We don’t often consider holiness in the context of our workplaces. We don’t think that holiness can lead to success in business. In this episode of By Your Life, we’ll challenge that assumption and talk about practical ways to grow in holiness.
Mass Readings Audio
http://ccc.usccb.org/cccradio/NABPodcasts/2019/19_05_12.mp3
Fourth Sunday of Easter – May 12, 2019
Happy Easter Season and welcome to the fifty-ninth episode of By Your Life. I’m Lisa Huetteman and I want to thank you for joining me. If you haven’t already, please sign up for notifications on iTunes, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, wherever you listen, or on the right side of the page on our website at byyourlife.com so I can let you know when each new episode is posted. And please forward to a friend, if you think they would benefit from By Your Life.
My goal is to inspire, empower, support, challenge, and encourage you to connect Sunday, with Monday-Friday, in a secular, business world. It’s my desire to help you live our Catholic faith in the marketplace. I hope to offer you practical ways to go forth and glorify the Lord by your life.
In this edition, we’ll reflect on the readings for the Fourth Sunday of Easter. The first and second readings, the Gospel and the Psalms have such beautiful reminders for us this week. In the first reading, we heard, “All who were destined for eternal life came to believe,”(Acts 13:48) and, “The disciples were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit. (Acts 13:52) John wrote in the Book of Revelation, “The Lamb who is in the center of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to springs of life-giving water.” (Rev 7:17) The Psalmist sang, “Serve the Lord with gladness; come before him with joyful song.” (Ps 100:2) And in the Gospel, Jesus said, “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish.” (Jn 10:28) Sometimes it is hard to connect the joy of eternal life to the drudgery of our day-to-day in the workplace. But this is exactly what we are called to do.
Pope Francis wrote in his Apostolic Exhortation, Guadete et Exsultate, that the Lord offers us true life and the happiness for which we were created. “He wants us to be saints and not to settle for a bland and mediocre existence.” (GE 1) This is the message from our readings this week. Yet, we leave Mass on Sunday and are so easily sucked into the bland and mediocre, or worse, the toxic and destructive forces of this world. So, in this edition of By Your Life, I’d like to share with you some of Pope Francis’ practical wisdom for our call to holiness that is written for our time, with all its risks, challenges and opportunities. (GE 2)
We don’t often consider holiness in the context of our workplaces. We don’t think that holiness can lead to success in business. And often, our work environments are far from holy. But when we consider what holiness is, it is exactly what we need for success in work and in life in general.
The Holy Fathers says, “Do not be afraid of holiness. It will take away none of your energy, vitality or joy. On the contrary, you will become what the Father had in mind when he created you, and you will be faithful to your deepest self.” (GE 32) “Do not be afraid to set your sights higher, to allow yourself to be loved and liberated by God. Do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God’s grace.” (GE 34)
Don’t be afraid. In fact, we should be excited; be joyful; be glad! But we often think of holiness as unattainable for people like us. We compare ourselves to people like St. Francis of Assisi, St. Teresa of Avila, St. John Paul II, or St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta, and can only see how we fall woefully short of holiness. Knowing this, Pope Francis encourages us to recognize that “to be holy does not require being a bishop, a priest or a religious.” He writes, “We are frequently tempted to think that holiness is only for those who can withdraw from ordinary affairs to spend much time in prayer. That is not the case. We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain.” (GE 14)
Listen to that again, if you work for a living, be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. I’d sum that up by saying we need to do the right thing, right. Doing the right thing is integrity.
If you work for a living, be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. ~ Pope Francis @PontifexI was talking to a friend who recently got a new boss. She is in a senior role in her company and the man she now reports to is a VP. To meet his new team, he set up a dinner meeting at a “restaurant” in town. When she arrived, she realized this place was not a normal restaurant. The servers were all females and they were scantily clad. The walls were covered with artwork of nudes. My friend was the only woman in her group, and needless to say, she was uncomfortable. But, since she had never met her new boss before, and she didn’t want to make a scene, she suffered through the evening. She waited until the next day at the office, to tell her new boss in private how inappropriate his choice of venue for the meeting was. He responded by back-peddled and offered some kind of semi-apology.
