Man was created to work

In recent times the magisterium of the Church has tackled the theme of work as an environment in which the laity can seek holiness. John Paul II has insisted in his  encyclical Laborem exercens: ‘…the Church,’ he says ‘sees it as her particular duty to form a spirituality of work which will help all people to come closer through work, to God, the Creator and Redeemer, to participate in his salvific plan for man and the world, and to deepen their friendship with Christ in their lives.’

Some of the human implications of work well done are spelled out by St Josemaría Escrivá:

Work, all work, bears witness to the dignity of man, to his dominion over creation. It is an opportunity to develop one’s personality. It is a bond of union with others, the way to support one’s family, a means of aiding in the improvement of the society in which we live and in the progress of all humanity.

Here we see how the human and the Christian intersect to the point of becoming fused together. Work, the everyday exercise of one’s profession, with all the obligations it implies, that work if faced up to with faith, aware of how near God is, leads to dialogue with God, identification with his will, and solid growth in virtue. This same work also constantly provides opportunities to contribute to the welfare of others, to do one’s bit for the common good, to open for one’s friends and colleagues horizons of Christian life.

Meaning of work

One of the original contributions of Saint Josemaría Escrivá was not only to preach the universal call to holiness before Vatican II, but also to provide a particular spirituality as a means of putting this teaching of Vatican II into practice. Throughout his life, he constantly reminded people of the importance of work for the Christian. Daily work, he used to say, ‘is the hinge on which our calling to holiness is fixed and turns’. It is not only the context in which the majority of men should become holy, but, he goes so far as to say, ‘it is the raw material of their holiness’. What God asks of the Christian is ‘the miracle of turning the prose of each day into heroic verse by the love which you put into ordinary work. God waits for you there. He expects you to be a responsible person, with the zeal of an apostle and competence of a good worker’.

Daily work acquires a particular importance for the Christian because it is the free, responsible activity of the human person, as one who is called by God to participate in both his creative and redemptive activity. It often involves effort and weariness. But it also bears witness to the dignity of man. It is an opportunity to develop one’s personality. The experience of work bonds us to others and develops friendships. It is a means to support one’s family, and allows us to contribute to the improvement of society. And, since the time Christ worked as a carpenter, work for us ‘becomes a redeemed and redemptive reality.… It is something to be sanctified and something which sanctifies’.

Work well done 

We sanctify work by uniting it with the redemptive work of Jesus: by doing it with love, doing it out of service to others, to family and society. Our work has an effect on the material things of this world, on human culture, and civilisation. Through our work God calls us to care for the earth and to humanise it. We can only sanctify work if we do it well, with attention to detail, overcoming tiredness, by keeping our word and also by respecting dead-lines out of concern for the needs of others. Sloppy, careless work cannot be sanctified because it is not the proper raw material for sanctification. It cannot contribute to the ‘humanisation’ and ‘redemption’ of the world in which we live. The gospel tells us that Jesus did everything well (cf. Mk 7:37). Hence the Christian should be noted for the quality of his work, his reliability of service, and his sense of responsibility.

St Josemaría saw holiness through work as a logical consequence of that unity of life which all Christian are encouraged to cultivate. In this way the grace drawn from the Mass, the sacraments, and daily prayer provides the spiritual resources to sanctify family life, daily work and social commitments. For St Josemaría this was the essence of the Christian vocation of the laity. It is in the context of these normal daily activities that they find the opportunities to live a spirit of service, to respect the rights of others, and to exercise a sense of responsibility. Here, by practising the virtues of industriousness, generosity, sobriety, cheerfulness, charity, etc, we can grow in personal holiness.

To sanctify work, people need the basic work skills to carry out the activity with natural perfection, along with a deep awareness of their responsibilities as citizens and as Christians; they need a deep knowledge of the Christian faith, which is the light that will illuminate their minds and sustain them in their activities, and they should have a deep interior life, nourished by the word of God, the sacraments and prayer.

Because of the Incarnation, Escrivá always maintained that there was nothing human outside the concern of Christ. John Paul comments in this context: ‘On the basis of this deep conviction, Blessed Josemaría invited men and women from the most varied social conditions to sanctify themselves and to cooperate in the sanctification of others by sanctifying ordinary life.’

Sanctifying ordinary life and sanctifying work are realities which go hand in hand: each has reference to the other. To be contemplatives in the middle of work requires attention to material detail and technical perfection, supported by an attitude of love and with a desire to serve mankind and the demands of the common good. All these intersect and complement one another in the ideal of the sanctification of work.

Any honourable human activity can be the place for practising Christian charity which is the fullness of the Gospel law. And in this context, Escrivá spoke especially of work, which is a basic human reality: ‘Work is born of love; it is a manifestation of love and is directed towards love. We see the hand of God, not only in the wonders of nature, but also in our experience of work and effort. Work thus becomes a prayer and thanksgiving, because we know we are placed on the earth by God, that we are loved by him, and made heirs to his promises. We have been rightly told, “In eating and drinking, in all that you do, do everything for God’s glory” (1 Cor 10:31).’

Their ordinary life in the world is the place and the means for the laity to obtain the holiness to which they are called.

Personal sanctification through work

We sanctify ourselves by uniting our work with the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. We sanctify ourselves in our work by doing it well, by applying the virtues of order and punctuality, care of detail, and by finishing things off well.

