“Ora et labora” (pray and work) is a Benedictine motto that not only applies to monastic life but can also describe a balanced spiritual life for all of us.
Prayer can be a respite from our busy lives, but spiritual labor is a conscious and visible witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus himself often withdrew from the demands of the crowds to pray. Yet his “work” was not the physical labor of a carpenter, but in doing the will of the Father.
It might seem easier after retirement to spend more time in prayer and do, for example, one or more of the corporal works of mercy. A goodly number of volunteers for these noble causes are typically senior citizens. Likewise, for those participating in the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, prayer chains and rosary groups.
Nonetheless, I am impressed when our young people who are preparing for confirmation or as students in a Catholic school eagerly join in service projects. It is a bigger challenge to teach them a daily routine of prayer. It is a challenge for most of us. Still, time in daily prayer can be more convenient than doing meaningful activities to serve the Lord through charitable outreach and other works in the apostolate of the laity. The key is balance.
One might think that the life of a diocesan priest is similar to life in a monastery. But many diocesan pastors, like me, live alone even in a rectory with multiple rooms. Over time, it can be easy for this pastor to become so busy with ministerial work that prayer can compete with the snooze button on the alarm clock.
While this makes me a more sympathetic confessor when penitents confess that they do not pray enough, it also reminds me that just moving ribbons in my breviary is a minimalistic approach to my own need to balance prayer and work. For example, preaching is work, but in my preparation efforts, I am able to reflect on the Scripture readings as an additional time of fruitful prayer.
It is a good challenge to remember that “liturgy” is simply translated as “work of the people” and the Mass itself is our highest form of prayerful thanksgiving. For me it is not always easy to pray when, during the offertory, the gift bearers are nowhere to be found. There are a lot of roles people have during the Mass and most certainly it is good work. It is also to be good prayer.
Ultimately our desire to balance prayer and spiritual labor is a step toward humility. St. Augustine is credited with the quote, “pray as though everything depends on God, and work as though everything depends on you.” With all due respect to this great saint, neither my prayers nor my good works change the mind of God. They change me. No, most of us don’t pray as much as we should and the sins of omission from good works are part of a good confession.
At Mass, we pray and we work. We participate in the prayers and make our financial contributions from our labors. As the center of our faithful pilgrimage, the Mass is also an encounter with the person and real presence of Jesus Christ — who is a model for us of prayer and work. However we find balance and growth in prayer and in good works, we are not to be spectators.
Once upon a time, there was a rooster. Now the rooster believed that when he woke up each day in the dark and made his crowing sound, it made the sun rise. Then one morning the rooster overslept. And much to his disappointment and embarrassment, there was the sun rising just fine on its own.
The other animals in the farm teased the rooster for always taking credit for the sunrise. The poor rooster went through the rest of the day feeling quite sad. But early the next morning, there was that rooster crowing at the top of his lungs.
The other animals yelled out, “Hey you dumb rooster, you don’t need to crow any more — the sun will rise without you.”
The rooster replied, “Oh yes, I know that now. But since my crowing has nothing to do with the rising of the sun, let it be my prayer of thanksgiving for what God has done.”
