Praying, reading and working

On July 11, the Universal Church celebrated the liturgical feast of St Benedict. This Italian saint was born in Norcia, near Spoleto, around the year 480. The historical milieu in which he lived greatly prompted him to follow the Lord's call. In those times, the Roman Empire was in its declining years. Disillusioned by what he saw around him, Benedict left his studies in Rome and chose instead to devote the next three years of his life to prayer and ascetism, first in a lonely cave not far from the present city of Subiaco and, later, he moved to Monte Cassino where he founded a monastery and remained there for the rest of his life. He died in Monte Cassino at 543.

The Benedictine way of life revolves around the harmonious balanced motto of prayer and work: ora et labora. Both life dimensions are given much importance within the spiritual heritage left to us by St Benedict. Both realties intertwine and lead each other to a profound communion with God and with one's neighbour.

Historically speaking, the Benedictine monastic life of prayer, contemplative reading and simple work has been outstandingly a convincing example of social organisation. How can one take that same social order, harmony and organisation into one's personal life? Can one embrace the Benedictine motto of prayer and work in our society?

The answer is in the affirmative. Like St Benedict, every one of us is invited to divide the day into equitable periods of work, community prayer and lectio divina (a kind of deeply contemplative reading of the Bible). A sound human life always tries to allot enough time for each of these different activities. Benedictines, as other serious consecrated institutes, know very well that their ministry, however relevant it is for both the civil and ecclesial society, necessarily needs to flow out from their monastic commitment of prayer, lectio and community. Is it not a great tragedy when monastic life is brutally weakened by 10 or 12 hours of work? Can you still call that a monastic and a human life?

The man in the street can also experience those enlivening and redeeming healing influences imparted by the Benedictine trilogy of praying, reading and working. May the life liberating principle of ora et labora guide us in each and every life situation we come across.