What does prayer have to do with work? Since in the workaday world, prayer is literally a waste of time, the value of prayer lies in its positive contribution to work. While there is nothing wrong with prayer that makes us more patient in our interaction with coworkers, more creative, more rested, and ultimately more productive, such logic runs the risk of making contemplation servile to the workaday world.
In Part Two of his “Life in the World as the Purpose of a Life in God,” Dr. Michael Di Fuccia, the Martin Institute Director of Cultural Engagement, reflects improvisationally on the rhythm of contemplation and action by considering the relationship between prayer and work. He suggests that we not rush to justify prayer in terms of its impact upon our work, but rather, we should be content with contemplation’s “uselessness.” Because the workaday world is servile to contemplation, the transformative nature of prayer lies, paradoxically, in its non-utility.