Work

These articles on the essentials of Carmelite life are intended to help others understand the nature of our contemplative calling. We hope that, as we explain the various elements of our day, you would feel inspired to incorporate these pillars into the structure of your own daily living.

We begin the building of our spiritual edifice, believe it or not, by speaking of the reality of work. No one can escape from having to work for a living. While lifting up our hands in prayer is the Opus Dei (Latin for the “Work of God”) par excellence, the use of our hands for manual labor is also a must and cannot be neglected. Actually, we work in order cultivate the very contemplation that we are striving for at times of formal prayer. The common notion is to separate work from prayer as disparate activities. Not so, in the life of the Carmelite. They go hand in hand. The hands lifted in prayer are the same hands that work with wood, take up tools to prepare a bed in the garden, create beautiful artwork, write, clean the monastery, cook the food, and wash the dishes.

 This is what our Rule (the Rule of St. Albert) says about work: “Some work has to be done by you, so that the devil may always find you occupied…” You have probably heard the saying, “the idle mind is the devil’s workshop.” There is something to said for this traditional proverb. Idleness and boredom are a recipe for disaster. When we are not busy about the God-given tasks entrusted to us, we are tempted to be busy about things which concern us very little and will only harm our relationship with God and others.

Notice that work, something essential for our spiritual welfare, is not simply recommended as a remedy for temptation. Manual labor of some kind is presented by St. Albert as a necessary element in the life of a Carmelite. It “has to be done”. And is not a “should, ought, or might”. There is no option here, it is a precept – a formal principle which guides how a Carmelite day is to be structured. Work, along with prayer both liturgical and personal, accompanied by sacred reading, helps to balance the activities in a day in-the-life of a monastic.

We find this balance already present in Anthony the Great of the Egyptian deserts, who tempted by a boredom verging on despair, found consolation in the example of an angel who appeared to him so as to teach the value of alternating between work and prayer throughout the hours of the day. The angel stated simply: “do this and you will be saved”. Benedict of Nursia captures the value in a phrase from his own rule for monastic life: “Ora et Labora” (Latin for Pray and Work). These witnesses to the most ancient forms of monastic life show us that the work of the soul is set in balance with work of the body engaged in manual labor. Contemplative life is not just work, nor is it just prayer. It is a “both and”. See our horarium, the hourly schedule of the monastery, to look at an attempt to balance all the activities of contemplatives busy about the works of God.

We should not think that work possesses only a negative quality in human life. No, in fact, quite the opposite it is a definite positive! Labor, while hard, was something that God always intended for man and woman whom he created after his own image and likeness. God worked for six days before he rested on the seventh. We cannot be any different from the God who made us. No, we are called to conform ourselves in likeness to God’s way of doing and being. We are always happier doing things the way God does them. That is what is means to say, “thy will be done”. And so, we work to participate in God’s creative work…

The issue, however, is that we fell by doing things our own way which is what has made work difficult. To understand my meaning here, take time to read the first chapters of the book of Genesis (Gen 1-3). Taking a biblical view of human labor, we see that the supreme values in laboring by the sweat of our brows is that it is: creative, reparative, and redemptive. Jesus, the Son of God, in becoming man worked with his own hands as a carpenter. He tells us that God is a master craftsman and that we work with him to create a better world – to bring all creation to perfection, that is, to its intended end. The tasks we undertake, whether great or small, contribute to the building of the kingdom of God.

All of us must contribute to the work of a family, of a community, of a society. St. Albert concludes the chapter on work by stating: “This way is holy and good: follow it.” Idleness according to St. Benedict is the enemy of the soul (Rule of St. Benedict, Chapter 48). If we just stand around doing nothing, we can expect the enemy of our souls to come pounding on the door of our hearts, assaulting us with all kinds of temptations. Yet, beyond the aspect of spiritual warfare is the beautiful reality that to work is to be like God – to be tasked with bringing about a beautiful creation.

After working hard for six days, or for those hours designated for work in a given day, there is nothing better than to do what we were made for above all else: to rest on the Seventh Day. After all our labors, we are invited to rest in a communion with God. The tasks of daily life lead us to this Sabbath moment - a period of supreme fulfillment in God. In short, work leads us to union with God. Do not be tempted to look at your tasks as just another burden to get on with, and get rid of… no, take it hand and lift them up to God. St. Teresa explains it very well: you will find God even among the pots and the pans. You will find him in the workplace, while doing humdrum chores, and in all the labors that make up life. And all the works will join you to God and make for a better world.