Working out of love

By Javier Echevarría

On the 40th anniversary of St. Josemaria’s death, and the 11th graduation of Strathmore University, the Prelate of Opus Dei shares his thoughts on how work can be a path to God for ordinary people.

Pope Francis' new Encyclical brings us to the first pages of the Bible: God formed the human being – man and woman – and settled him in the garden of Eden to cultivate and take care of it (Genesis 2: 15). He then brought all the animals to the man to see what he would call them (Genesis 2: 19). This was an act of love on God’s part, a way of expressing his trust in each human being, entrusting to them the task of developing the potentialities which He himself had given to creatures.   

Each one of us is a guardian and keeper of creation. As the Pope reminds us, God placed man and woman in the garden not only to preserve it (“keep”) but also to make it fruitful (“till”). “Developing the created world in a prudent way is the best way of caring for it, as this means that we ourselves become the instrument used by God to bring out the potential which he himself inscribed in things” (Laudato si, 124). 

If mankind makes an effort to welcome the designs of the Creator, any noble human work can become an instrument for the progress of the world and to increase the person’s worth.

The key lies in working to finish things well, wanting to serve others, out of love for God and neighbour. There are certainly other motives such as the need to sustain oneself and one’s family, the generous eagerness to help the needy, wanting to acquire human perfection carrying a specific task, etc. However, the Pope reminds us that there should be a higher goal, which is to collaborate with God in the redemption of mankind.

We are now celebrating the 40th anniversary of the death of Saint Josemaria Escriva, a holy priest, the founder of Opus Dei, who proclaimed to the whole world the gospel value of work done out of love. I am a witness of how Saint Josemaria himself tried, until the end of his earthly life, to practice his preaching about work       

In a book entitled Christ is passing by, he wrote that “man’s great privilege is to be able to love, and to transcend what is fleeting and ephemeral.” And he added that “man ought not to limit himself to material production. Work is born of love and is directed toward love. We see the hand of God not only in the wonders of nature, but also in our experience of work and effort. Work thus becomes prayer and thanksgiving, because we know we are placed on earth by God, that we are loved by him and made heirs to his promises.” 

Depending on how we look at our work, we can either destroy or give dignity to people, to take care of or to disfigure nature, to give or to omit a service due to our neighbour.

An unemployed person who experiences the anguish of not having an income understands very well what is the dignity of work. That is why a Christian will always pray and be constantly concerned about those who suffer from unemployment. As the Pope says, “helping the poor financially must always be a provisional solution in the face of pressing needs. The broader objective should always be to allow them a dignified life through work”. (Laudatio si, 128). And the Encyclical reminds us that  “to stop investing in people, in order to gain greater short-term financial gain, is bad business for society” (ibid).

Benedict XVI defined a Christian as “a heart that sees.” Economic effectiveness in work is certainly a criterion to be considered, but it is not the only one: a Christian puts his heart in his work because Christ did the same, and he tries to serve others with his dedication to work, and to praise the Creator. Only work understood as service, work that puts man at the centre, work done out of love for God, is able to open horizons for the earthly and eternal happiness of the women and men of our time.

Javier Echevarría, Prelate of Opus Dei, Chancellor Strathmore University