In his speech to the Mothers superior of 794 religious families from the five continents, Benedict XVI focussed his attention on what he called the "’mystic’ dimension of Consecrated Life", stating it must be fed by "contemplation". Then he added that "the ‘prophet’ first listens and contemplates, then he speaks", and "therefore a true prophet is not so much interested in ‘doing’, which is certainly important but never essential. He strives, first and foremost, to be the witness of God’s love, in the attempt to live such love amidst the reality of the world, even if its presence can sometimes be ‘awkward’". Then he urged the nuns to "shun comforts, ease, self-interest in order to accomplish their mission" and, "to do this, to establish a serene, friendly cooperation with the priests, the lay devotees and especially the families, so as to meet the sufferings, the needs, the material poverty and above all the spiritual poverty of so many of our contemporaries". The meeting will go on until Thursday May 10th.
