On this feast of St. Joseph the Worker, I thought it fitting to share some reflections on an short, potent prayer written by Pope St. Pius X.
In this prayer, St. Pius X mentions the virtues necessary to employ in our work, the specific faults we’re inclined to commit, and the spiritual mindset with which we should approach our work.
I’ve been musing on Joseph and how significant his presence is. It seems as if the whole point of Joseph’s life is just to be present to Jesus and Mary. Miracles, words of wisdom, grand gestures? Nope. Just be present wholeheartedly to God and those around you. That’s enough.
We covered the topic of work this month (May 2021) on St. Joseph’s Shelf, partially because May 1st is the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. So as we close out the month, it’s worth looking at a few truths about the value of work through the eyes of our website’s patron saint.
Why do we work? How can we pray through work? Why is it difficult? How do we draw close to God and others through our work? The Cardinal answers these questions in 22 short, substantial chapters.
We’ve already talked about the Catholic view of work and reasons why we perform work for God, others, and ourselves. But schoolwork presents different challenges and opportunities. Here are five deeper reasons why we work and study in school, beyond grades and college applications.
Almost everyone has to deal with work-related stress. The causes vary, but the negative impact it has on us and our work is universal. That said, Catholics are far from being stuck in a hopeless position. Here are tips for dealing with stress from a Faith-filled perspective.
Most of us lead busy lives where the greater part of our time is devoted to work. We struggle, perhaps, to be strong in purposefully blocking out time for prayer. There’s just so much to do.
In the workplace, you can get fired for not having a professional attitude towards your coworkers and your work. Beyond that, however, as Christians we have a responsibility to act with virtue, showing Christ’s love to others and becoming saints.
It’s hard to pin down the definition of a good worker. People have different talents and gifts, as well as different styles of working. Creative types can be disorganized (and if you try to organize them, they get stressed.) Orderly types can be thrown off their game when a crisis occurs.
Our goal in life is Heaven and eternal union with God, and our time on earth is preparation for this. Work is of immense benefit to ourselves. Work’s a natural channel for helping other people.
There’s a common tendency among people today to compartmentalize the different parts of their life. Work is a classic example of this. Five days a week, we haul ourselves out of bed to our computer or the office. Come the weekend, we go, “Whoopee!”