On a visit to the nuns of the Camaldolese Monastery of Sant'Antonio Abate, Francis spoke about Mary, "the most expressive icon of Christian hope". He also prayed for the victims of natural disasters in the Philippines and Sardinia and for persecuted Christians around the world.

Rome (AsiaNews) - "We cannot wait for God's tomorrow; we want it now!" not like Mary for whom "God's tomorrow is today." Mary, "the most expressive icon of Christian hope" was central to the Pope's meditation, which he gave this afternoon during a visit to the Camaldolese Monastery of Sant'Antonio Abate at the foot of Rome's Aventine hill on the occasion of the Day for contemplative Life and the Year of Faith, which ends next Sunday.

The pope celebrated Vespers with the 21 nuns of the community following the Camaldolese rule, praying, among other things, for the victims of natural disasters in the Philippines and Sardinia as well as for persecuted Christians around the world.

The pope has also spoken about the plight of the Philippines just before he left the Vatican, during a meeting with a group of Filipino pilgrims in St Peter's Basilica.

"In these times of so much suffering do not tire of saying: Why? As children do. . . .  This way, you will draw our Father's eyes on your people; you will draw the tenderness of the Father who is in Heaven upon yourself, as children do when they asks, Why? Why?"

In an atmosphere that was intense, with nuns singing in their white robes around him, the pope spoke about Mary, who totally entrusted her life right when the angel made his announcement.

"We see her when the one who was announced as the Messiah was born in poverty," he explained, "then when the prophecy [foretold that] a spear would pierce her heart" and above all on Golgotha.

"Mary is the woman of sorrows," he said. "Everything seems to be over" and "She could have said that the promises of the Annunciation deceived her." Yet her faith does not waver. "She sees the future resting on this faith. She knows how to wait for God's tomorrow. [. . .] For her, God's tomorrow is today."

"The only lamp burning on the tomb is the mother's lamp," he noted. "I wonder if this lamp is still burning in monasteries; if people are still waiting for God's tomorrow in monasteries."

In conclusion, "We owe much to this mother of hope," he said, someone who "sustains us in times of darkness, difficulty, seeming setback, and human defeat."

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