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The life of monks and nuns of the Benedictine family is often summarized by the brief phrase “ora et labora,” prayer and work. But it seems to me that this “motto” leaves something crucial out of our lifestyle. What more accurately captures our monastic commitment is “lectio, et ora, et labora.” This “lectio”, reading, is most often accompanied in the Latin west with the adjective “divina,” the very adjective itself surely pointing to the supreme importance of this spiritual practice in the lives of contemplative monks and nuns. So what exactly is this divine reading, and why is it so central to the monastic ascesis and witness?

by Fr. Dismas Gannon The author of The Cloud of Unknowing reminds us that contemplative prayer is God’s gift, it is not something we can acquire by our own efforts.  But he suggests that, to keep our minds simple and open for this gift, we should often repeat the little words “sin” and “God”.   I would like to add two other, little words to repeat often:  “Yes” and “No”.

Prayer: A Personal Reflection by Br. Paul Rowe Here I will say something about my own understanding and experience of prayer, while laying no claim to “expertise.” I will focus on personal prayer, leaving aside the consideration of liturgical prayer which, especially in the celebration of the Eucharist, is the “source and summit of the Christian life” (Lumen Gentium 11; Sacosantum Concilium 10), and which in some sense makes possible all Christian prayer.

by David Richen, Church Architect In 1955, the Trappist monks moved from Pecos, New Mexico to Oregon and built what was to be a “temporary” Monastery until they could build a permanent one of bricks and mortar. Over fifty years went by before any major work or changes to the Monastery itself took place. The monks did, however, build guest quarters, a bookstore and a meditation/reception building (Bethany House) for guests as well as numerous structures to accommodate their various industries.

by Fr. Mark Weidner Prayer and work: to balance these 2 elements is the quiet labor of a lifetime. When I look back over the 62 years since our Community was founded, I see three periods of unequal length. The first period reaches from our founding in 1948 until 1962 and the opening of Vatican II. During that period the stress was on work. Time for private prayer was limited. We always had the daily community sacrifice of the Mass. Surrounding it, the hours of the divine office. It was in Latin, though, and Latin was a foreign language. Some of our men knew the language very well. But it never came through with the immediacy of our native English. For quiet, contemplative prayer, there was very little time. The lay brothers prayed their Mass and office apart from the choir religious on most of the days.