Three Things NOT to Do

1. Avoid Condescension

There you are eating lunch with some friends at work or maybe taking a break in between meetings, when someone attacks the Faith out of the blue. As Catholics we are used to these situations. But still, they can get our blood boiling. Often the attacks come from a place of ignorance and so it can be easy to respond by being condescending and belittling. But the truth is that responding like this does more harm than good and doesn’t help you defend the Faith as a Catholic professional.

Every one of us has experienced condescension. Condescension can destroy any chance of evangelization because it leaves the other person feeling dismissed, disrespected, and domineered. As Catholics, we are to be convicted that we have the truth in Jesus Christ and His Church. We are even required to respond to false attacks with the truth of the Gospel. But this doesn’t mean we get to be condescending, especially in the workplace where it can damage relationships and opportunities for further evangelization. It is helpful to keep in mind Philippians 2:3-4,

“Do nothing out of selfishness or out of vainglory; rather, humbly regard others as more important than yourselves, each looking out not for his own interests, but also everyone for those of others.”

Remember that when we defend the Faith it’s not about making the other person realize how wrong they are, but about showing them how true Jesus Christ is.

2. Steer Clear of Aggressiveness

In our modern world, our go to reaction to any threat tends to be anger. We are easily enraged and often respond to others with aggression. This can be understandable, especially when faced with unjust attacks on the Church in the workplace. But we need to remember that the great saints and spiritual writers of the Church often talk about the dangers of anger. It’s not that we cannot be upset, only that anger often leads to sin. Remember, “Be angry, but do not sin” (Ephesians 4:26).

But how do we know our anger is crossing into sin or not? Well, again, Ephesians can offer some guidance. Ephesians 4:15 tells us to live the truth in love. In other words, when we respond to false attacks by presenting the truth it should always be done out of love for the other and for God. If our response is not oriented toward love, then it is likely leading more toward sin.

At the end of the day, it is important that we refrain from adopting an aggressive stance that fails to love the other person. This means speaking the truth in love.

3. Don’t Neglect Professionalism

Titus 2:7-8 lays out the main point of this section perfectly. It says, “[show] yourself as a model of good deeds in every respect, with integrity in your teaching, dignity, and sound speech that cannot be criticized, so that the opponent will be put to shame without anything bad to say about us.”

Maintaining our professional conduct in the midst of attacks on the Church is one of the best means to defending the Faith as a Catholic Professional. If we remain professional, acting with integrity as regards our teaching, dignity, and speech, then we will have witnessed to the truth of Christ. This, often even more than words, can be convicting for the one who attacked the Church.

It’s important that we neither let attacks on the Faith lead us to respond in inappropriate and unprofessional ways, nor that we let it distract us from carrying out our essential duties. If we fail to do this, then we give others a chance to say something bad about us which can only further undermine the Faith and your professional position.

Three Things TO Do

1. Educate Yourself

If we want to be able to defend the Faith anywhere, then we need to “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks for a reason for your hope…” (1 Peter 4:15). This is true for all Catholics, including Catholic professionals looking to defend the Faith.

Just like having a good game in a sport begins with practice weeks before the game, we also need to be well prepared with our Faith. It is important that we understand our Faith and know why it is we believe what we believe and hope for what we hope for. If we do not understand these things, then when we meet challenges and go to defend our faith we might be without words and left with nothing but frustration and anger. It is pivotal that we are always learning more about our Faith and why we believe what we believe so we can share it with others.

So be sure to equip yourself with a deep understanding of Catholic teachings. And cultivate the ability to articulate them clearly by discussing the Faith often with friends and loved ones. This will enable you to engage in informed discussions and address misconceptions about the Catholic Church.

2. Do not be ashamed of the Gospel

Defending the Faith as a Catholic professional can be daunting. We can get nervous because people often will respond with hostility or confusion. Following Jesus can even damage your reputation in the eyes of some of your co-workers.

It’s okay to feel nervous. But it isn’t okay to let those nerves stop us from defending the Faith as Catholic professionals. We need to say with St. Paul, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

We may not always feel calm, cool, and collected, but if we courageously choose to defend the Faith in the workplace, then we are saying, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel!”

3. Lead by Example

Our Faith is not something we are meant to be ashamed of. And it is certainly nothing we should ever hide. This doesn’t just mean defending the Faith from attacks by giving intellectual arguments, but it also means living out our lives with the heart of Christ. Jesus tells us, “Your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5:16).

When we live with real, authentic, personal sanctity we give the greatest defense of the Faith. Nothing spreads the Gospel like true holiness, and nothing is harder to refute than a Christ-like heart. This means that a central part of handling workplace persecution as a Catholic professional is a good prayer life.

