel – I’ll tell you – on the 8th of May, when we were gathered here for the Eucharistic celebration. Above is the inscription from Saint Paul’s Letter to the Philippians which says these words: “For to me, living is Christ and dying is gainSo, in this context and with this spirit of communion, all of us gathered together work together, but very separated at timesand finding ourselves in prayer is also – I think – a very important moment in our lives, reflecting on many issues that are important for our lives and for the Church.
And I don’t think I’m going to review the whole week, but some elements that I share. For example, the reference to the Doctor of the Church John Henry Newman and the poem “The Dream of Gerontius,” where Newman uses the death and judgment of Gerontius as a prism through which the reader is led to contemplate his own fear of death and his own sense of unworthiness before God.
There are other elements such as freedom, truth, which are so important in our lives. And in all of this, this evening with the reflection on hope and on the true source of hope which is Christ, I went back to reread the Letter to the Philippians. In the continuation of the text, written above, where Paul says: “But if living in the body means working fruitfully, I really don’t know what to choose
for I am caught between these two things: I have the desire to leave this life to be with Christ, which would be much better, but for you it is more necessary that I remain in the body. Persuaded by this, I know that I will remain and will continue to remain among all of you for the progress and joy of your faith.” And then he says: “Therefore conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ.”
Here you are: this is the invitation at the end of these days of prayer and reflection, which the same
Word of God addresses to all of us: “Conduct yourselves therefore in a manner worthy of the Gospel of Christ”.
On behalf of everyone present, then, I thank you, Monsignor Varden, for everything you have offered us in these days. Wisdom, this testimony of his and of the monastic life of Saint Bernard, the richness of his reflections will be a source of blessing for us for a long time to come, of grace, of an encounter with Jesus Christ.
I would also like, at this moment, to thank the collaborators of the Liturgical Celebrations Office who have prepared all the material for our prayer, as well as the choir which I believe is still present. Thank you for helping us with music, which is so important in ours too
prayer. The music – I believe Monsignor Varden said this at some point – It helps us in a way that words cannotlifting our spirit towards the Lord. So thank you, many thanks to all of you for your presence and participation in these days.
We can conclude with the blessing.
