Whether you choose the beautifully crafted hardback, the more flexible softback, or the instantly accessible digital download, each edition is designed to help you immerse yourself in the daily practices of monastic life—integrating prayer (ora) with work (labora) in a way that fosters a life of intentional mindfulness and devotion.
The ‘Ora et labora’ journal exists to give you a place to chronicle your every day walk with the Lord. The joys, the sorrows, the frustrations and surprises. It is a place to quietly and gently reflect on your day and find the presence of God in it.
In a monastery the community gather for prayer throughout the day. This is not practical or sustainable however for those of us who live outside of the monastery walls. A practice that we have found helpful in our home however is intentionally stopping for night prayer.
The prayer of examen is a time of prayerful reflection where you think over the events of the day or week in order to detect God’s presence and discern his direction. In the ‘Ora et Labora’ we have space for you to complete a daily act of examen and a more in depth weekly act of examen.
Every day in our Ora et Labora journal we include the daily readings from the Revised Common Lectionary.
A ‘lectionary’ is simply a collection of readings from the Scriptures, arranged and intended for proclamation during the worship of the people of God.
Our ‘Ora et Labora’ journal for Lent and Easter is available now!
As part of this journal we have included a guide to help you create your own rule of life written by Br David Vryhof who is a monk at The Society of Saint John the Evangelist.
The purpose of a ‘Rule of life’ is to intentionally lay out the way you want to live your life.
This journal is an invitation to walk with Christ through the sacred rhythms of the liturgical year. As we enter the season of Lent, we are called to pause, reflect, and renew our hearts in anticipation of the Paschal mystery—Jesus’ passion, death, and resurrection. Lent offers us forty days to examine our lives, to surrender what hinders our spiritual growth, and to deepen our relationship with God through prayer, fasting, and almsgiving.
