From the cloistered nuns of Treviso the wish for a Christmas in which everyone can find themselves “The limitations of this time as an opportunity to rediscover the essential” 12/12/2020 16:18 | Roberto Grigoletto |
The cloistered monastery of the Visitation is located at the gates of the center of Treviso. Better known as the “monastery of the Courts”, it has housed the Visitandine nuns since 1913. It was Pope Pius X (Giuseppe Sarto) from Treviso who brought them to Treviso, where they brought the relic that is venerated in the monastery church: the heart of flesh of the founder of the Order, St. Francis de Sales (also patron of us journalists, ed).
Church and guest quarters are very popular with the faithful and friends of the monastery. Many arrive – and even more numerous those who return – to ask the cloistered prayers, spiritual accompaniment, discernment.
Advent, a “strong” liturgical time for the Church, is lived intensely in the meditation of the Mystery by the monastic community. However, when we knocked, the fourteen sisters, aged between 34 and 89, consulted. And the answer was not lacking.
Season of Advent: have your habits changed? Our day always begins with waking up at 5.30. At 6 am the hour of prayer, followed by Holy Mass with Lauds inserted. The day is marked by prayer with the liturgy of the hours and by work; it includes times of recreation between sisters and of formation. It will be a different Christmas this year, due to the pandemic.
What messages are you receiving in this period from outside the monastery? How do people who come to you say they feel? People tell us they have so many problems in their families. They are worried because they are often out of work; also angry that they cannot gather. Anxious and distressed. They ask for comfort and help.
Fear and anguish about the epidemic? Yes, in fact they ask us for prayers for this.
And how are you cloistered nuns living this time? We are calm and act prudently, abiding by the norms of the Church. We live in a spirit of preparation for Christmas, carrying the concerns and needs of our brothers in our hearts. Limitations, closures, isolation: the prohibitions of the pandemic are making everyone experience something that somewhat resembles what you cloistered have chosen as a vocation and as a following. What can the women and men of today have to accept to make certain sacrifices teach? The limitations of this time can be an opportunity to rediscover what is essential for one’s life. We would like to affirm and underline that we have chosen the Person of Jesus, who is Everything, and our monastic life is a free response to His call, therefore we do not experience either constraint or isolation. A Christmas freed from consumerism – since there will be no rush for gifts and dinners – may perhaps be experienced in its most proper sense … It seems to us that this condition that people live, for some, and especially for those who have faith, will be an opportunity to deepen the most authentic meaning of Christmas and that of family ties. However, we recognize that even the exterior of Christmas, such as gathering and celebrations, have an important positive impact on people.
And for those who don’t believe? For some souls far from the faith, we hope it will be a favorable time to come back into themselves, to increase fraternity and to appreciate people more than things. For others, however, it can be, and is, an occasion for exasperation.
What do you wish Treviso people for this Christmas? Especially to those who, due to the epidemic, are experiencing hardships and difficulties. We wish them that they will be able to deepen the authentic meaning of Christmas: the very Person of Jesus Christ, to find in him Peace, abandonment and trust. “Lift up your front doors”: open your heart to Jesus! Open your “inner” doors. Encourage and support each other. Stand up, raise your head, because your liberation is near! It is He, he is here and he is close to you. And with you.
Will a new man and a better life be born in our communities after the Covid test? The numerous testimonies of solidarity, of fraternity show us that it is possible. This depends on the free response of each. Merry Christmas, Sisters. Merry Christmas. God be blessed.
