Ora et Labora

"Ora et labora" -- or in English, "pray and work" is the motto of the Benedictine Order. Benedictines take seriously this idea that a well balanced Christian life is ordered towards working and prayer. Some Benedictines are contemplative, some cloistered, some work beyond their monasteries and convents in the secular world, some work in parish churches, and some work in missions, but at the end of the day, all of these groups of Benedictine religious have a strong belief in working with your physical body and being steeped in frequent daily prayer.



Obviously, as a married woman and mother, I am not a consecrated religious sister; however, I have always been drawn to the simplicity of this idea of work and prayer. I have tried in my own way, at times, to think of the work that I do as a wife and mother, as a kind of prayer and sometimes, given the hectic nature of my life, I have viewed a daily prayer life as a kind of work to be accomplished at a given point in my day. It may sound like I've got things crossed, but I think that when one is working for the betterment of others or working within their vocation (marriage and motherhood being mine), then work can definitely be a kind of prayer. On the other side of things, prayer can be difficult. It can be difficult to concentrate, difficult to find time, and even difficult to bring ourselves to approach God with our hearts at times due to our own human foibles. It is in those times that prayer becomes a kind of work.

Whether our work is prayer or our prayer is work matters little. What matters is that we do it anyway. Work is necessary for life on this earth and prayer is necessary to help us on the road to eternal life. As Christians, we are, I think, at our very best when we find a balance between these two things and when we are obedient in doing both.

May the Lord bless the work of our hands and the meditations of our hearts to His Eternal Glory! Amen.