From all that has been said, it is seen that even the missionary activity, the “moving into the world” (NbR 14-16) should be done with the spirit of contemplation. Whether Francis preaches, lives among the lepers or does the despised work on the poor, he does it out of the fulfillment of encountering God. In the contemporary literature there is a phrase which rightly expresses it: Francis wanted “contemplando se tradere” (= in a contemplative posture, surrender yourself).
This phrase can be better understood when we compare it with that of the Dominicans:
“contemplata aliis tradere” ( = let others know of what you know and what you experience in contemplation). Francis and Clare go way beyond that: for them contemplation never ceases; the encounter with the lepers and the sick, the laborious work, being together with your brothers and sisters, the solidarity with the poor, suffering from your own weakness and in death - indeed everything becomes a place for contemplation. Being enraptured by the presence of God, who reveals Himself in everything, they surrender themselves completely to Him.
CCFMC, Lesson Unit 10, Information C 9
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