Sometimes women ask us “How do I know if I am called to be an Apostle of the Interior Life?” Our answer is very simple: God knows it already!
This is a very reassuring thought. Pray before the Lord, and consider the four pillars of our charism described here below and what each pillar means.
We are a missionary community. An Apostle of the Interior Life must be able to adjust to a culture, language and environment that may be different than her own. We are required to be open, flexible, and trusting in the Lord.
“The right to admit candidates belongs to the Responsible of the Community with the contribution of the General Counsel. The age of admission ranges roughly from 18 to 30 years; however a person a little over 30 years old, with natural qualities and particular gifts, may still be receptive to specific formation” (Rule of Life #48).
PRAYER:
The Apostle of the Interior Life has a special love for the Lord, a desire to consecrate her life completely to Him, giving Him her undivided heart. The Virgin Mary is the perfect model of docility to Him, and to His Word.
“The spirituality of the Apostles of the Interior Life is permeated with the contemplation of the mystery of the intimate life of God and of the redemptive mystery of Christ through his Priesthood” (RoL #1).
An intense life of prayer united with wise spiritual direction is the basis of their interior formation.
Daily prayer consists of:
- One half-hour of Meditation
- Holy Mass with at least ten minutes of Eucharistic Communion
- Complete recitation of the Liturgy of the Hours
- One hour of Eucharistic Adoration
- Recitation of the Holy Rosary
- Spiritual reading of twenty minutes
Their complete prayer time, spread throughout the day, as said above, in practice, lasts from three and half to four hours” (RoL # 34-35).
COMMUNITY LIFE
The Apostle of the Interior Life desires to share her life with her sisters in Christ, women of different ages, backgrounds, nationalities … and more. Each sister is called by the Lord to the same Charism: in Him we find unity and the desire to become a Saint.
“The reasons for which they choose community life are many:
- For continual accountability and reciprocal witness
- For mutual growth and enrichment through the integration of personal qualities and values
- For reciprocal help ordered towards preparation for apostolate
- For the presence of Jesus, promised where two or more are gathered in his name
- For the spreading of God’s kingdom: “As you Father, are in me and I in you, they also are in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me” (Jn 17:21)(RoL#41).
FORMATION
The Apostle of the Interior Life has a passion to learn the Truth, to know God and the human being. She desires to be shaped into the person God desired her to be when He created her and is open to ongoing formation.
“Because of her natural tendency, as a woman the Apostle of the Interior Life is most attentive to the formation of the person” (RoL #6).
“Intellectual formation must be fit to the importance and needs of their apostolate. Therefore the Apostles prepare themselves through philosophical and theological studies, possibly in a Pontifical University, attaining the academic titles that are suitable with and in conformity to the apostolic goal of the Community. (RoL #34)
The formation of the Apostles of the Interior life is ongoing and continues even after the completion of the academic curriculum, so as to be able to pursue the apostolic ends” (RoL # 35).
APOSTOLATE
The Apostle of the Interior Life desires to bring Christ to all nations and cares for the spiritual needs of her brothers and sisters.
“The vows of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience are not only for their personal sanctification but also for an apostolic goal that consists in the direct apostolate of evangelization aimed at interior formation and spiritual assistance” (RoL #20).
