Sacred Work: Embracing Authenticity and Spirituality in Everyday Labor

1. A Meditation onthe Spiritualityof Work ~ as part of the Ministry of Everyday Life

2. The word of God’s revelation is profoundly marked by the fundamental truth that human beings, created in the image of God, share by their WORK in the activity of the Creator . . . On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

3. Human beings –in a sense –continue to developthe activity of the Creator –and perfect it – as they advance further and further in the discovery of the resources and values contained in the whole of creation. On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

4. The faithful, therefore must learn the deepest meaning and the valueof all creation,and its orientationto the praise of God. On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

5. The knowledge that by means of WORKhumanity shares in the work of creation constitutes the most profound motivefor undertaking it in various sectors. On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

6. By our labor we are unfolding the Creator’s work and contributing to the realization of God’s plan on earth. The Christian message binds us firmly to build the world . . . . . . . and to not neglect our fellow human beings. On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

7. The eloquence of the life of Christ is unequivocal : He belongs to the ‘working world ’ . . . He has appreciation and respect for human work. On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

8. It can indeed be said that ‘He looks with love upon human work’ and the different forms that it takes, seeing in each one of these forms a particular facet of humanity’s likeness with God, the Creator. . . . On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

9. While providing the substance of life for themselves and their families, men and women are performing their activities in a way which appropriately benefits society. On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

10. In this way the WORLD will be permeated by the spirit of Christ and more effectively achieve its purpose in justice, charity and peace . . . . On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

11. Work remains a good thing, not only because it is useful and enjoyable, but also because it expresses and increases the worker’s dignity. Through work we not only transform the world, we are transformed ourselves . . . . On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

12. For when people work, they not only alter things and society, they develop themselves as well. They learn much, they cultivate their resources, they go outside of themselves and beyond themselves. On The Church in the Modern World ~ Vatican II

13. Rightly understood, this kind of growth is of greater value than any external riches which can be garnered. People are more precious for what they are than for what they have. On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

14. It should not be forgotten that even in our own day work is very oppressive for many people, either because of miserable working conditions and long hours – especially in the poorer regions of the world – . . . or because of the persistence in economically more developed societies of too many cases of injustice and exploitation. The Lord’s Day ~ Pope John Paul II

15. . . . we are therefore reminded of The Dignity of Work and the Rights of Workers -- a key theme of Catholic Social Teaching --- The economy must serve people, not the other way around. Work is more than a way to make a living; it is a form of continuing participation in God's creation. If the dignity of work is to be protected, then the basic rights of workers must be respected: -- the right to productive work, -- to decent and fair wages, -- to organize and join unions, -- to private property, -- and to economic initiative. Excerpts from Sharing Catholic Social Teaching ~ U.S Catholic Conference

16. We inherit the work of the generations before us, and we share in the building of the future of all those who will come after us. Mother and Teacher ~ Pope John Paul II

17. Awareness that humanity's work is a participation in God's activity ought to permeate even ‘the most ordinaryeveryday activities.’ On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

18. The shopping mall, the school, the kitchen table, the courtroom, the factory, and the office can be altars of sorts – places where the mundane labors of life may be offered up, blessed, and transformed into things of beauty and holiness. From Sprituality@Work by G. F.Pierce

19. God is, in a sense, at the point of my pen, my pick, my paintbrush, my needle – and my heart and my thought. It is by carrying to completion the stroke, the line, the stitch I am working on that I shall lay hold on the ultimate end towards which my will at its deepest levels tends. Hymn of the Universe ~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

20. The Christian finds in human WORKa small part of the Cross of Christ and accepts it in the same spirit of redemption in which Christ accepted His Cross for us. On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

21. In WORK, thanks to the light that penetrates us from the Resurrection of Christ, we always find a glimmer of new life . . . . . . an announcement of ‘the new heavens and the new earth’in which humanity and the world participate precisely through the toil that goes with work. On Human Labor ~ Pope John Paul II

22. May the goodness of the Lord be upon us, And give success to the work of our hands. Psalm 90:17

23. AMEN