126. … Saint Benedict of Norcia proposed that his monks live in community, combining prayer and spiritual reading with manual labour (ora et labora). .. Personal growth and sanctification came to be sought in the interplay of recollection and work. …
127. … once our human capacity for contemplation and reverence is impaired, it becomes easy for the meaning of work to be misunderstood…
Reflection
Most working people would think “work-prayer” an unusual word pairing. More common is the phrase “work-life balance” (time spent working and time dedicated to family and oneself). What is the understanding of work that each of these word combinations indicate?
Action
Have you heard of the “The Future of Work – Labour after Laudato si’” Project? They are a collaborative of Catholic and other organizations that published a report called “Care is work, work is care” in February 2022. You can download it here. Look over the Table of Contents. Does anything there invite you to go deeper? Browse through it and start a conversation with a friend.
