Mary asks:

I spoke to a parish priest whom I have known for a long time. When I explained that I was trying to discern between a contemplative or a more active apostolate, he told me that he thought that a strictly contemplative lifestyle was selfish and self absorbed, and that I needed to get out among the people to do anything of value. I reminded him that many of the great Saints were cloistered contemplatives. But he thought that these are different times which call for people to use their voices and their skills out in society. I suppose that many people do not see the value of the cloistered contemplative lifestyle. I still feel a pull in both directions, on a given day I think that I would be perfectly content to worship God in a contemplative lifestyle. Then on the following day when I am reminded (e.g.- by listening to the slanted viewpoints on the evening News) of the very serious moral problems present in our society, I feel that maybe God needs more people to do something active.