When Abbot Marc gave a presentation to the Catholic Institute for Sacred Music last February, he explained the context of this phrase: “At the hour for the Divine Office, as soon as the signal is heard, let them abandon whatever they may have in hand and hasten with the greatest speed, yet with seriousness, so that there is no excuse for levity. Let nothing, therefore, be preferred to the Work of God. Indeed, the Divine Office is the work of God not only in the sense that it is an activity only for God, but also in the sense that the words recited are themselves the work of God.”

When the monks pray the Opus Dei, the Work of God, it is truly God’s Work — God’s redemptive actions being communicated to His people through the liturgical prayers of the monks. The divine lifeline of Sanctifying Grace. That’s pretty powerful!

The monks from Christ in the Desert wrote: “The monastic liturgy, comprised of both the Opus Dei and the Holy Eucharist, is fundamentally a contemplative praise of God, where monks recount in word and song the great and saving deeds of God for the human race in Jesus Christ. The liturgy is not a mere reenactment of history, but an active participation in the Paschal Mystery — a timeless re-presentation of the passion, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus.”

In the time of Moses, the “liturgy” consisted of slaughtering a lamb, and the blood was literally sprinkled on the people. The people’s participation was signified by roasting the lamb, and everyone would consume the roasted sacrifice. Jesus is the Lamb of God. He declared that his blood would be poured out as a redemptive sacrifice, and His faithful people consume the offered sacrifice in Holy Communion. This is the heart and soul of the ultimate work of monks.

First and foremost, we are seeking men who want to be 100 percent generous by dedicating and consecrating their lives and all their hopes and aspirations to Jesus and Mary. That’s first! Then, for many centuries, kings and emperors and noble men and women with financial means would endow monasteries and establish a contract with the monks. They would support the monks, who in turn would dedicate their prayers and works for the physical and spiritual health of the benefactors. This is still possible today.