I also saw this as I arrived this morning. As I
understand, "
Work is Worship" is a common
misreading of the
motto of the
Benedictines, a
Catholic monastic order that adheres to the
Rule of
St. Benedict, and has thus come into
common (well, I guess relatively
uncommon)
parlance. The
Latin "
Labora et Ora" actually means "
Work and Worship," and reflects both the
Benedictines'
piety and belief in the
spiritual value of
labor.
I would personally prefer to translate Ora as "prayer," as I still remember some of the Latin Order of Mass, where the priest commonly calls upon the congregation to "oremus;" that is, "Let us pray." Of course, there are far more esteemed Latin scholars in E2 than I.
On a side note, I am a firm believer in the value of a good, honest day's work. Today I write for a living, but it does not seem so long ago that I unloaded trucks to help put myself through college. It can get very hot in the back of a truck as the sun beats down mercilessly upon its metal roof, a fact which makes immense rolls of fabric seem much, much heavier. It was not pleasant, but I did it willingly; and if fate calls me to stoop and lift again for the sake of my family, I would do it in a heartbeat.