Can your work be holy?
May 1 we celebrated the feast of St. Joseph the Worker. That got me thinking, what does work mean to us in our secular lives? Can it be holy?
We can look to biblical examples of work as a tool to holiness. Of course we need only remember Joseph. He was a carpenter, afterall. We can imagine he took pride in his work without being prideful. He most likely gave the best work he could and charged a fair price for it. It's hard to imagine that he over charged.
But what can we do to make our own pursuits holy? We can seek to do our best each day. We can conduct ourselves in a manner that is respectful before the Lord. No gossiping, no ill will. We can seek to understand and to be perfect in our work. Of course, being human, it's pretty hard to measure up to this, but we can aspire to it.
Furthermore, during mass, when we give our tithe, we are giving of ourselves. Long ago, people used to give the work of their hands as an offering to God. These days, it's pretty hard to give the paperwork that is the result of the work of our hands. Instead, we give a portion of what we have earned from the work of our hands, or minds as it were. We give in thanksgiving to God for all our blessings. We give to help those less fortunate.
Giving and working hard and honestly are two ways we can make our work holy.
