Even On Vacation...

...a Pope's work is never done.

Then again, the papal exodus to the Salesian-owned chalet at Les Combes offers time for the more relaxing pleasures of life, like picking berries from a tree....


...listening to the trinkling of the fountain...
















...and, of course, the impromptu Bach/Mozart session.

From yesterday, B16 on the importance of vacation... and contemplation:

On Friday, the pope went to visit a convent of the Carmelites not far from the small villa where he spending his holidays and where he prayed for the Holy Land. Today, after exalting the beauty of the mountains, saying they are a tribute to their Creator, the pope said that “by happy coincidence, this Sunday falls on 16 July, the day when the liturgy recalls the Blessed Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. Carmel, the headland which rises above the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, at the same level as Galilee, has many natural grottoes among its peaks, sought after by hermits. The most celebrated of these men of God was the great prophet Elijah, who in the IX century before Christ strenuously defended the purity of the faith in the one true God from contamination by idolatrous cults. Drawing inspiration from the figure of Elijah, the contemplative Order of the “Carmelites” emerged, the religious family that featured among its members great saints like Teresa of Avila, John of the Cross, Teresa of the Child Jesus and Teresa blessed by the Cross (Edith Stein). The Carmelites spread the devotion of the Blessed Virgin of Mount Carmel among the Christian people, highlighting her as a model of prayer, contemplation and dedication to God”.

The pope added: “Today I want to entrust all communities of contemplative life scattered around the world to the Queen of Mt Carmel, especially those of the Carmelite Order, including the monastery of Quart, not far from here. May Mary help each and every Christian meet God in the silence of prayer.”

Buone vacanze, Fluffy.


PHOTOS: Reuters/L'Osservatore

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