By Kristine Schroeder, Lessons Learned
“To work is to pray.”
– Benedictine motto
It’s interesting. Whenever I refer to my grandparents’ home, I always call it “Grandma’s house.” That’s not for lack of my grandfather’s presence. As a farmer, he was rarely away. He ate three meals a day at the kitchen table, and except for a few and far between meetings, he was home most evenings.
Grandpa was a taciturn man. I kiddingly told my cousins that I thought he spoke German because he spoke so quietly. And, what he did say was usually directed to Grandma. Yet, he was an influence in many lives, more in the unassuming manner in which he went about his work and commitments.
While I personally remember few verbal exchanges with him (maybe during evening euchre games if we forgot trump), I do recall how helpful he was to my grandmother. Mondays he carried water to her wringer washer and rinse tubs on the porch then readily emptied them when the wash was completed. When he wasn’t in the fields, planting, cultivating or harvesting, he helped in the garden picking produce, digging potatoes from the truck patch, shredding a crock or two of cabbage in preparation for sauerkraut or tending to the livestock.
During the week, we counted on him to stop along the fence rows before lunch to pick extra blackberries so that Grandma would bake us a cobbler. Fridays he made his weekly trip to town with Grandma’s list of necessities (sweet treats might also appear). Sundays we squeezed into his aqua pickup heading to Mass at St. Mark’s Church. My grandparents’ model of hard work lingers in my memory even now.
On May 1, the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, Deacon Rocky Mattingly expounded on the importance of work in our lives. He said, “Work shapes our character. It teaches us discipline, patience, responsibility and perseverance. It is a way to provide service to others and to the greater good.” Examine the life of St. Joseph. Except for the extraordinary fact that he was the foster father of Jesus Christ, his life was one of anonymity.
St. Joseph wrote no books. He performed no miracles during his lifetime. He was never quoted in the Bible. He lived in the poor town of Nazareth as a carpenter, teaching Jesus his trade and his faith and providing for the Holy Family’s needs. St. Joseph taught Jesus the value of an honest day’s work.
Are we modeling this value today? Are we instilling in our children the value of work? Do we expect them to contribute to the everyday needs of family life? Or, are we allowing them to take, take, take with little gratitude or expectations of reciprocation? Are we teaching them that serving others is a reflection of God’s love?
Where do we first experience this love? In our nuclear families, when sleep-deprived parents wake in the dark of the night to care for a crying baby or a sick child. When Mom sets the alarm an hour early to prepare breakfast or start a load of laundry before heading to her job. When Dad takes on extra hours to provide necessities or pay tuition for a Catholic education.
Pope Leo XIV recently stated, “Human worth is not determined by recognition or success, but by the love of God.” The Holy Family exemplifies how love plays out in family life. Everyone was expected to contribute to the welfare of all.
As Deacon Rocky also said, “Work is not something we do; it is something that forms us.” Work imbues our lives with purpose and meaning. Honest, hard work builds confidence, teaches independence and gives satisfaction to both young and old. We cheat our children when we don’t expect them to be a contributing member of the family.
For the majority of us, our path to holiness, happiness and eternal life lies in fulfilling joyfully, humbly and willingly our everyday tasks. It is a minimal thank you for the gifts we have received from God and those who served us.
And, when we instill that value in the next generation and perform our commitments as a reflection of his love, we too will be a Holy Family, a people set apart.