.- The missionary´s secret is prayer, John Paul II emphasized, when he received 30 Augustinian nuns, Servants of Jesus and Mary, in audience this week.
The nuns were observing the 150th anniversary of the death of their founder, Mother Maria Teresa Spinelli.
The Holy Father proposed that the religious «harmonize the contemplative dimension and the missionary impulse, which are the fundamental pillars of your religious identity.»
«Whoever remains in constant touch with the Lord is able to respond better to the hopes of men, especially those who are in difficulty,» the Bishop of Rome explained Monday. «The Christ of contemplation is the same as the one who lives and suffers in the poor.
«Only the one who has found Christ personally can speak about him effectively to the heart of brothers and lead them to a profound experience of friendship to the point of feeling changed and transformed interiorly.»
