What you see above is the ancient Latin phrase which comes to us from the monastic rule of St. Benedict.

“Early in the Book of Genesis, the reader finds God informing Noah of a mighty flood that is to come at some point in the future. Does God give Noah and his family an ark? Does a massive vessel fall from the heavens? No. Noah and his family must work and labor to build the means of their physical salvation from being drowned.

The concept of work has its roots in the very earliest of Biblical passages. The act of creation of everything in the cosmos is undoubtedly work. God saw that all his work was good. He labored in creation six days, according to Genesis. And on the seventh day, he rested. So in God’s eyes, there is a benevolence attached to work. Genesis 2:15 reads, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.”

In this verse, we see God giving man a purpose, namely work! Work is a divine notion, one which God deems humanity worthy of sharing in. The pain and hardship of work are associated with labor only after the Fall of Adam and Eve in Original Sin. And as Original Sin is inherited in all the human race, so is death and pain.

The Benedictine motto, “Ora et Labora,” has also come to be understood as a direction of offering up the hardships of labor so that the offering is a prayer. Work can thus become a prayer in and of itself. Prayer and work are constantly linked, pulling on one another. Together these acts mold us into better people. They strengthen body and soul and draw us closer to God.”

(Reflection by John Tuttle – student at a Benedictine College)

I have chosen to share this reflection today, because this week, a man named Andrew experienced similar insights while volunteering around the parish. Andrew asked if there were opportunities for him to give of his time/service to help meet the needs of our church community. I told him that we were in need of some gardening and landscaping around the property. Andrew dutifully called me the following week and then accompanied me to Lowe’s for 24 bags of mulch. He helped load and unload the 50 pound bags into the van. Then, he spent several hours opening them and spreading the mulch all throughout our trees and flower beds.

Afterwards, Andrew shared with me how the ride and conversation in the car, together with the peace and calm that he experienced while doing the work, was a Godsend to him. It came at the right place and at the right time. Andrew’s reflections reminded me of how the two great psychologists, Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, found comfort and solace in the art of gardening.

I thought too of the ancient order of St. Benedict, and his wisdom and insight into the intimate spiritual connection between work and prayer. I want to sincerely thank Andrew for the gift of his time that helps to beautify our parish! For it is indeed: “By their fruits (work) you shall know them.” (Matthew 7:16).

By Fr. Richard Bennett, C.Ss.R. (Courtesy of Baltimore Beacon.)