Ministry is service in the name of the Lord. It is bringing the good news to the poor, proclaiming liberty to captives and new sight to the blind, setting the downtrodden free and announcing the Lord’s year of favor. Spirituality is attention to the life of the spirit in us; it is going out of the desert or up to the mountain to pray; it is standing before the Lord with open heart and open mind; it is crying out “Abba Father”; it is contemplating the unspeakable beauty of our loving God.

We have fallen into the temptation of separating ministry from spirituality, service from prayer. Our demon says: “We are too busy to pray; we have too many needs to attend to, too many people to respond to, too many wounds to heal. Prayer is a luxury, something to do during a free hour, a day away from work or on a retreat. The few who are exclusively concerned with prayer- such as Tappists, Poor Clares, and some isolated hermits- are really not involved in ministry. They are set free for single-minded contemplation and leave Christian service to others.” But to think this way is harmful; harmful for ministers as well as for contemplatives. Service and prayer can never be separated; they are related to each other as the Yin and Yang of the Japanese Circle.