Often presented as a quintessential summation of the Rule of St. Benedict, the phrase ora et labora is actually of medieval origin, being found nowhere in the Rule itself. Yet this distillation of the Benedictine life misses an essential component that even a cursory reading of the Rule reveals: the place of Lectio Divina and study in the life of prayer and work.
In the Rule, a monk’s time is carefully legislated. If we look at the time allotted for reading, however, taking into account both the reading during meals, liturgical reading at Matins and Compline, and the time set aside for private reading, we find that monks are to be reading or listening to reading for perhaps 4-6 hours a day during the year, with additional time during Lent.
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