Pope Leo XIV โHighlights Hermits‘ Vital Role in Spiritual renewal During Jubilee Meeting
Vatican City – Popeโข Leo XIV underscored the โunique and increasingly vital mission of โฃhermits in fostering a deeper connection with God and offering spiritual guidance to a world grappling withโ loneliness and uncertainty, during a meeting with a group of Italian hermits โฃin Rome today. โขThe encounter, held as part of the Jubilee celebrations, focused on the power of contemplative life to revitalize faith and โขinspire compassion.
The โPope acknowledged the paradox of finding communion through a solitude often “marked by a โnegative type of loneliness,” stating that โhermitages becomeโฃ “oases โขof communion with God and with โour brothers and sisters.” he emphasized the crucial role โขhermits play in bolstering the spiritual health โof the wider Church.
“Your simple presence and your prayerful witness,through โcommunion with the bishop and fraternal relationshipโข with parishโ priests,become precious and fruitful,as โthey increase the ‘spiritual โขbreath’ of the Christian โcommunity,” Popeโฃ Leo XIV said,according to a Vatican statement.
The pontiff encouraged the hermits to remain rooted in the traditions of theโฃ Church Fathers – “safeguarding the Word, through the โฃ lectio divina and theโฃ service of prayer and intercession with the prayer of the Psalms” – โขwhile embracing “the creativity โof the Holy โspirit” to address contemporary spiritual needs. He โขspecifically noted their capacity to guide those “seeking meaning and truth,”โฃ often navigating “confused” paths.
“All of you can encourage others to return to themselves, to rediscover โฃthe center of gravity โof the heart, as Pope Francis taught us in the Encyclicalโข Dilexit โnos,” theโค Pope stated. He described hermitsโค as “guardians and witnesses” of the inherent โdesire for God present in every person, โคurging them โฃtoโค help others “discover it and nurture it within themselves.”
Pope Leo XIV further elaborated on the importance of inner contemplation, emphasizing the need to “enter this hidden place of the heart, patientlyโฃ delving into it,” a process requiring “emptying and divesting ourselves.”โฃ He stressed the importance of spiritual discipline, stating, “Once weโ have entered, God asks us to close the door to badโฃ thoughts in order to safeguard a pure, humbleโค and meek heart,โฃ through vigilance and spiritual combat.” Only then, he explained, can one truly experience “intimate dialog with the Father, who dwells and sees in secret, and in secret โfills us with his gifts.”
The Pope framed the hermits’ vocation as particularly vital in “troubled times,” highlighting their ability to generate “communion โand compassion forโข all humankind and for every creature” through โฃ”prayerful solitude.”โฃ he described them as acting as “leaven of divine life” within both the Church and broader society.
Concluding his address, Pope Leo XIV called onโข the hermits to “stand in theโฃ breach, with your hands raised and your hearts alert,” remaining steadfast “in the presence of God, in solidarity with the trials of humanity.”โฃ He offered a final image of โฃhope, urging them toโฃ “sail with the whole Church, our mother, onโ the stormy sea of history, โฃtowards the Kingdom โof love and peace that the Father prepares for all,” keeping their “gaze fixed on Jesus and opening the sails ofโข your hearts toโค his Spirit of life.”