I produce and sell liquors.
I am a dentist and a mother.
I work and study.
I am an economist and work in a computer company.
On October 2nd, 1928,
God wanted Opus Dei to be born.
A mobilization of Christians
who would be willing to sacrifice themselves for others,
who would make all the paths of the earth divine,
all of them...
sanctifying all noble work,
any honest work,
any earthly occupation.
Father, speak to us a bit about our ordinary work,
because it can become burdensome,
and at times it doesn’t seem very glamorous…
No, I’m sure you are capable of converting
the prose of each day into...
poetry, into heroic verse.
It’s not true that your days are all the same!
If you put love into each day,
each day is different.
What’s more important:
manual or intellectual work?
Whichever is done with more love for God.
Yours should be a job well-done.
Nothing shoddy – I don't know if you use the word "shoddy" here.
When you really love a woman,
you don’t give her as a gift something cheap.
You give her something that requires a sacrifice.
Well, with God our Lord, if we want to offer our work to Him,
it needs to be well-done,
with love,
relishing our work,
and in doing so, you also earn a living
and improve your family’s situation.
But above all, to please God.
Because work is also prayer,
and work dignifies a person.
Your work is prayer.
Your work done with enthusiasm and for love,
– as well as for earning money, why not? –
is also penance.
Isn't it penitential for you some days?
For me it is...
Talk to Him! Talk to our Lord,
say "I'm tired! I can't take this anymore!"
"Lord, this isn't coming out right. How would you do it?"
I am a chauffeur for a company
Make sure to do it well, conscientiously,
In such a way that our Lord is happy with you.
And you will take a step forward on your path to heaven.
And one day you’ll get there,
you’ll drive your car right up to paradise.
We should be upright,
strong, serving our Lord in the middle of the street,
In the midst of our work,
being a good friend to your friends,
as well as an example for your colleagues
Love for the truth embues the life and work of scientists.
It allows them to hold their head high
before the uncomfortable situations that can arise
because having a commitment to honesty
is not always favorable with public opinion.
Father, I study journalism.
I have a lot of affection for journalists.
I have recommended that they speak the truth.
And this is very difficult
because for a thousand circumstances,
many times one can only say it half-way
so as not to bother this person or that other one...
But you, make sure to never lie
and never defend an unjust cause.
Why is it a serious obligation to study and work?
My son, do you want us to be lazy?
We have to live on this earth
and each one supports himself with his own efforts.
So students and young people need to study, ok?
What can I do so that my study brings me closer to our Lord?
Offer your work, your study
and the day you don't feel like it, with more enthusiasm.
And don't be ashamed to take out your little crucifix
to place on top of your desk.
I am a mother of a family, a housewife,
and I work in public relations.
How does one achieve a balance
and maintain a supernatural spirit
in the midst of all this?
Well in the midst of public relations you can have a private relationship
with God our Lord.
Look for Him in your heart.
Draw near to our Heavenly Father.
Tell Him that you love Him.
Tell Him many times during the day.
While you are doing public relations on earth,
you’re doing public relations for Heaven.
Go everywhere.
In all places where
an upright person can live,
there we find air to breath.
There we should be with our joy
with our interior peace,
hoping to bring many souls to Christ.
Father,
we have heard your teachings many times
respecting the value of our profesional work.
I have children.
I see them very little during the week.
What do you recommend I do to look after them better?
My son, I would advise you
to consider being with your children
as your number one job.
To offer to God during the day your professional work
in such a way that it pleases Him.
Each day you will do it better,
with more rectitude, with more effort
with more feeling
thinking not only in yourself and your family,
but in the whole society, in the others.
Sometimes, one finds oneself, let's say,
with many tasks accumulated during the day
such that some jobs trample over other ones.
It will happen to you, my son,
the same thing that happens to everyone who works:
that each day you will need 24 hours extra
such that you will always finish the day with many things left undone.
Don't worry, keep calm.
And after finishing one thing, start another one,
with peace, as if you only had that one thing to do.
Don't think about the rest, finish well what you are now doing.
I work for the security of a big shopping center.
How can I have patience with the people,
attending to everyone with Christian charity?
You are a great Christian if you smile always.
God bless you.
But don't smile just to make yourself more amiable,
nor in order to sell more things,
but rather, out of love for Christ
because you know that you have the duty to contribute
to the happiness of everyone else.
It's only just that the person who works
earns money.
And it is only just that you use this money well,
first of all, for your family, for your home, etc.
But our Lord wants you to be generous.
Our Lord does not want you to be greedy.
So you need to make a little effort.
You need to think of God,
and for God, everyone else.
In a laboratory,
in the operating room of a hospital,
in the barracks,
in the university department,
in the factory,
in the workshop,
in the fields,
in the family home,
and in all the immense panorama of work,
God... awaits us each day.
On the horizon,
my children,
heaven and earth seem to merge,
but no.
Where they really meet
is in your hearts
when you sanctify
your everyday lives.