I would like to quote from an incisive homily of St. Josemaría Escrivá about personal sanctification through work:

Work is part and parcel of man’s life on earth, he says. It involves, effort, weariness, exhaustion: signs of the suffering and struggle which accompany human existence and which point to the reality of sin and the need for redemption. But in itself work is not a penalty or a curse or a punishment: those who speak of it that way have not understood sacred Scripture properly.

It is time for us Christians to shout from the rooftops that work is a gift from God and that it makes no sense to classify men differently, according to their  occupation, as if some jobs were nobler than others. Work, all work, bears witness to the dignity of man, to his dominion over creation. It is an opportunity to develop one’s personality. It is a bond of union with others, the way to support one’s family, a means of aiding in the improvement of the society in which we live and in the progress of all humanity.

All Christians should love this world of ours as a reality created by God and therefore endowed with goodness. The ordinary Christian should especially love this world and all the noble realities it contains: professional work, family duties, social relationships.’

Escrivá has no illusions about the difficulties involved in everyday work – the effort, the weariness, the contradictions. Yet he affirms that work is a gift from God because it bears witness to the dignity of man. It is a cause of many social relationships and an opportunity to contribute to society.

Sanctification of work refers to the understanding that holiness in ordinary life is a fundamental attitude rather than a remedy for temporal concerns. Work is an opportunity that Christ may be seen acting in the world and making him present in the world, and participating in his redemptive work; each lay person takes on the priesthood of Christ by becoming another Christ.

Sanctifying work

Man was created to work, ut operaretur as the book of Genesis tell us (cf. Gen 2:15). He is called to dedicate himself to his occupations for the glory of God. With his work, the creature enriches the world that he received from God, to present it later to him as a sacrifice of praise. To sanctify one’s work involves the daily effort to turn one’s work into a holy task, dedicated primarily to God. This means working professionally, producing a finished job, infused with love and a spirit of service.

Man brings about an inner transformation of himself, he becomes more human, when he expresses himself through work. But we can also sanctify ourselves in our work by uniting it with the redemptive work of Jesus himself. Connected with this is the fundamental idea that holiness consists not so much in doing great things, but in doing the normal duties of each day well, doing them with love, with a deep spirit of service. The daily life of Mary in Nazareth, like the hidden life of Jesus, was not in any way spectacular. It didn’t attract attention. Yet we know that these two ordinary lives overflowed with charity and would, in a quiet way, have powerfully influenced the lives of all those around them in Nazareth – neighbours, relatives, friends. We could also say the same of St Joseph the carpenter, who offers us a sublime example

In the light of the Paschal mystery we can see more clearly how everyday work, often demanding and exhausting, is a time of encounter with Christ dying and triumphant on the Cross. St Josemaría never considered holiness as something to be achieved in spite of the demands and challenges of work and family life. Rather, he regarded these situations as so many opportunities of grace in which the fatherly providence of God makes itself felt. Thus, what seem to be obstacles are converted into a means to holiness. Grace does not eliminate the difficulties but rather pervades them, transforming them in the process.

We are not born holy. Holiness is forged through a constant interplay between God’s grace and our own free response to it in the daily circumstances of our lives. Thus to sanctify ourselves requires the constant support of the sacraments, and of daily prayer.

In trying to fulfil their tasks faithfully each day, lay people put into play many human virtues: industriousness, justice, perseverance, integrity, fortitude, prudence, etc. And also with these, the theological virtues: faith, which leads them to perceive the nearness of God and the final meaning of their efforts; hope, which encourages them to trust deeply in God and to persevere in their efforts despite difficulties; charity, which leads them to a joyful love and dedication, shown with sincere deeds.

We sanctify work by uniting it with the redemptive work of Jesus: by doing it with love, doing it out of service to others, to family and society. Our work has an effect on the material things of this world, on human culture, and civilisation. Through our work God calls us to care for the earth and to humanise it.

Sanctifying others through one’s work

Work contributes to bringing those around us closer to God when, carried out with professional competence and spirit of service; it redounds to the good of society, improving family conditions, configuring society in a Christian way. In carrying out their daily work, the laity establish relationships with many people – family members, companions and colleagues. Faith impels them to recognise those around them as children of God. And charity urges them to treat people as such, sharing in their joys, being interested in their problems, and transmitting to them the greatest good they possess – their faith.  The human contacts forged by work give rise to friendships, and through this friendship, to evangelisation.

By reason of our baptismal commitment to participate in Christ’s redemptive mission, our own work has an apostolic character because it is an opportunity to give ourselves to others, to reveal Christ to them, and to lead them to God the Father. As we were reminded in John Paul II’s pastoral programme for the New Millennium, Christians are called to co-operate in a new evangelisation which will imbue the home, the workplace, public and private life with the values of the Gospel.

Through the ordinary activities of each day we give ourselves an identity for better or worse. As Christians we are called to make the actions of our daily life conform to our baptismal identity as God’s children. Thus sanctifying ordinary life consists principally in sanctifying the daily interactions with the members of one’s own family (spouse, children), with the people we are in contact with at work.

This is an excerpt from a paper entitled: The Priesthood of the Laity: Holiness through Work, and the Challenge of the Secular. It was delivered at the Fota  Conference, Cork 4-6 July 2015, and is printed here with the kind permission of the author.