Prayer life
“Prayer is the only thing which has power over God.”
(Tertullian)
“The contemplation of Divine things and assiduous union with God in prayer must be the first and principal duty of all religious”. This was the same exhortation which Jesus gave to his disciples when he said, “Pray without growing weary” (Lk18:1) and of Saint Paul who said, “Pray without ceasing.” (1Thes 5:17).
If prayer is the first duty of every religious, it is particularly so for the contemplative nun, who occupies her whole life in it. The contemplative nun should not forget the praise that the Lord addressed to her who, renouncing all other activities, dedicated herself to contemplate him: Mary has chosen the better part which will not be taken away from her (Lk 10:42b).
In prayer we should ask for what we should desire. We should desire goods not only for ourselves, but also for others. "Necessity obliges one to pray for oneself, but fraternal charity exhorts us to pray for another; and the sweetest prayer before God is not that which necessity imposes, but that which fraternal charity recommends."
The center of this environment of recollection is the Eucharist: the sacrifice of the Holy Mass is celebrated daily and with all dignity. The Blessed Sacrament is adored at twice a day for an hour. Around the Tabernacle, the nuns practice liturgical prayer, "an indispensable means to reach union with God".
Our nuns lift up their praises in thanksgiving and supplication to God through the recitation of the Divine Office and the beauty of Gregorian chant, the unanimous voice that the Church has raised to the Bridegroom for centuries.
"From the rising of the sun to its setting, let the name of the LORD be praised!" (Ps 113:3) and so, even before dawn begins to shine, the Contemplative awakens to begin singing her unceasing hymn of love for God through the Liturgy of the Hours. With breviary in hand, in monasteries all over the world, the prayers of all contemplatives who, throughout their day, sing the liturgical hours, rise to the heavens like "incense of sweet aroma".
A Contemplative of the Religious Family of the Incarnate Word also has the mission of being at the forefront of the Institute, praying for the missions and missionaries, especially priests.
Outside the choir, the contemplative remains in a spirit of prayer, seeking intimacy with God in all that she thinks, speaks and does (Monastic Rule, 21). An excellent means for this is silence, "silence of the whole being" which manifests "that in the presence of God there is nothing more to say".