96. CONTEMPLATIVES IN ACTION

You have in you a spiritual gift which was given to you when the prophets spoke and the body of elders laid their hands on you; do not let it lie unused. Think hard about all this, and put it into practice, and everyone will be able to see how you are advancing. Take great care about what you do and what you teach; always do this, and in this way you will save both yourself and those who listen to you.

Apostolic involvement with the world, community life, and the experience of God in prayer complement one another and make an organic unity in the life of a missioner. For, when we pray, faith, fraternal love, and apostolic zeal are constantly renewed; and in action, the love of God and neighbor is effectively manifested. Through the intimate union of prayer and apostolate, a mission becomes a contemplative in action and an apostle in prayer.

Vincentians are not contemplatives in the strict canonical sense of the word, i.e., they are not cloistered like the monks who devote their lives to quiet prayer. At the same time, our missionaries do not spend all their time in apostolic activity. The confreres unite contemplation and the apostolate in a singular way, mutually nourishing and interrelating each other.

1. CHOSEN BY GOD TO BE INSTRUMENTS OF HIS CHARITY

Charity embraces everything: the apostolate and prayer, contemplation and action. All ought, therefore, to live together in charity. Each institute, however, expresses this love of God and love of neighbor according to the purpose which they are established. The Congregation has been chosen by God to be an instrument of Jesus' charity, to enable people to love one another and love God:

God has raised up this Little Company, like all others, for his love and good pleasure. All aim to love him, but they love him in different ways: Carthusians, by solitude; Capuchins, by poverty; others again by singing his praises. But we, if we have this love, are bound to show it by leading people to love God and their neighbor; to love the neighbor for the sake of God and God for the sake of the neighbor. We have been chosen by God as instruments of his boundless and fatherly love which desires to be established in and to replenish souls. If we but knew the meaning of this holy commitment, how differently we would act.

2. THE PERFECTION OF LIFE IS OBTAINED THROUGH THE SANCTIFICATION OF DAILY ACTIVITIES

There should be no separation between our apostolic life and our prayer life. When this separation occurs, the unity of the missionaries' life is destroyed, because their holiness is intimately connected to the fulfillment of their ministry. Vatican II addresses this issue in the following way:

In this way priests are made strong in the life of the spirit by exercising the ministration of the Spirit and of justice, provided they are prepared to listen to the inspiration of the Spirit of Christ who gives them life and guidance. For it is through the sacred actions they perform everyday, as through their whole ministry which they exercise in union with the bishop and their fellow priests, that they are set on the right course to perfection of life. The very holiness of priests is of the greatest benefit for the fruitful fulfillment of their ministry. While it is possible for God's grace to carry out the work of salvation through unworthy ministers, yet God ordinarily prefers to show his wonders through those men who are more submissive to the impulse and guidance of the Holy Spirit and who, because of their intimate union with Christ and their holiness of life, are able to say with Saint Paul: 'It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.'

3. OUR RELATIONSHIP WITH THE LORD GIVES LIFE TO OUR APOSTOLIC ACTIVITY

In his famous apostolic exhortation, Paul VI unveiled for us the mysteries that give life to our apostolate:

When your vocation destines you for other tasks in the service of others, pastoral life, missions, teachings, works of charity and so on, is it not above all the intensity of your union with the Lord that will make them fruitful, in proportion to that union 'in secret?' In order to be faithful to the teaching of the Council must not 'the members of each community who are seeking God before all else combine contemplation with apostolic love? By the former they cling to God in mind and heart; by the latter they strive to associate themselves with the work of redemption and to spread the kingdom of God.'

***** Is my life animated and directed by Jesus' charity? Does God's love give life to and unite all my actions?

***** Do I share with others the fruit of my prayer?

***** Can I say with Saint Paul, "It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me?"

PRAYER:

Father, you have taught the ministers of your Church not to desire that they be served but to serve their brothers and sisters. May they be effective in their work and persevering in their prayer, performing their ministry with gentleness and concern for others. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.