Let’s look not only at the history of the family, but also at the history of the Church. There we find communities that have made the contemplative life their permanent goal, the constant content of their life. And this contemplative life has its counterpart in the active life. The union of the two constitutes the apostolic lifestyle.

To which stream of life do we as a whole belong? Here’s the answer: to the stream of the apostolic lifestyle, which is a union of contemplative and active life. To be more precise, those who are dedicated to intense apostolic activity, because of the current to which they have offered their love and their name, also try to cultivate the contemplative life, striving for the stability of its roots, for the solidity of the ground of external action.

This means: to strive for a union and communion of love with Eternal Love, a union that they cultivate and will continue to cultivate. And vice versa: Those who cultivate the contemplative life, at least the outer circle, who therefore do not dedicate themselves to adoration full time, this group can also dedicate themselves to the apostolate. So you see how these two streams flow together. Both are important, both are necessary, and both come together in the apostolic lifestyle. Each has something to say and to offer to the other. In time, neither can survive healthily without the other. The Dominicans emphasize what I mean in their motto: Contemplata aliis tradere! (Give to others what you have contemplated).

The riches acquired in deep contemplation and in the profound cultivation of the interior life must be made fully available to others through apostolic action.