The urgings of the Spirit and the hunger of the people, their thirst for God, compel us to share our prayer and to teach people how to pray.
This is part of the prophetic dimension of our vocation: to help people listen for the voice of God in their lives. Our Holy Mother Saint Teresa of Avila foreshadowed the conclusion of the Second Vatican Council when the Church proclaimed, Since the contemplative life belongs to the fullness of the Church’s presence, let it be put into effect everywhere (Ad Gentes, 18).
Through her writings, Teresa shared her own experiences of God, which led to union, and she encouraged her nuns and many others to persevere, despite dryness, trials and difficulties. She stressed the apostolic character of contemplative prayer.
Our community feels called to do for God’s people in our time what Teresa did for them in her time, using the means and media that is appropriate now, in ways consistent with our contemplative lives. Following Vatican II, we made a decision to support our contemplative life in ways directly related to prayer.
