Fulton Sheen on Work - 3

Continuing with Fulton Sheen's thoughts about work, we arrive at some especially interesting insights today.

First, the "craftsman's approach" to all work. Those of us who actually work at a craft would naturally know this. But many of us who do not do such work may take that same approach of the craftsman to any sort of work we do.

Part of my work involves craftsmanship, so I have direct experience here. Part - the part that earns the money - is not a craftsman's work. But applying the care and attention of the craftsman to it always yields the best results. Here's what Bishop Sheen has to say: 

"The legitimate pride in doing work well relieves it of much of its drudgery. Some people, who have held to this craftsman's standard get a thrill from any job they do. They know the satisfaction of " a job well done" whether they are engaged in caning a chair or cleaning a horse's stall or carving a statue for a Cathedral. Their honor and their self-respect are heightened by the discipline of careful work."

Notice how this approach adds the benefit of relieving our work of much of its drudgery. If we've worked for any length of time, we know all too well the drag that the natural drudgery of any job brings with it. The craftsman's approach provides a practical remedy to this.

Now here's a most interesting historical observation of the craftsman's approach to work: 

"They have retained the old attitude of the middle ages, when work was a sacred event, a ceremony, a source of spiritual merit. Labor was not then undertaken merely for the sake of economic gain, but was chosen through an inner compulsion, through a desire to project the creative power of God through our own human effort."

Much to think about here. We see that in addition to the craftsman's approach alleviating the natural and normal drudgery that work can bring with it, there's a spiritual benefit as well. 

Bishop Sheen posits that in the middle ages, work was a sacred event. For those of us who see the past as somehow inferior to our modern age, or who believe the middle ages were a time of ignorance and superstition, it's time to shed these false notions. We won't try to do that here, except to say it's bunk. Such an attitude would seem to be the leftovers of the Enlightenment, that movement in the 18th century that claimed to have discovered true knowledge, science, wisdom, etc. as opposed to the faulty, inferior efforts of all that preceded. 

But here we find a richness in those times that elevated work to a higher plane - a sacred place. We can do this now, even in the face of our post-Enlightenment world. Indeed, most of the posts in this blog concern themselves with sanctifying our work. 

While we can do this, how much more effective would be our focus if we worked in a culture, in an environment that saw work - all work - as a sacred event?

More so, Bishop Sheen claims work was chosen through an inner compulsion. That compulsion was the desire to project the creative power of God through our own human effort.

Now, we might balance this view against our understanding that the typical peasant in those days did not have much choice about the work done. The society was stratified in its own way. There was little movement up or down those strata. But, still, if the age was one where God and the Church permeated every day life in a manner we can hardly imagine, one can see how work would naturally connect with the supernatural - so far as to be seen as a participation in the creative power of God.

If we circle back to that "craftsman's approach" to work, it would only make sense that the product of our craft would be good to the extent that it so participated in God's creative power. Take this a step further and the understanding that all the good that comes from our efforts is due to God working through us. That's similar to the view that all the good we do comes from God. We're the cause of all that's not good, or not so great.

What can we do today to connect with Bishop Sheen's thoughts here? Simply go about doing all our tasks with - as Father Willie might put it - with exactness and fervor. It's a short, simple phrase, but packs a might punch. And, as you may notice, it does fit well into the idea of the craftsman's approach. Any craft done well requires careful attention to detail. The result: exactness. And such attention can be wearing if not accompanied by fervor. Great craftsman approach their work with fervor. How else could they produce something exquisite, something beautiful. So should be our work today.