72

Again we hear the voice of St Paul: 'Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast and immovable in your resolve, doing your full share continually in the Lord's work, since you know that your labour in the Lord's service cannot be spent in vain.' Don't you see? A complete range of virtues is called into play when we set about our work with the purpose of sanctifying it: fortitude, to persevere in our work despite the difficulties that naturally arise and to ensure that we never let ourselves be overwhelmed by anxiety; temperance, in order to spend ourselves unsparingly and to overcome our love of comfort and our selfishness; justice, so as to fulfil our duties towards God, society, our family and our fellow workers; prudence, to know in each case what course to take, and then to set about it without hesitation… And all this, I emphasise, is for the sake of Love, with a keen and immediate sense of responsibility for the results of our work and its apostolic impact.

'Love is deeds, not sweet words', says the proverb, and I don't think there is anything else to add.

Lord, give us your grace. Open the door to the workshop in Nazareth so that we may learn to contemplate you, together with your holy Mother Mary and the holy Patriarch St Joseph, whom I love and revere so dearly, the three of you dedicated to a life of work made holy. Then, Lord, our poor hearts will be enkindled, we shall seek you and find you in our daily work, which you want us to convert into a work of God, a labour of Love.

Subjects
References to Holy Scripture
This point in another language