Ministry and the Workplace

by Randy Hain | January 19, 2023 12:05 am


Over the last few weeks[1], I have been looking at the life priorities that have helped me focused on living a Christ-centered life, filled with meaning. It can be easy to drift through life with no priority list. Or perhaps only have a list that is filled with everything we need to do, large and small. I have shared my three priorities in hopes of showing how simply we can alter our lives in a way that assimilates faith, family and work and puts us on the path to a Christ-centered life, filled with meaning.  

  1. I will serve Christ and love Him with all my heart.
  2. My family is my primary vocation.
  3. My workplace is also my ministry.

I try every day to do the actions I have shared, and I assure you that I struggle like anyone else.  The challenge is to practice them not as a bunch of new to-dos, but as part of a broader, unifying approach to a balanced and meaningful life that places Christ first in all areas of our lives.

So let’s “unpack” that last priority.

“My workplace is also my ministry”

Most of us spend the majority of our adult lives at work. The workplace today is a challenging environment to be open about our Christian beliefs.  Political sensitivity 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 beings?  In Gaudium et Spes, the Second Vatican Council weighed in with this valuable insight:

“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.”

-Gaudium et Spes, 43

Here are some practical ideas and thoughts on how to carry your faith with you to work:

We are faced with a choice between a compartmentalized life or an integrated life where faith, family and work are unified and centered in Christ.  We must change our hearts, let go of our attachments to material things, and place Him first in our lives. Do you know your moral nonnegotiables? We must not cross ethical boundaries.  How can we let others see Jesus within us and share our joy with others? Our humble and virtuous example to others throughout the day will positively influence their behavior and individual faith journeys.  An active prayer lifeone which turns our day into a conversation with God and firmly places His desires before our own, will open us up to receive boundless grace.

A Meaningful Life

My hope is for everyone to undergo a true “conversion of the soul” and lead an integrated, balanced and meaningful life.  It isn’t easy, but worth the journey.  I encourage you to begin tomorrow with a firm disposition to do good, practice virtue and emulate Christ.  Constantly thank God and praise His name.  Say a prayer to our Lord on the way to work or when you drop the kids off at school asking for guidance and grace throughout the day.  Be kind to people you meet and offer assistance freely without an expectation of return. Pray for Christ to show you that the challenges which present themselves each day are opportunities to grow in holiness and virtue.

I would like to end with a quote from one of my favorite writers, Francis Fernandez.

“We have to show everyone that Christ is still alive by living heroically the events of our daily lives.  The apostolic vocation which we all received at Baptism means giving witness in word and deed to the life and teaching of Christ.  People said of the early Christians, See how they love one another!  The pagans were really edified by this behavior and those who conducted themselves in this way had favor with all the people, as the Acts of the Apostles tell us.

“Normally Our Lord asks us to give a Christian witness through our ordinary lives, engaged in the same ways of earning a living, tackling the same concerns as other folk.  We have to act in such a way that others will be able to say, when they meet us:  ‘This man is a Christian, because he does not hate, because he is ready to understand, because he is not a fanatic, because he is willing to make sacrifices, because he shows that he is a man of peace, because he knows how to love.’ 

“We make our Lord known through the example of our life, looking for occasions to speak out, not missing a single opportunity.  Our task consists to a large extent in making the way to Christ cheerful and attractive.  If we behave like that, many will be encouraged to follow it and to bring the joy and peace of the Lord to other men and women.” 

-Francis Fernandez, In Conversation With God

I don’t pretend to have all the answers.  But, I sincerely hope that somewhere in the thoughts and ideas I have shared here, you will find comfort, encouragement and possibly the inspiration to make a new priority list and commit to a Christ-centered life filled with meaning.

Image credit: Photo by Grant Whitty[2] on Unsplash[3]




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Endnotes:
  1. last few weeks: https://integratedcatholiclife.org/2023/01/hain-focusing-on-your-primary-vocation-2/
  2. Grant Whitty: https://unsplash.com/@grantwhitty?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText
  3. Unsplash: https://unsplash.com/@grantwhitty?utm_source=unsplash&utm_medium=referral&utm_content=creditCopyText

Source URL: https://integratedcatholiclife.org/2023/01/hain-ministry-and-the-workplace/