Sponsa Regis - A Spiritua L Review for Sister S - March 1964 Volume 35 Number 7

Sep 28, 2026

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March 1964 issue of Sponsa Regis, presenting a spiritual review for sisters with scholarly and devotional articles. The section “The Church and the Sister's Vocation” examines the interior life alongside work, emphasizing the need for a balanced, step-by-step march between external activity and prayer. It cites papal addresses urging sanctity through prayer, obedience, perseverance, and active charity. The text also considers doubts and individual differences, offering insight into how religious vocations integrate contemplation and action.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryReligion & Spirituality

FormatPDF

Pages40

Reading Time1 h 41 min

AccessFree to download

The Church and the Sister's Vocation

The Work of God: Creation

Silence in the Church

The Psalms

Book Reviews

# SPONSA RECIS SPONSA RECIS # A SPIRITUA L REVIEW FOR SISTER S MARCH 1964VOLUME 35NUMBER 7 The Church and the Sister's Vocation 135SISTER M.LIGUORI,O.S.B. The Work of God:Creation 197ROBERT GUELLUY Silence in the Church 203JORDAN BISHOP,O.P. The Psalms 209JOSEPH A.GRISPINO,S.M. Book Reviews 211 NIHIL OBSTAT:Reinold Theisen,O.S.B.,Censor deput.IMPRIMATUR:※Peter W.Bartholome,D.D.,Episc.Sancti Clodoaldi. Published monthly by monks of Saint John’s Abbey,Collegeville,Minnesota.Rev.Ronald Roloff,O.S.B.,Editor;Rev.Myron Kasprick,O.S.B.,ManagingEditor;Rev.Raymond Roseliep,Poetry Editor.Advisory Board:Rev.KilianMcDonnell,O.S.B.,Sister Ritamary Bradley,C.H.M.,Sister M.Rose Emman-uella Brennan,S.N.J.M.,Sister M.Emmanuel Collins,O.S.F.,Mother MaryRobert Falls,O.S.U.,Sister M.Jean Frances Fiffe,O.P.,Sister M.JeremyHall,O.S.B.,Sister M.Jerome Keeler,O.S.B.,Sister M.Teresa Francis McDade, B.V.M.,Sister Mary Virginia Micka,C.S.J.,Sister M.Charles BorromeoMuckerhirn,C.S.C.,Sister Mary Emil Penet,I.H.M.,Sister Mary JamesWalsh,S.N.D.,Sister Annette Walters,C.S.J.,Mother Mary Florence Wolff,S.L.,Sister M.Francine Zeller,O.S.F. Address all correspondence except poetry to Sponsa Regis,Saint John's Abbey,Collegeville,Minnesota 56321(Checks payable to Sponsa Regis.)Poetryshould be sent to Rev.Raymond Roseliep,Loras College,Dubuque,Iowa 52003.1 year $2.50;2 years $4.00;single copy 25 cents.Sterling area(exceptAustralia):1 year 18s;2 years 29s;single copy 1s 11d.Australia:1 year 23s;2 years 37s;single copy 2s 3d.Agent for India:Asian Trading Corporation,Post Box No.1505,Bombay-1.Indexed in the Catholic Periodical Index.Printed by Sentinel Publishing Company,413 East Saint Germain Street,Saint Cloud,Minnesota.Second class postage paid at Saint Cloud,Minnesota.(Do not send mail to this address.) # The Church and the Sister's Vocation SISTER M.LIGUORI,O.S.B. Ora et labora is,I think,not an exclusively Benedictine rule ofconduct.If one examines articles in periodicals devoted to reli-gious,if one reads ascetical books or listens to conferences ofSuperiors,of spiritual directors or retreat masters,the one themethat runs through all of them is that of aiming at a right balancebetween work and prayer.These are the two poles in a field offorce between which we have to orient ourselves as we searchincessantly for that zero-point where the balance rests,the fulcrumof peace and holiness.The subject is so important that if onepasses on to a higher level of religious literature,to papal pro-nouncements or directives issued by the magisterium to religiousbodies,we find the same theme recurring with almost symphonicpersistence.Listen,for example,to what His Holiness Pope PiusXII said in his address to the General Congress on the States ofPerfection: An eager external activity and the cultivation of the in-terior life demand more than a bond of fellowship;as far atleast as evaluation and willed effort are concerned,they de-mand that they should march along together step by step.With the growth of devotion to exterior works,therefore,letthere shine forth a corresponding increase in faith,in thelife of prayer,in zealous consecration of self and talents toGod,in spotless purity of conscience,in obedience,in patientendurance of hardship,and in active charity tirelessly ex-pended for God and one's neighbor.1 Or to Pope John XXIII as he spurs the world's Sisters to greatersanctity in his address to them before the Ecumenical Council: The only foundation and soul of the apostolate is theinterior life.... A wrongly understood dynamism could lead you to fallinto that"heresy of action"reproved by our predecessors.... All of you,whether dedicated to a contemplative or anactive life,should understand the expression"life of prayer." 1 Review for Religious,1955,p.129. It entails not a mechanical repetition of formulas but is ratherthe irreplaceable means by which one enters into intimacywith the Lord,to better understand the dignity of being

FAQs

What central balance does the article emphasize for religious life?

The article emphasizes aiming at a right balance between work and prayer, orienting toward a “zero-point” where peace and holiness rest.

How do the cited popes describe the relationship between interior life and apostolic activity?

They stress that apostolate must be rooted in the interior life and warn against a wrongly understood dynamism that leads to a “heresy of action.”

What causes doubts among religious women about contemplation and action?

The text suggests that individual differences and varying degrees of physical, psychic, and spiritual vulnerabilities make exhortations land differently, and that an integrating element may be missing or not potent enough to heal the breach.

Sep 28, 2026

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