First of all, every time you begin a good work, you must pray to God most earnestly to bring it to perfection (RB Proluge:4).

 

In the monastery work takes many forms: communal prayer, daily and weekly chores, ministries within the monastic community and to the local church and community. Prayer and work (Ora et labora) provide the rhythm of monastic life. In essence, prayer is work and work is prayer.

 

St. Benedict teaches that “nothing is to be preferred to the Work of God” (RB 43:3), that is, the communal praying of the Liturgy of the Hours. As our community gathers to pray three times a day, we are doing God’s work of praying for the Church, and the world. But God is also working in us, as we open our hearts to be transformed more into Christ. This is also true as we engage in our various chores and ministries. This is why Benedict also teaches us at the very beginning of his Rule, “First of all, every time you begin a good work, you must pray to God most earnestly to bring it to perfection (RB Proluge:4). The psalm verse, “O God, come to my assistance. O Lord, make haste to help me” (Ps 70:1) begins our Noon and Evening Prayer, but is also on the lips of many sisters throughout the day.

 

At the close of our annual July community meetings, we have our Missioning Service. During this service, the Prioress, who holds the place of Christ in the monastery, blesses the cards on which are written the various work or ministries each sister will engage in for the coming year, and then hands them to each sister. And each Sunday, before the Final Blessing during Morning Prayer, the Prioress prays “As Benedict called us to serve one another, may God bless our community service this week, that in all things God may be glorified.”

 

So, we ask God to bless our work and to come to our aid in completing it so that we may glorify God by our lives. Of course, this rings most true when our work is done wholeheartedly and with love.