Ora et labora
Ora et labora (“pray and work”) is a motto that refers to the tradition of the Benedictine order .
origin
Although Ora et labora is widely regarded as a principle of the Benedictine monasteries , it is not included in the Regula Benedicti of St. Benedict included, but dates from the late Middle Ages. In full it reads: Ora et labora (et lege), Deus adest sine mora (“Pray and work (and read), God is there (or: God helps) without delay”). The German meaning of the Latin verb laborare ( imperative : labora) is: work, suffer, suffer from, exert oneself, be in need and struggle. In this respect, the shortening also contradicts the Regula Benedicti, which also provides for a daily routine for the monks that is characterized by prayer, work and spiritual reading. In the Benedictine Rule, labora originally meant manual labor.
interpretation
The Benedictine interpretation wants ora et labora to be understood as a “unit of tension” that can only be conveyed spiritually. As a result, the prayer is "not a substitute for work and vice versa", but a connection and mutual influence are created, which document an essential reference to both. It is about “seeking maturity and sanctification in the mutual interpenetration of concentration and work”.
The maxim is recommended as an antidote to “activism” and “achievement thinking”, in order to “find the right balance between the search for the absolute and the commitment to daily responsibilities, between calm contemplation and diligence in service”.
literature
- Oliver J. Kaftan OSB: Ora et labora - (k) a Benedictine motto. A search for traces , in: Erbe und Einsatz , 90 (2014), 415–421
Individual evidence
- ↑ Brockhaus multimedial premium 2007, article: Monasticism in the West: Pray and work
- ↑ imperiumromanum.com sentences - accessed on November 10, 2008
- ↑ albertmartin.de translation of the verb laborare - accessed November 10, 2008
- ^ Christian Schütz OSB: Prayer. In: Christian Schütz (Ed.): Practical Lexicon of Spirituality. Herder, Freiburg im Breisgau a. a. 1992, ISBN 3-451-22614-6 , Sp. 435 (446)
- ↑ Pope Francis : Encyclical Laudato SI '. About caring for the common home. Libreria Editrice Vaticana 2015, ed. from the Secretariat of the German Bishops' Conference, Bonn 2015 (pronouncements of the Apostolic See; No. 202), No. 126
- ↑ Pope Francis : Apostolic Constitution Vultum Dei quaerere : on the contemplative life in women's orders of June 29, 2016, No. 32, p. 33 ( online )