Sanctify Your Work – The Universal Call

This past Wednesday, June 26th was the feast of St. Josemaria Escriva. His feast came at a perfect time for me after writing my last post on simplicity. Last week, I was reflecting on the fact that the fastest way to reach financial independence would be to jump straight to life with God alone in religious life. With no expenses, the friars and sisters who depend completely on God and others have no need for income. In a beautiful way, this allows them to receive, be grateful, and give themselves completely back to prayer and whomever they serve in their mission.

Yet, as I mentioned, we aren’t all called to live a life of radical poverty in religious life. For many of you reading, that could seem like an insane idea anyways! But what if there was a way to work at your job with added meaning so that all the time dedicated was worth it? Josemaria stated it well in so many different ways, that we all can attain holiness through our everyday lives and in the way we are particularly called. In fact, it is our duty to be saints someday! And we have an obligation to work and to be sanctified through the work that we do. Regardless of your profession or state of life, you are called to know, love, and serve God. This is the Universal Call to Holiness.

This is not an excuse to say, “Great, I can be holy here so I will continue the same way I am now,” but rather to challenge us to recognize every area of our life as a gift from God and a gift to be given back to Him. We can offer the difficult moments as well as the successes of our work for the greater goods of the Kingdom by saying a quick prayer of thanks for these moments. This is a way, any task at work can become filled with purpose and meaning because it is oriented towards something greater!

Imagine Saint Joseph, a model father for everyone – so much so, that God chose this man to care for, raise, and protect Jesus throughout his first years. I like to picture Joseph’s work-life balance to be pretty good seeing as he provided for the Holy Family, but was also present and there for him. He also would have taught Jesus his trade as well, working hard with his son by his side. We too can work with Jesus at our side. In his The Way, Josemaria recommends carrying a small crucifix with you. Then when you sit down at your desk to work, place your crucifix on your desk. Then, like Joseph, you can reflect on God as you work by having a reminder of his sacrifice for us while you sacrifice for your family and career.

The combination of sanctifying our work and living simply in our daily life will help us to have financial freedom while allowing us to focus on what is really important in this life and serve in more radical ways in the future! Regardless of what vocation you are called to, we are all called to be holy as the first and most important thing.