Crusaders in the Workplace
The recent terrorist attempt to blow up a plane at Christmas reminded meof two things: the peril that still lurks out there and the centuries old conflict between Christianity and Islam.
I remembered reading about the great calling from Innocent III in 1095 to the world's Christians: save the Holy Land. Good Christian men, come and chase the Infidel from the land Our Lord made holy.
While it sort of juiced me thinking about this, I'm not going to make any suggestions on how to fight Islamic terrorism now. No, it struck me that the spirit of the Crusades could be applied to us Catholic men in the workplace: Crusaders wanted in the workplace - your workplace, my workplace. We're not talking the Middle Ages; we're talking now.
The Pope hasn't called us to arms. Benedict XVI hasn't said a thing about a new Crusades. But it's staring us all in the face. The enemy's in charge now. And we Catholic men at work have to heed the call.
It's not like the enemy's lurking in the bushes either. They're all around us. In fact, they're pretty much in charge. They're the agnostics, atheists, secular humanists, consumerists. Never mind the pro-abortionists, the Catholic haters, and Christian baiters - never mind the Islamic jihadists.
They've got the stage now. They set the tone. Conversation, attitudes, behaviors - all according to their politically correct codes, anti-hate laws, office conduct rules - it's all part of their plan. What plan? To push Christianity to the sidelines. To turn Christ into a nice guy who told us all just to be nice to each other. And they're winning - or at least they think they are.
Back in the day, when the Muslims were conquering the world, a few centuries passed until Christians realized what they were up against. That's when Pope Innocent III called on Christians to fight back. Now we're in the same spot. And it's time to fight back.
But this time we're not going to put on armor and wear big red crosses on our chests. We're not going to get out our swords and shields (at least not yet). It doesn't have to come to that.
Instead, we'll start this day by offering up our day to Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, all our prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, for all the intentions of His Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sins, the reunion of all Christians, and the intentions of our Holy Father. Start there, Catholic men, every morning.
When we get to work, we're not going to forget. We're not going to put God in a box and seal Him up for the balance of the day. We're going to work for the greater glory of God. He will be with us throughout our day - every moment of our day.
And that's just for starters.
The Crusades of old started with a call from a Pope in the 11th century. Our Crusade begins each morning now. The enemy then was the Muslims who ruled over the Holy Land. Our enemy rules over everything - but he doesn't have to rule over us. No way. We Catholic men at work, we Crusaders in the workplace, will lead the way to reclaim the world for Christ, starting every morning in our homes and our workplaces.
It simply goes back to "ora et labora" - prayer and work. With prayer and work we can conquer; we can win, by the grace of God.
I remembered reading about the great calling from Innocent III in 1095 to the world's Christians: save the Holy Land. Good Christian men, come and chase the Infidel from the land Our Lord made holy.
While it sort of juiced me thinking about this, I'm not going to make any suggestions on how to fight Islamic terrorism now. No, it struck me that the spirit of the Crusades could be applied to us Catholic men in the workplace: Crusaders wanted in the workplace - your workplace, my workplace. We're not talking the Middle Ages; we're talking now.
The Pope hasn't called us to arms. Benedict XVI hasn't said a thing about a new Crusades. But it's staring us all in the face. The enemy's in charge now. And we Catholic men at work have to heed the call.
It's not like the enemy's lurking in the bushes either. They're all around us. In fact, they're pretty much in charge. They're the agnostics, atheists, secular humanists, consumerists. Never mind the pro-abortionists, the Catholic haters, and Christian baiters - never mind the Islamic jihadists.
They've got the stage now. They set the tone. Conversation, attitudes, behaviors - all according to their politically correct codes, anti-hate laws, office conduct rules - it's all part of their plan. What plan? To push Christianity to the sidelines. To turn Christ into a nice guy who told us all just to be nice to each other. And they're winning - or at least they think they are.
Back in the day, when the Muslims were conquering the world, a few centuries passed until Christians realized what they were up against. That's when Pope Innocent III called on Christians to fight back. Now we're in the same spot. And it's time to fight back.
But this time we're not going to put on armor and wear big red crosses on our chests. We're not going to get out our swords and shields (at least not yet). It doesn't have to come to that.
Instead, we'll start this day by offering up our day to Jesus, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary, all our prayers, works, joys and sufferings of this day, for all the intentions of His Sacred Heart: the salvation of souls, reparation for sins, the reunion of all Christians, and the intentions of our Holy Father. Start there, Catholic men, every morning.
When we get to work, we're not going to forget. We're not going to put God in a box and seal Him up for the balance of the day. We're going to work for the greater glory of God. He will be with us throughout our day - every moment of our day.
And that's just for starters.
The Crusades of old started with a call from a Pope in the 11th century. Our Crusade begins each morning now. The enemy then was the Muslims who ruled over the Holy Land. Our enemy rules over everything - but he doesn't have to rule over us. No way. We Catholic men at work, we Crusaders in the workplace, will lead the way to reclaim the world for Christ, starting every morning in our homes and our workplaces.
It simply goes back to "ora et labora" - prayer and work. With prayer and work we can conquer; we can win, by the grace of God.
Comments