Thursday, July 30, 2015

Chapter 50: Those whose work takes them away from the monastery


Those whose work takes them some distance from the monastery so that they cannot manage to get to the oratory at the right times for prayer must kneel with profound reverence for the Lord and perform the work of God at their place of work. (From para. 1 of Ch. 50 of Saint Benedict's Rule, trans. by Patrick Barry, OSB, 1997.)


Benedict has a specific instruction here about fidelity to the Divine Office, but I'm struck by the way the final phrase repeats the word "work",  to say to me, in essence, "to perform the work at the place of work".  In this way, I may see all work as the work of God,  and all places as that oratory which is the secret room in my heart.

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