If you think about it, most of us will likely spend the majority of our adult (awake) lives in the workplace.  A typical eight hour work day accounts for 1/3rd of the total day, with the other 2/3rds devoted to sleeping, family, friends, faith, etc.  In the practice of our faith, do we consider the workplace as an opportunity to be open about our Catholic beliefs or do we ignore this vital time and only think about being Catholic the other 16 hours a day?

I suspect many of us will agree that the workplace today is perceived as a challenging environment to be open about our Christian beliefs.  The specter of the Church’s battle with this Administration over the HHS Mandate looms over every Catholic employer.   Political correctness and rigid company policies have led many of us to compartmentalize our faith in an unhealthy and unnatural way.  I often hear people say “I just leave my faith at the door when I get to work.”  But, how can we possibly separate our spiritual selves from our physical being?

In Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican Council weighed in with this declaration: “One of the gravest errors of our time is the dichotomy between the faith which many profess and the practice of their daily lives… The Christian who shirks his temporal duties shirks his duties towards his neighbor, neglects God himself, and endangers his eternal salvation.  Let Christians follow the example of Christ who worked as a craftsman; let them be proud of the opportunity to carry out their earthly activity in such a way as to integrate human, domestic, professional, scientific and technical enterprises with religious values, under whose supreme direction all things are ordered to the glory of God.”

How can we overcome secular obstacles to our faith and fully embrace Christ in every aspect of our day, especially work?

Anyone with a regular prayer life can attest to the great variation from one prayer time to the next.  Some days, you’re trudging through Scripture like a knee-high river while other days you are elevated beyond the text and find yourself to be counted among the crowd of Jesus’ first-century disciples.  Of course, given the chaos of life, the former is much more familiar than the latter, but it is the deep experience with Christ that causes a desire to return to well up within us.  The difference from one prayer time to the next has often baffled me – especially when I ardently try to have a profound experience, but am unable to go beyond simple meditation.

About eight months ago, a confessor recommended that I read the Passion narrative from each Gospel, moving from one to the next and then repeating the cycle.  I followed his advice for several months and began to discover analogies and nuances throughout; once I became intimately familiar with the events portrayed in the Gospels, my imagination was no longer focused on the verse-to-verse occurrences and began filling in details not mentioned in the story.  Did St. Peter know Malchus before he cut off his ear?  Was Pilate’s fear a superstition and, if so, was he more afraid of Caesar than the son of a God?  Why is Peter seen as such a hot/cold figure in the Gospel of John?

 Seeing God Face to Face

I will do a conscious act of charity

John 14: 6-14

Introductory Prayer:

Christ, I thank you for the gift of faith. You know that I believe, but I want my faith to grow. In knowing you I find meaning, rest and strength. I need you, Lord. I trust in your loving mercy. You know what I need the most today. All I ask is that you remain at my side throughout this day. That is enough for me. I want to spend this day making you happy, pleasing you with my every thought, word and action.

Petition:

Christ, help me to know you and love you more each day.

1. I Am the Way, the Truth and the Life:

“I am the way, the truth and the life.” Christ is the answer to our problems. Since he is fully God and fully man, his very reality unites humanity to God in a way never before hoped. It is in following Christ that we find our way. It is in believing in Christ that we discover truth. It is in accepting Christ that we gain life. Christians don’t simply follow a set of rules or believe in some doctrines, we follow a person: Christ. As Archbishop Fulton Sheen wrote, Christ’s “doctrine was himself” (Life of Christ, p. 153).

I will try to say something that will plant a spiritual seed in others.

John 3:7b-15

Introductory Prayer:

Lord, you know my needs better than I do. I turn to your Spirit to teach me what to ask for in this prayer. I want to fulfill your holy will over my life. I love you, Lord, and I place all my hope in you.

Petition:

Lord, increase my faith!

1. You Are the Teacher of Israel:

Nicodemus was one of the leading teachers, yet here he tries to make a quiet request for information from Jesus. As a religious teacher he was well versed in the rules and regulations, but there was still a gap in his knowledge. He didn’t know about the Holy Spirit and the new existence that we receive by being born of “water and the spirit.” In a way, he can’t be blamed, since Jesus had not yet revealed it, but it just goes to show us how fundamental spiritual knowledge is in order to be a credible spiritual leader. As committed Catholics, we need to lead others to deeper faith. But will we do so to the degree that we know the faith and are living it in our hearts?

2. Born from the Spirit:

Are we practical materialists? At times we become so enmeshed in the reality of daily life that we don’t give the slightest thought to the spiritual world, which is infinitely greater than the material one that consumes all our attention. Through our baptism, we are marked out for heavenly things. We bear on our soul the indelible mark that proclaims to the universe that we are children of God. Every time we take a spiritual breath, and glance heavenwards, we renew that birth in the Spirit through which the Lord claimed us as his own. Let us never spend more than a minute as practical materialists!

3. Giving Testimony:

Jesus speaks here about giving testimony. He wants us to be his witnesses as well. He wants us to continue to proclaim to the world the reality of the “heavenly things” that he revealed. Possibly the greatest testimony we can give is the happiness and charity of our lives. Joyful, charitable Catholics carry in their very demeanor the sign that their faith is authentic. Before you get angry, upset, or critical, ask yourself, “Is this the testimony of a life filled with the Holy Spirit?”

Conversation with Christ:

Lord, thank you for the gift of the Holy Spirit in my life. At times, I don’t always live in accord with the great blessing you have given me, but I know that your patience and mercy always give me another chance. Help me to love others and give them a glimpse of heaven through my charity.

Resolution:

In my conversation today, I will try to say something that will plant a spiritual seed in others.