At the time when the LORD God made the earth and the heavens --while as yet there was no field shrub on earth and no grass of the field had sprouted, for the LORD God had sent no rain upon the earth and there was no man to till the soil, but a stream was welling up out of the earth and was watering all the surface of the ground --the LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and so man became a living being. Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and he placed there the man whom he had formed. Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow that were delightful to look at and good for food, with the tree of life in the middle of the garden and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. The LORD God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it. The LORD God gave man this order: "You are free to eat from any of the trees of the garden except the tree of knowledge of good and evil. From that tree you shall not eat; the moment you eat from it you are surely doomed to die."
REFLECTION
The Lord God then took the man and settled him in the garden of Eden, to cultivate and care for it.
God placed man in the Garden of Eden to till and keep it, to work on it. Man was to share in the task of creation. After Original Sin the work of Adam and Eve was now accompanied with hardship, suffering, weariness, great difficulty and stress.
Work, however, is still a blessing and is good for the dignity of man.
No matter what our work is, we should do it for love of God, offering up all good for our offenses and offenses of others. Whatever our work, we should help bring souls to God.
Laziness, however, is the enemy of work. Work well done is a means to get us closer to God. Through our work ethics and example, we can bring others, as well, to God.
All we do should receive 100% of our attention, per project. Multitasking is not good, unless you have the gift of bilocation. Any work endeavor should have perseverance, knowing when it is time to stop, not neglecting prayer life, nor our duties to family.
Finding Christ in our work is important. Human work can be sanctified. It can assist us to grow in holiness and virtue. There are many saintly quotes on work.
St Elizabeth Ann Seton:
“The first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God, secondly to do it in the manner He wills it, and thirdly to do it because is is His Will”.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta
“Never do the work carelessly because you wish to hide your gifts. Remember, that work is His. You are His coworker. Therefore, He depends on you for that special work. Do the work with Him, and the work will be done for Him. The talents God has given you are not yours—they have been given to you for your use, for the glory of God. There can be no half-measures in the work.”
Saint Gianna Beretta Molla
“Everyone works in the service of man. We doctors work directly on man himself…The great mystery of man is Jesus: ‘He who visits a sick person, helps me.’ Jesus said…Just as the priest can touch Jesus, so do we touch Jesus in the bodies of our patients…We have opportunities to do good that the priest doesn’t have. Our mission is not finished when medicines are no longer of use. We must bring the soul to God; our word has some authority…Catholic doctors are so necessary!”
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