There used to be a kind of pyramid of regard to Religious Orders in the Church. This meant that the more Comtemplative a Religious Order is the high up the pyramid it would be. So that the Carthusian Order who are hermits would be top of the pyramid, whereas a very active order such as say the Jesuits would be bottom of the ladder. But this is a supernatural way of looking at things. St Therese of Liseaux who was a Contemplative said her vocation was to be love at the heart of the Church. She believed in prayer, her vocation. Nowadays I think many look at it the other way around. This is because we have moved from man worshiping man, rather than man worshiping God. But Mother Teresa of Calcutta herself said that she was not a Social Worker.
