When Saint Benedict is mentioned, the first thing that comes to mind is his famous motto: “Ora et labora,” which we translate as “Pray and work.”
The combination of praying and working seems obvious. Yet, after so many centuries, we continue to be surprised that the Saint invites his monks and, more generally, Christians to pray and work! Why? Let’s explore it together, but first, a few brief notes on the life of Saint Benedict.

A life in a few broad strokes

Saint Benedict, founder of the Benedictine order, which took its name from him, was born around 480 in Norcia and died on March 21, 547. At the age of 12, he was left motherless and was sent with his sister to Rome to pursue his studies. He was shocked by the depravity in the city, came to despise material possessions, and desired a monastic life, to which he devoted himself at just seventeen, eager to give his life a single direction, a single purpose: the pursuit of God, his Kingdom, and his glory.
He withdrew for three years to a cave near Subiaco, preaching the Word of the Lord and welcoming the disciples who, in ever greater numbers, asked to join the community. 
Appointed abbot of the monastery of Vicovaro, he unsuccessfully attempted to reform monastic life and, after suffering slander and even an attempt on his life, decided to found the monastery of Monte Cassino (in the place of the same name). It was there that, around 540, he composed his Rule, also drawing on the experiences of other contemporary and earlier saints, as well as his own, particularly his experience as a hermit.
At the heart of the Rule was his intention to improve his own life through discipline and spirituality. Saint Benedict organized monastic life around two pillars which, in a balanced relationship between prayer and work, structured the monk’s days and led him to focus solely on God. This desire gave rise to the famous motto “Ora et labora.”

Work

For the Latins, labor was not simply work, which they usually called negotium from nec-otium, that is, non-leisure, but a certain type of work: manual work, physical work.
Now, in the Roman Empire, this labor, that is, physical work, was assigned only to slaves because it was considered dishonorable, and to free men who nevertheless enjoyed little consideration.
What, then, does Saint Benedict do? He not only says that the monk must work manually, but goes further: he says that this physical work must accompany prayer and that, by accompanying prayer, it becomes a means of sanctification and glorification of God in itself; that is, it becomes prayer.

In the monastery, therefore, work ceases to be a degrading activity and becomes a sacred activity; it becomes prayer. The monks therefore work the fields, produce wine and beer, gather medicinal herbs, carry out crafts useful to everyone's life, and copy by hand (that is, they work as scribes) ancient texts (Latin and Greek) that would otherwise have been lost. Reading and study too (not only of Sacred Scripture, but also of science and art) are considered work.

Working means collaborating with God

The great merit of Saint Benedict, then, is that he proposes to his monks and to all of us a fruitful synthesis between action and contemplation: working means collaborating with God the Creator and contributing to the building of a better world; work, accompanied by prayer, brings people closer to God and helps them discover the meaning of life.
Here is another secret of work: it arises from the desire to participate in God's work not only as Creator, but also as Savior; to participate in that work through which God creates the world and transforms it through the presence of the dead and risen Son, through the gift of the Spirit, through his Church, which is immersed in this earth, even though its origin is heaven. We are therefore not of the world, but we are in the world and are active participants in its transformation.

Are prayer and work a possible combination today?

Many men and women have lived their lives working and praying. Without prayer there can be no work, no healthy experience of work; at the same time, without work there can be no true experience of prayer.
In the Saint’s mind, one must not «put anything before the love of Christ»; for this reason, he offers us the privileged means of doing so: communal and personal prayer. This is the primary occupation, the cornerstone that forms Benedictine and Christian life, since «nothing should be placed before the Work of God». Prayer is the welcoming and celebration of what God alone accomplishes, what God alone gives, and to which we can respond only through God’s gift. For this reason, it requires commitment, discipline, and perseverance.

Working is important for everyone, not only for monks. Through work, each person finds help in living on this earth and grasping its deeper meaning. Only those who have experienced unemployment and uncertainty about the future can fully understand why, without a job, one risks losing the meaning of life.
Work is not only a source of income, but above all a place that, like prayer, contributes to the sanctification of the person. By doing one’s work well, one bears witness to the faith even without saying a word.

Conclusion

These two pillars, prayer and work, are no longer so self-evident in our time, when the pace of life has changed. That is why we all need to recover them so that they can once again give structure to our day. Today, more than ever, the unity between prayer and work is crucial: work must help us pray well, and prayer must help us face work in the right way. 
Are we able to keep prayer and work united? How? Is work for us a place of sanctification or of stress?
Tell us about your experience in the comments, and together let us ask God that everyone may live a dignified life through work and prayer.