I’m not sharing this story to point out how morally bankrupt her new boss was. There is no excuse for his lack of integrity. But, I’m wondering about all the other men who were also at that dinner meeting. Not one of them asked her if she was uncomfortable and wanted to leave. Not one of them said they were not comfortable staying there either. No one walked out as soon as they realized the environment was totally inappropriate. Are they all morally bankrupt too, or are they all cowards when it comes to doing the right thing?
This week pay attention to guarding your integrity. Take note of when the world challenges your moral choices. Be aware of how you give and keep your word in big and small ways. If you want to grow in holiness, be a person of integrity.
In addition to doing the right thing, we must do the right thing right. Doing things right, requires skill and knowledge, which is also essential to our success at work. What have you done recently to sharpen your saw? It takes a lot more energy and is a lot less efficient to chop wood when your saw is dull. So too with you in your role. Be holy by laboring with skill in the service of your brothers and sisters.
I’d like you to listen again to what Pope Francis wrote for those in a position of authority. He said, “Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain.”
Hmmm… renouncing personal gain. That’s a tough one to swallow. But, as I mentioned in last week’s episode, when we struggle with the Church’s teaching about something, it is a good thing because it means we are open to growth and in this case, growth in holiness. Although we struggle and although we will fail, the Holy Father encourages us to “Let everything be open to God; turn to him in every situation.” (GE 15) This is how we will become saints.
As tough as this sounds, this is not a colossal request. In fact, he is suggesting just the opposite when he says, “This holiness to which the Lord calls you will grow through small gestures.” (GE 16) You need only find a more perfect way of doing what you’re already doing. As St. Mother Teresa said, “Do small things with great love.”
Do small things with great love. ~ St. Mother TeresaI was helping a client recently by calling work references for her job candidate. One of the references told me a story about how this candidate stayed late to help her make copies and for a brief that needed to be filed that night. This is not such a big deal, as we often stay late at times to meet a deadline. What made this special, and therefore memorable, was that the rest of the staff had taken off to go the office Christmas party, but the candidate was willing to stay to help. What’s more, the candidate didn’t work for this person. She was willing to sacrifice herself to help the other person who was in a crunch. That’s a small thing that leads to holiness.
“Needless to say, anything done out of anxiety, pride or the need to impress others will not lead to holiness.” (GE 28) Responding with jealousy and violence, as the Jews did in the first reading, is not a path to holiness. In fact, St. Paul told them, “since you reject [the word of God, you] condemn yourselves as unworthy of eternal life.” (Acts 13:46) Because eternal life is what this life is about.
And eternal life is what our readings this Sunday were about. But did we listen? Do we hear his voice? Or, do we only listen to what we agree with, the parts that are easy, or suit our will? In John’s Gospel, in the verses leading up to the section we heard on Sunday, the Jews asked Jesus, “If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly. (Jn 10:24) Well, Jesus said plainly, “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me.” (Jn 10:27) “I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. (Jn 10:28) As much as the Jews yearned for the Messiah, they couldn’t accept that He was the One.
Sometimes, we are also guilty of this too. As much as we long for eternal life, we can’t accept that He is the way. When our attitudes, decisions, and actions are not aligned with what he taught, we are not his sheep. When faced with a moral dilemma, do we do the right thing? If we’re honest, brutally honest, the answer is sometimes. This is why St. Paul “spoke to them and urged them to remain faithful to the grace of God.” (Acts 13:43) it is only by his grace that we too can be “the ones who have survived the time of great distress.” (Rev 7:14)
In a world that just keeps getting noisier, listen for his voice. “Let yourself be transformed. Let yourself be renewed by the Spirit.” (GE 24)
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to help us grow in holiness and let the message of Jesus that God wants to speak to the world, be reflected by our lives.
May God bless you abundantly this Easter Season and may you glorify the Lord by your life. Amen.
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