Ora et Labora - Pray and Work. This is the motto of the Benedictine spirituality. Recently I have begun to understand this concept a little better, particularly the role that work has in spiritual formation. And not just any work - hard work. Work that strengthens your body and makes you sweat. For one reason or another, I don't like to sweat. I don't like being wet in general. But when I am working hard and the sweat is pouring down, there is also a sense of freedom, and a certain exhilaration that comes from knowing yes, I did well - I worked hard; I pushed myself and accomplished something. It is the satisfaction that comes from building discipline.
Idleness is a dangerous state for a soul striving to draw closer to God. As the saying goes, "Idle hands are the devil's workshop." When we are idle it is not as difficult for us to stray into and develop habits that are contrary to the Christian life. When we keep ourselves busy, these temptations do not have the time or the ground to take root in us. Now, I'm not saying we should all become workaholics in order to avoid temptation, because that would be counter-productive. We need to have quiet time each day to rest from our work, to rest in the Lord, to accept His daily graces and to converse with Him on a personal level. However, we must be on guard that we do not become lazy. In St. Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians he admonishes the inhabitants of Thessalonica against idleness - "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is living in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to imitate us; we were not idle when we were with you" (2 Thessalonians 3:6-7).
It sounds nice to be able to relax all day and do nothing, but that often leaves me feeling restless and disgusting (like a slug). I find urges to "just do something" popping up - maybe to bake, make dinner, do laundry, housework or yard work, or just to write a letter to a friend. Hard work and discipline build up greater focus and even more discipline, giving is a greater ability to control our passions and focus on what we are ultimately ordered to - union with God in Heaven. If our energies are not exerted through some kind of work, our passions can start to get out of hand, leading to sins like gluttony, sloth and gossip. I know that in my own experience, if I haven't really done anything on a given day, I tend to feel hungrier than I do on days when I do some kind of work. The hunger is different, though. It's the hunger of boredom and not of my body needing to refuel. Proverbs 31:27 says of a good wife: "She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness." Indeed, verses 10-31 describe her as a strong and upright woman, always doing deeds of charity and looking after all the duties ascribed to her state in life. She does not shirk the work God has prepared for her.
I feel called to enter religious life, but my current state in life is a single woman with student loans. In order to free myself from this impediment to my permanent vocation, I must be faithful to the duties of my current state in life. That means that I must work to pay off my debt, in whatever job God sees fit in His infinite goodness to give me. The I have now can be physically demanding but I am grateful for this opportunity to grow in discipline because I know that it will help me to persevere through any challenges I may face in my permanent vocation. It also teaches me to grow in my love for mortification and sacrifice.
Hard work provides many opportunities for merit - to do it without complaining, to offer up the pain it may cause for the conversion of sinners, to use it as a prayer and quiet time with the Lord, uniting discomfort with the pain and suffering Christ experienced in His Passion. Although sometimes work can make me tired, and I can be tempted to skip daily prayers, I find that when I make time to give back to God, He gives is back again to me to get done what I need to. When I do not make that time to pray my time always seems in short supply. Because I have not been able to go to daily Mass, my prayer time is especially crucial in order to stay focused. I want to start working for the Church, but that is not what God has for me right now, so I must work with joy where God has placed me.
Steven Curtis Chapman has a song - "Do Everything" - that says, "Do everything you do to the glory of the One who made you." No matter what work we are doing, if it is the work God has provided for us, we can give Him no greater glory than to perform that work to the best of our ability, with joy, in order to witness to and glorify His goodness and magnanimity. "In Christ Jesus, then, I have reason to be proud of my work for God" (Romans 15:17).
Let us never cease to be grateful for everything that God gives us!
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord you labor is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Written by Catherine
