Episode Transcript  

One

Work is a Gift not a Curse

In this series, we have been meditating on one of the most beautiful truths of the Catholic faith: God’s plan is to make us share in His divine life so that we can cooperate in His saving work. We can do this in an ordinary and powerful way by our human work. 

Work is not a punishment for sin. It is not something to be avoided, thrown off like the shackles of slavery, or simply endured. Work is a gift from God. After God creates Adam, He places him in a garden, but not merely to enjoy it. God gives Adam a mission. Genesis says, “God took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it.” (Gen 2:15)

So meaningful work is one of God's greatest gifts to humanity. Work is a gift for three great reasons. Through work, we share in God's creative activity and help make the world better. Through work, we participate in the redeeming work of Christ and help Him save souls. Through work, we cooperate with the Holy Spirit to grow in virtue and become more like God.

Two

Work is a Participation in God’s Creative Activity

God gave Adam work before the Fall, before sin and suffering came into the world. So work isn’t a curse. It was part of paradise. So work is a gift and a source of joy. Children instinctively love to help their parents with projects. Their work may not be “needed,” but it draws them into relationship with their parents, and it helps them grow. Jesus said, "My Father is still working, and I am working too." (John 5:17)

What is the work of God? He created the world. He sustains it every moment. And He is leading it toward its final perfection. And God invites us, His children, to join Him in His work of doing good for the world and for people. 

This is why St. Paul says we are "co-workers with God." (1 Cor 3:9)

So the purpose of work is to make the world a better place by serving people, helping them to have better lives, and reach their full potential. Ask yourself: How does my work make the world a better place, and whom does my work serve? If it doesn't clearly serve someone, it’s time to change how or where we work.

Three

Work Perfects You as a Person

Work is not just something we do to make money. It is a primary way God develops us to reach our potential as His children. Aristotle observed, “We become just by doing just acts, temperate by doing temperate acts, brave by doing brave acts.” (Nicomachean Ethics II.1). So Work is the training ground for virtue.

We often say, "If only I knew then what I know now." But the truth is: we only know because we worked through mistakes, perseverance, and growth. Through work, we grow in: Prudence, the art of good decision-making, Justice, giving others their due, Temperance, mastering selfishness, and Fortitude, the virtue to keep going when we want to give up. And above all, responsibility, the foundation of maturity.

The person you are today was shaped by the work you have done, both at home and in the world. That’s why even in retirement or sickness, we need meaningful work that continues to form us in virtue and love.

Four

The Redeeming Work of Christ

The greatest "work" of Jesus was not carpentry or preaching. It was His suffering and death for the salvation of the world. John Paul II in Laborem Exercens wrote, “This work of salvation came about through suffering and death on a Cross. By enduring the toil of work in union with Christ crucified for us, man in a way collaborates with the Son of God for the redemption of humanity…The Christian finds in human work a small part of the Cross of Christ and accepts it in the same spirit of redemption in which Christ accepted his Cross for us.”

Offer up your work for the salvation of souls, especially your loved ones, away from Christ and the Church. Jesus will use your work to save them.

Five

The Hidden Work of Suffering

The greatest work in human history was the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. This means we can participate in the greatest work precisely when we feel the most useless, when we are suffering, or incapacitated or seemingly unproductive. If we accept what we did not choose, do not like, and cannot change, and offer it up for souls, then we are doing the most fruitful work possible.

Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single grain; but if it dies, it yields a rich harvest.” (John 12:24)

Don't waste your suffering. Offer it up. This may be the most important and powerful work of your life.

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