Manual Work

It is always striking for us monks to read, in the Acts of the Apostles, that St Paul continued to work at his trade as a tent-maker even though he was 'busy with concern for all the churches' (2 Cor 11:28).  It was important for him to earn his living by the work of his own hands and not be a burden on any of the young communities he had recently founded.  As monks we strive to live by this ideal.  Manual work always enhances human dignity.  It helps us provide for the needs of our brothers.  It helps us to provide alms for the economically poor.  It also gives us solidarity with many in the world whose work is often tedious, tiring and unrewarding.  Primarily manual labor provides us monks with a much needed balance in our life of prayer, as it promotes our spiritual, mental and physical well-being.  According to the Rule of St Benedict and monastic tradition manual work is one important 'pillar' of a monk's life.