Work is a Part of God's Plan
A Catholic Commentary on the Theology of Work and Worship
Work is commonly and often reduced to mere productivity or economic survival, Catholic theology presents a radically different view: work is sacred. I would like to emphasize to us that work is not only essential to human dignity but also a profound participation in the divine mission. Let’s unpack that vision in the light of the Church’s rich theological and biblical tradition.
Work Before the Fall: A Vocation, Not a Punishment
The first chapters of Genesis reveal that labor was not a consequence of sin, but a gift from God. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (Gen 2:15). The Hebrew verbs used—‘avad (עָבַד) and shamar (שָׁמַר)—are the same terms later used to describe priestly duties in the sanctuary (cf. Num 3:7–8). From the beginning, man’s labor was liturgical. As Pope Benedict XVI explained, “The world is not the result of any necessity, nor of blind fate or chance. It proceeds from the free will of God, who wanted to make creatures share in his being, wisdom, and goodness” (Deus Caritas Est, 17).
Work, then, is participation in that original blessing. It is a way of exercising dominion through stewardship, of cultivating creation in harmony with God’s will. After the Fall, labor became toilsome (Gen 3:17–19), but its dignity remained intact. The Catechism of the Catholic Church affirms this: “Work is a duty: ‘If any one will not work, let him not eat.’ Work honors the Creator’s gifts and the talents received from him” (CCC 2427).
Christ the Worker: Redemption Through Labor
The Incarnation underscores the sacredness of labor. For the majority of His earthly life, Jesus worked with His hands. “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” (Mark 6:3). The Greek word used here is tekton, meaning a skilled craftsman—perhaps a stonemason or builder. By choosing this humble trade, the Son of God sanctified human work.
Pope St. John Paul II, in his encyclical Laborem Exercens, declared: “By enduring the toil of work in union with Christ crucified for us, man in a way collaborates with the Son of God for the redemption of humanity” (Laborem Exercens, 27). Labor becomes not merely economic but redemptive when united with Christ’s Cross. As St. Paul exhorts, “Whatever your task, work heartily, as serving the Lord and not men” (Col 3:23).
Co-Creators in God’s Redemptive Plan
To work is to participate in God’s ongoing creation. The Catechism states: “Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth” (CCC 2427). This vision opposes both laziness and utilitarianism. Work is not merely to make a living, but to live in communion with the Creator.
St. Josemaría Escrivá, founder of Opus Dei and apostle of sanctifying daily work, affirmed: “There is something holy, something divine, hidden in the most ordinary situations, and it is up to each one of you to discover it” (Conversations with Josemaría Escrivá, 114). The office, the classroom, the shop floor—all can become sacred spaces if approached with a heart of love and self-giving.
Work and the Common Good
Catholic social teaching insists that labor is not just a personal duty but a contribution to the common good. Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical Rerum Novarum first articulated this in modern terms, and every pontificate since has reaffirmed it. “The obligation to earn one’s bread by the sweat of one’s brow also presumes the right to do so,” Pope Leo wrote, insisting that laborers deserve both fair treatment and just remuneration (Rerum Novarum, 15).
The Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church expands on this: “Work is an essential dimension of human existence… and is also a decisive factor in social development” (§269). Through just work, individuals help build a just society. The integrity, excellence, and ethical conduct of Catholic professionals becomes a witness to the world—a quiet evangelization through virtue.
This is why mediocrity and sloth are not neutral—they are sins against love. Excellence is not a form of vanity but a moral responsibility, enabling us to serve more effectively and glorify God in the public square.
Sanctifying the Workplace
When rightly ordered, labor is not a secular activity separated from faith—it is liturgical. The early Church Fathers understood that the priesthood of the laity consists in offering the world to God, and that includes the world of work. The Second Vatican Council confirms this: “The laity, dedicated to Christ and anointed by the Holy Spirit, are marvelously called and prepared so that even richer fruits of the Spirit may be produced in them. For all their works, prayers, and apostolic endeavors… and the hardships of life, if patiently borne—all these become spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ” (Lumen Gentium, 34).
Thus, your desk becomes a kind of altar. Your meetings, your strategy sessions, your emails—even the tedious tasks—can be offered to God as spiritual sacrifices. Just as the widow’s mite became a great offering in the eyes of Jesus, so too can your smallest acts of fidelity become channels of grace.
Evangelization Through Labor
In our secularized society, the workplace is one of the last frontiers of evangelization. The Church has repeatedly emphasized that the lay faithful have a distinct and irreplaceable role in the renewal of temporal affairs. Pope Benedict XVI wrote: “It is the specific task of the lay faithful to order temporal affairs according to the plan of God” (Deus Caritas Est, 29).
This is where Catholic professionals become missionaries—not necessarily by preaching, but by working with integrity, by choosing truth over profit, justice over convenience, and love over ambition. The ordinary witness of a holy professional life can speak volumes in a culture starved for virtue.
The new evangelization, as St. John Paul II envisioned it, includes precisely this transformation of culture from within. It is not about escape from the world, but sanctifying it. As salt and light (Matt 5:13–16), Catholic professionals have the opportunity—and the obligation—to be leaven in the dough of the world.
Faithfulness in the Midst of Challenge
Of course, the workplace is not Eden. Injustices, toxic cultures, secular ideologies, and burnout are real challenges. But it is precisely in these environments that sanctity is forged. As Christ labored in obscurity in Nazareth, so too are we called to persevere in faithfulness.
St. Paul reminds us, “Let us not grow weary in doing good, for in due season we shall reap, if we do not lose heart” (Gal 6:9). Holiness is not the absence of conflict but fidelity in the midst of it. It is not perfection but perseverance.
Begin each day with a consecration of your work. Offer your tasks as a prayer. Invite the Holy Spirit into your decisions. Let your labor be a testimony—not just of competence, but of love.
Work as Path to Sainthood
The Catholic vision of work is not a drudgery to endure but a vocation to embrace. It is a school of virtue, a form of liturgy, and a participation in the divine plan.
“Your careers are not distractions from the spiritual life. They are where the spiritual life is meant to flourish. Your office is your monastery. Your business is your mission. Your daily labor is your liturgy.”
The Psalmist prays, “Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us” (Ps 90:17). That prayer is the heart of the Catholic worker: to build not only an income but a kingdom—to labor not only for success, but for sanctity.
May we reclaim the divine dignity of work. May we sanctify our careers. And may our labor glorify the God who labors even now to save us.
Citations:
Gen 2:15; Gen 3:17–19; Num 3:7–8; Mark 6:3; Col 3:23; Gal 6:9; Ps 90:17; Matt 5:13–16
CCC 2427; Laborem Exercens, §27; Rerum Novarum, §15; Lumen Gentium, §34; Deus Caritas Est, §§17, 29; Conversations with Josemaría Escrivá, §114
Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church, §269