The monastery in the local Church

8. The monastery is the place guarded by God (cf. Zach 2:9); it is the dwelling-place of his unique presence, like the Tent of Meeting where he is met day after day, where the thrice-Holy God fills the entire space and is recognized and honoured as the only Lord.

A contemplative monastery is a gift also for the local Church to which it belongs. Representing the prayerful face of the Church, a monastery makes the Church's presence more complete and meaningful in the local community. (⁴⁹) A monastic community may be compared to Moses who, in prayer, determined the fate of Israel's battles (cf. Ex 17:11), or to the guard who keeps the night watch awaiting the dawn (cf. Is 21:6).

The monastery represents what is most intimate to a local Church – its heart, where the Spirit always groans in supplication for the entire community and where thanksgiving rises unceasingly for the Life which he sends forth each day (cf. Col 3:17).

It is important that the faithful learn to honour the charism and the specific role of contemplatives, their discreet but crucial presence, and their silent witness which constitutes a call to prayer and a reminder of the truth of God's existence.

As pastors and guides of all of God's flock, (⁵⁰) the Bishops are the chief guardians of the contemplative charism. Therefore, they must nurture contemplative communities with the bread of the Word and the Eucharist, offering where necessary the spiritual assistance of properly trained priests. At the same time they share with the community the task of keeping watch so that, in today's society marked by dispersion, a lack of silence and illusory values, the life of monasteries, nourished by the Holy Spirit, may remain genuinely and wholly directed towards the contemplation of God.

Only in the perspective of their true and fundamental apostolic mission, which consists in “concerning themselves with God alone”, will monasteries be able – to the extent and in a way conforming to the spirit and tradition of their particular religious family – to welcome those who wish to draw from their spiritual experience or share in the community's prayer. Physical separation however should be maintained, in a way that recalls the meaning of contemplative life and safeguards the conditions for it, in conformity with the norms on enclosure set out in this Document. (⁵¹)

In a spirit of freedom and hospitality, “with the tenderness of Christ”, (⁵²) nuns bear in their hearts the sufferings and anxieties of all those who seek their help, and indeed of all men and women. Deeply attuned to the experiences of the Church and of people today, they cooperate spiritually in building the Kingdom of Christ so that “God may be everything to everyone” (1 Cor 15:28).