Work

“The Christian vocation consists of making heroic verse out of the prose of each day.” (Saint Josemaria).

Christ in the Carpenter's Shop (Simone Barabino)

My greatest dream in life is to teach my children that they can contribute to the world in a meaningful way.

There are so many ways that they can do this, but in essence, my children could have a meaningful contribution to the world if they did something productive.  But they could also meaningfully contribute to the world by being completely unproductive.  Some of the greatest saints who ever lived were people who removed themselves from productivity and instead spent their time in prayer and sacrifice.

Saint Therese of Lisieux was such a Saint, cloistered as a Carmelite nun.  So was her predecessor, Saint Teresa of Avila.  Saint Lucia of Fatima did the same thing.  Saint Clare founded the Poor Clares to be separated from the world.  In the West, Saint Francis of Assisi and Saint Padre Pio remained very separate from the world in many ways.  In the East, Saints like Saint Maroon, and Saint Charbel Maklouf lived in hermitages spending their lives away form others so as to devote themselves more fully to a reflection of God…

These were people who changed the world.  But there were others too.  Pope Saint John Paul II was one of the youngest Popes of the modern age and spent a great deal of his time during his pontificate travelling and meeting and doing.  Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta changed the world by changing the way that the poorest of the poor were attended – this took a great deal of her time and effort.  Saint Damien Molokai lived among lepers in a Leper colony until his death by the same disease, which he contracted during his time there.  He was busy – not reflective – because there was much work to be done.

One thing that is common among all these Saints is that God was at the centre of their work.  Saint Josemaria said, “The Christian vocation consists of making heroic verse out of the prose of each day.”

And I have been reflecting on that today.  You see, God came to Earth as a Child of poor people who needed to work.  He worked for a living from a very young age.  He was the Son of a craftsman and as such He worked as a craftsman.  He was busy.  And yet He was able to carve away time for prayer.  This is why He so often went alone or into the wilderness to pray.  This is because Christ is a hard worker.  He does not shirk His duties.  He is not lazy.  Just as the Saints who took themselves out of the world through their vocations devoted themselves to prayer in a disciplined way, so too did Christ…  This is why they are Saints – because they followed the example of Christ.

And today, as I pray that I and my children will make a meaningful contribution to the world, I also pray for the Grace to follow the example of my Beloved.  For there is such great work to be done in His name…

For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.