For St Benedict work is another means of glorifying God as well as a way of earning our living. Work has always been a hallmark of the monk — any kind of work, manual and intellectual — but always done with care and reverence, since the tools of the monastery should (as St Benedict says) be treated like the sacred vessels of the altar.

In work, the search for God continues – in art production and literary work, in kitchen and bakehouse, in garden and orchard, in caring for the community’s sick and elderly. But above all, the search for God is to be found in the ordinary tasks of building up a way of life where liturgy, work, prayer, and the love and service of one another are deeply interconnected and mutually enriching. It is a simple, balanced, demanding way of living that leads us to pursue life to its fullest.

Click above if you wish to hear Widor’s Toccata in full played on St Cecilia’s Abbey organ by a sister.