The absolute necessity of union with God

16. Mission, which begins with the Father, requires that those who are sent exercise their awareness of love in the dialog of prayer. Therefore, in these times of apostolic renewal, as always in every form of missionary engagement, a privileged place is given to the contemplation of God, to meditation on His plan of salvation, and to reflection on the signs of the times in the light of the Gospel so that prayer may be nourished and grow in quality and frequency.

It is urgently necessary that everyone appreciate prayer and have recourse to it. Bishops and their priest-collaborators (cf. LG 25; 27; 28; 41), "dispensers of the mysteries of God" (1 Cor 4:1) "should aim to make of one mind in prayer all who are entrusted to their care, and to ensure their advancement in grace through the reception of the sacraments, and that they become faithful witnesses to the Lord" (CD 15). Religious, in turn, inasmuch as they are called to be, as it were, specialists in prayer (Paul VI, Oct. 28, 1966), "should seek and love above all else God..." and "in all circumstances they should take care to foster a life hidden with Christ in God (cf. Col 3:3) which is the source and stimulus of love of neighbor" (PC 6).

By disposition of divine Providence, today many of the faithful are led by an inner impulse to gather in groups to hear the Gospel, to meditate and give themselves up to contemplation. Consequently for the very efficacy of mission, it is indispensable to make certain that all, especially pastors, give themselves up to prayer, and likewise that religious institutes preserve in their form of dedication to God, both by fostering the eminent role that communities of contemplative life hold in this field (cf. PC 7 and AG 18), and by providing that religious, dedicated to apostolic work nourish their intimate union with Christ and give clear witness of it (cf. PC 8).