God Is At Work: By C.C.

" God is not removing you from your environment. He is not taking you away from the world, or from your condition in life, or from your noble human ambitions, or from your professional work...But he wants you to be a saint-right there!" (St. Josemaria Escriva)

      I strongly believe that it is a struggle for many to truly incorporate God into their working day. As a result of this one may establish the idea within themselves that their faith and identity in God is separate from their work life and environment. Potentially, one begins to compartmentalize this aspect of themselves, placing the Catholic faith as something to be visited only on Sunday's in Church, before the Blessed Sacrament in Adoration, or while praying on the drive into work.
       There is definitely no malice here, however, by creating this separation we commit a disservice to ourselves and most importantly to our Lord. Failing to recognize that God is with us amidst our working day, surrounding our goals, and human ambitions is a failure to acknowledge the all loving Father that has provided us with these gifts, and worldly successes.Many fear going deeper into their faith because of the unknown.
      There may be a potential fear of being called away from the careers we hold or the studies we are pursuing. This fear, this illusion that our Lord wants to "take us away" from what we "love" and are "successful in" is truly dangerous. It is in truly turning to God and acknowledging Him where we find ourselves today that we may come to see His goodness, His love, and His true honest will for our lives to live as His children wherever we are. It is also in doing this that we come to understand the fact that our Lord may be calling us away from where we are only to lead us to a place where we can better serve Him. Loving God and living in the world as we are called to do is something that will truly lead us to the path that is in accordance with who we were created to be.
       Our prayer life and love for Him is not something to be secluded from our working day as St. Josemaria Escriva reminds us. We are each called to be Saints, right where we are, and throughout our working day. May our faith be ever so strong, and may we always keep our eyes on Him, giving thanks for our worldly successes, and striving each day within our dealings to please Him above all things. In doing this , I believe that we will each secure success on earth through sharing His light, and most importantly pleasing our all loving and merciful Father in Heaven. Amen. (C.C.)