To Inculturate the Gospel
Contemplative Life & the Evangelization of the Culture
Our contemplative sisters participate in a real and profound way in the charism of our Religious Family of the Incarnate Word: to evangelize the culture, thus prolonging the Incarnation (Constitutions, 5). They do this in two ways – first and primarily by their life of prayer, and secondly in concrete activities that serve to transform the world and offer it to God.
Our contemplative sisters seek to “permeate the culture” (Constitutions, 28), “to transform and offer the world to God” (Constitutions, 1), “to enter cultures … [in order]to heal them and to elevate them with the strength of the Gospel” (Directory of Spirituality, 46).
On the Front Line…
The contemplative sisters share in the apostolic mission of our Religious Family with their life of prayer and penance – the unum necessarium (Lk 10:42), the one thing necessary.
“They actually are at the vanguard (front line) of all apostolic works of the Institute,” being “the keystones of the apostolic endeavor of our Institute.”
– SSVM Monastic Rule, 140
To Permeate the Culture
Many of our contemplative monasteries assist actively in this work of evangelizing the culture through facilitating the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius for the laity, praying for and receiving visitors, and engaging in and striving to be sources of culture. They also seek to elevate the liturgy through the embroidery of altar linens, chasubles and other items used in Sacred Worship, as well as in sacred music and chant.
“Historically, it was the monasteries that safeguarded for humanity all works of great importance for the human spirit, throughout the centuries; becoming sources of culture, teaching inside their walls the works of the Holy Fathers, the secular Greek and Latin authors, the sciences and the liberal arts such as painting, music, etc. Therefore, in the monasteries cultural activities will be carried out that contribute toward their own goal (union with God), and toward the specific purpose of the Institute: the evangelization of the culture.”
— SSVM Monastic Rule, 167
For women interested in discerning the contemplative life within our Institute, there is the possibility of visiting our contemplative community, sharing in moments of prayer, work, and community life with the sisters. For more information contact:
Mother Pia Mater, SSVM
Director of Contemplative Vocations
E-mail: m.piamater@servidoras.org
Tel: (347) 446-5981
