I read, with excitement, that the Pope has decided to focus his attention on a saint that is influential to both of our lives, St. Benedict. The article on Zenit.org had this very intersting quote...
The Pope said that St. Benedict's decision to found an abbey at Monte Cassino was symbolically important because although the site was remote from nearby towns it was very visible on the mountain. The location sent a message, the Pope observed: "monastic life has its raison d'etre in withdrawal and concealment, but a monastery also has a public role in the life of the Church and of society."
The Pope made a similar argument in Spe Salvi, that monastic life is not a flight from the world but is still connected to it through work. We can see here the tension that we fill in this world between the "now" and "not yet" of eschatology coming through the Pope's comments.
