They were put there to till and care for it. In monasticism, work was valued as a spiritual exercise and a discipline. It could be penitential when it was burdensome, but that helped guard the monk against laziness and sloth. In his Rule, prayer, reading, and work divide the hours of the day. All three find their center in God, and a balance among them is of vital importance to the well-being of the community.
Work provides a relaxation from and a complement to the mental activity of reading and prayer.
From the sixth to the twelfth centuries the monastic philosophy of work inspired monks and nuns to develop model farm systems, to create centers of trade and home industry. Monastic innovations in agriculture during the medieval period helped the recovery of unused land to feed a growing population. It also improved the working conditions and economic opportunities of neighboring peasants. They were influential in the development of civil and Church law, in handing on a knowledge of medicine, in the growth of art and architecture, and in the progress of education. The rise of capitalism and the spirit of unrestricted acquisition gradually dominated the world of work, producing modern economic life.