Work as a Means of Interior Sanctification
Today we continue our study of Working Your Way Into Heaven by Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski. We've discussed many, if not most, of the themes in this great work over the years, so much of what we'll consider in coming weeks will serve as a welcome review. We begin by considering work as a means of interior sanctification, one of the key themes in the book, and one we've covered many times in the past.
First, we ask: How do we value our work? Cardinal Wyszynski notes that...
"...the value of work is generally judged from the material point of view."
We may judge our work by how much we're paid, our prospects for advancement, the satisfaction it brings us, its importance in providing security for our families, and a whole host of other factors. Doing so makes perfect sense, since work certainly serves a practical purpose in our lives. Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, earning a living comes with the territory. But we Catholics shouldn't stop there when we consider the value of our work. Indeed, work is a means of sanctification. Our work can - and should - help us to be more holy. We can grow closer to God by means of our work.
Compare this to how we value our work from the material point of view. Got it? Now let's deepen our understanding of the spiritual role that work plays in our lives.
"Man is made for both prayer and work. Work can be allied to sanctification, for the inner harmony of human life has a salutary influence on work."
We might recall here the Rule of St. Benedict, a work we have discussed many times in the past. While it was written as a set of guidelines for monks living together in a monastery, under the rule of an Abbot, we have seen how its lessons can be applied it to our our own lives. These lessons revolve around ora et labora - prayer and work - which lie at the root of the life of the individual and the life of the community. It's no different for those of us who live outside the monastery. The integration of prayer and work helps to create harmony between our exterior and interior lives.
Of course you don't have to be Catholic to understand this in some way. Just think of all those personal development gurus who tell us to think "positive" thoughts, to integrate our personal and professional lives, even to seek "inner peace" - the list goes on. If you've ever incorporated yoga into your physical fitness regimen, you're familiar with the connection between body, mind, and emotions.
Frankly, common sense should help us see that when our emotions are unstable and our personal life is in turmoil, we'll manifest this in how we speak and act. And that will, of course, naturally impact our work lives. This all makes perfect sense in a worldly sense. As Catholics, though, we want to elevate that worldly common sense to a supernatural plane. And so we take our understanding of inner harmony having a salutary influence on our work a step further. Cardinal Wyszynski tells us we need to...
"...arrange our work in such a way that it serves our interior life and, indeed, becomes one of the means of sanctification."
Just how each of us goes about arranging our work will vary. We're all different; each of us has a unique personality and temperament. In addition, we do different types of work. Some of us sit at a desk all day typing on a computer keyboard; those in sales and service positions may drive around to visit customers in different locations; plumbers, electricians, carpenters and construction workers rely on physical strength and/or dexterity, in addition to their brains, to apply their skills. Here are some simple examples of making work serve our interior lives.
First, we can arrange our day such that we carve out specific time for prayer. Grace with meals goes without saying. We might pause briefly at the time of the noon Angelus. I have an alarm set on my smart phone that reminds me when it's noon. Do I always faithfully say the Angelus? No. Sometimes I'm on the phone, or in a meeting where I'm presenting an idea; but I do most days. And I can always circle back to it later. If there's a church accessible to your place of work that offers Mass during the day, consider attending daily Mass as often as feasible; perhaps you might visit the Blessed Sacrament.
We can also turn our actual work into prayer. Beginning the day by declaring our intention to work for the greater glory of God will get us started on the right foot. I have patron saints for my work, and most days I pray for their intercession to help me work for God's greater glory, the benefit of my clients, and the common good. On good days, those intentions will come to mind as I'm reading, researching, studying, writing, working with spreadsheets, planning, etc. Little aspirations like "All for Thee, Lord" sprinkled throughout the day provide us with moments of recollection that we work in God's presence and desire to please Him in all we do. Difficulties through the day can be "offered up."
With that, we'll take a break and continue next time. It's time to get to work.
First, we ask: How do we value our work? Cardinal Wyszynski notes that...
"...the value of work is generally judged from the material point of view."
We may judge our work by how much we're paid, our prospects for advancement, the satisfaction it brings us, its importance in providing security for our families, and a whole host of other factors. Doing so makes perfect sense, since work certainly serves a practical purpose in our lives. Unless you were born with a silver spoon in your mouth, earning a living comes with the territory. But we Catholics shouldn't stop there when we consider the value of our work. Indeed, work is a means of sanctification. Our work can - and should - help us to be more holy. We can grow closer to God by means of our work.
Compare this to how we value our work from the material point of view. Got it? Now let's deepen our understanding of the spiritual role that work plays in our lives.
"Man is made for both prayer and work. Work can be allied to sanctification, for the inner harmony of human life has a salutary influence on work."
We might recall here the Rule of St. Benedict, a work we have discussed many times in the past. While it was written as a set of guidelines for monks living together in a monastery, under the rule of an Abbot, we have seen how its lessons can be applied it to our our own lives. These lessons revolve around ora et labora - prayer and work - which lie at the root of the life of the individual and the life of the community. It's no different for those of us who live outside the monastery. The integration of prayer and work helps to create harmony between our exterior and interior lives.
Of course you don't have to be Catholic to understand this in some way. Just think of all those personal development gurus who tell us to think "positive" thoughts, to integrate our personal and professional lives, even to seek "inner peace" - the list goes on. If you've ever incorporated yoga into your physical fitness regimen, you're familiar with the connection between body, mind, and emotions.
Frankly, common sense should help us see that when our emotions are unstable and our personal life is in turmoil, we'll manifest this in how we speak and act. And that will, of course, naturally impact our work lives. This all makes perfect sense in a worldly sense. As Catholics, though, we want to elevate that worldly common sense to a supernatural plane. And so we take our understanding of inner harmony having a salutary influence on our work a step further. Cardinal Wyszynski tells us we need to...
"...arrange our work in such a way that it serves our interior life and, indeed, becomes one of the means of sanctification."
Just how each of us goes about arranging our work will vary. We're all different; each of us has a unique personality and temperament. In addition, we do different types of work. Some of us sit at a desk all day typing on a computer keyboard; those in sales and service positions may drive around to visit customers in different locations; plumbers, electricians, carpenters and construction workers rely on physical strength and/or dexterity, in addition to their brains, to apply their skills. Here are some simple examples of making work serve our interior lives.
First, we can arrange our day such that we carve out specific time for prayer. Grace with meals goes without saying. We might pause briefly at the time of the noon Angelus. I have an alarm set on my smart phone that reminds me when it's noon. Do I always faithfully say the Angelus? No. Sometimes I'm on the phone, or in a meeting where I'm presenting an idea; but I do most days. And I can always circle back to it later. If there's a church accessible to your place of work that offers Mass during the day, consider attending daily Mass as often as feasible; perhaps you might visit the Blessed Sacrament.
We can also turn our actual work into prayer. Beginning the day by declaring our intention to work for the greater glory of God will get us started on the right foot. I have patron saints for my work, and most days I pray for their intercession to help me work for God's greater glory, the benefit of my clients, and the common good. On good days, those intentions will come to mind as I'm reading, researching, studying, writing, working with spreadsheets, planning, etc. Little aspirations like "All for Thee, Lord" sprinkled throughout the day provide us with moments of recollection that we work in God's presence and desire to please Him in all we do. Difficulties through the day can be "offered up."
With that, we'll take a break and continue next time. It's time to get to work.
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