Ora et Labora

As Benedictine nuns, we live by the Latin phrase ora et labora, which is translated as “pray and work”. These two occupations are our daily bread. But what does that mean exactly?

On the temporal level, Benedictines follow a horarium (or schedule) of this interweaving work and prayer. We begin each day with the first hour of the Liturgy of the Hours, Matins, and continue to return to the church six more times throughout the morning, afternoon and evening. Between these defining hours of public prayer, we occupy ourselves with either private prayer, lectio divina or the common activities of life in a monastery.

In print, prayer and work seem distinctively divided. We do one, then the other. But in reality, the two are simultaneous throughout our religious lives, praying as we work and working interiorly as we pray. The humility of labor is constant, yet the joy of Christ’s abiding presence is our rest and relief!