Devotionals

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Work Anyone?
© 2008

by

Stephen A. Peterson


Have you ever noticed that when people give themselves to their work in the spirit of God that such people have an air of peace about them? They become oblivious to all sort of distractions, irritations and complaints that arise in the workplace. When one does not keep their shoulder to the wheel, the workplace quickly becomes a stifling, gossip filled, loathsome place to be.

The Benedictine monks of Saint Gregory's Abbey in Shawnee, Oklahoma have a motto inscribed on the entrance to the door of their monastery and may be found on the seal of the order “ora et labora” (translated: pray and work). As one of the basic principles of this monastic order, thousands of men and women since the fifth century A.D. have impacted the world’s stability and positive change to the ends of the earth not just in their monastic community.

One of Saint Gregory’s monks, Father Eugene Marshall, O.S.B. a long time beekeeper, observed that every swarm of bees has its distinct and unique scent, and when swarms collide, the different smells of the two groups trigger an all-out war. However, when bees are busy doing the work God entrusts them with—namely to pollinate plants—the bees become covered from head to rear with pollen. It is at this time they all smell the same. Peace reigns. The work they were designed for is accomplished!

God, this monk went on to say, has given and entrusted each and every living person with work to do. When we pray then listen to what God has for us to do (work) then immerse themselves in their task, peace reigns. Work gets done. God is glorified.

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