As Catholic professionals, the best way to defend the faith is to live out your call to be like Jesus.

Conclusion

Jesus wants us to be His hands and feet in the world, and sometimes this means defending the Faith. Defending the Faith as a Catholic professional is not an easy task. There are many pitfalls to avoid and quite a few things to keep in mind. Stay away from condescension, aggressiveness, and don’t neglect professionalism. And make sure you are well educated, not ashamed of the Gospel, and lead by example. If you do this then you will defend the Faith as a Catholic professional with self-control and courage

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In today’s fast-paced and demanding professional world, achieving a healthy work/life balance is an ongoing challenge. For Catholic professionals, the quest for equilibrium takes on a unique dimension. It involves not only the delicate act of balancing work and personal life but also the profound commitment to putting family and faith first, while viewing one’s work as an expression of their faith. In this article, we will explore the distinctive challenges faced by Catholic professionals in maintaining a work/life balance, with a specific focus on the importance of prioritizing family and faith, and the profound idea of work as an expression of one’s faith.

The Challenge of Balancing Faith, Family, and Work

Catholic professionals often find themselves at a crossroads where they must make difficult choices. Because we as Catholics believe that our family, faith and work all have a central role to play in the sanctification of the world, it can hard to properly balance them. In the quest to maintain a work/life balance as a Catholic professional, the challenge is not just about time management but also about balancing family and faith alongside professional pursuits.

Balancing family commitments with work demands

Catholic professionals are guided by strong family values rooted in their faith. The importance of spending quality time with family, nurturing relationships, and providing a stable and loving home environment is paramount. However, the demands of a busy professional life, with its long hours and career-driven culture, can often encroach on this sacred family time.

The challenge is to find a balance where one can excel in their career while also being present and attentive to the needs of their family. This might require setting boundaries, such as not bringing work home, or negotiating with employers for flexible schedules that allow for family priorities.

Prioritizing faith in the midst of work pressures

For Catholic professionals, faith is not just a Sunday ritual but an integral part of their daily life. It involves prayer, reflection, and living out the moral and ethical teachings of their faith. Yet, the relentless pressures of the modern workplace can make it difficult to maintain a strong connection to one’s faith during the day.

It is easy to convince ourselves that there is no time to stop and give a moment to the Lord. But the truth is, we can easily carve out five or ten minutes to quietly focus on God. And this is crucial to maintaining a work/life balance as a Catholic professional.

Praying mid-day prayer from the Liturgy of the Hours or St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Examen can be a huge help to not lose your sense of the presence of God in the midst of the chaotic workday!

The internal conflict between secular values and religious convictions

The world often encourages professionals to prioritize individual success, material gain, and competition. In contrast, the Catholic faith promotes values such as compassion, humility, and selfless love. It can be hard to live as a Catholic professional in the secular workplace The internal conflict between these secular values and religious convictions can create a sense of dissonance.

Integrating Work Into a Catholic Life: 3 Ways to Balance Faith, Family, and Work

How can we, as Catholic professionals, integrate work into our lives in a holy and healthy way? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Prioritize Well

Firstly, how are you prioritizing work? Is it a way for you to contribute to society, a way for you to support yourself and/or your family, a way for you to exercise your God-given talents and charisms? If so, you’re on the path toward integration.

Here, considering your values comes back into play. Do you value the virtue that the act of working helps cultivate, or do you value feeling busy and efficient? Do you value the quality of time you spend with your family, or the amount of time you spend on the job? Has putting in extra hours over the weekend come before receiving the sacraments? The Church is clear on what we should value; it’s up to us to make sure our approach to work is in alignment.

Too often, we use work as an escape from challenges or problems we’re facing. We use it as a way to boost our ego or flatter our pride. Or, we use it as a way to dominate over others. In these cases, penitence, Confession, and a resolution to do better may be the right next step on our journey.

Often even when we come from work, we can find ourselves thinking about the many demands of work instead of our family. Before coming home from the workday, try taking a moment in prayer to ask the Lord to help you move away from the distractions of work and focus on your family.

2. Seek Virtue

You don’t have to work in ministry to cultivate virtue and spread the Gospel in the workplace. Do your co-workers see in your example someone who loves the Lord by loving others? Are you kind to people who frustrate you, who add to your workload? Or do you operate with a short fuse, so that your team members and colleagues are afraid to approach you with a problem?

We all stumble. We all treat others unkindly sometimes. The important thing is whether we make amends and try to be better the next day.

St. Edith Stein, the philosopher and Carmelite mystic also known as Teresa Benedicta of the Cross, has some advice you could adapt to help build virtue through work:

“And when night comes, and you look back over the day and see how fragmentary everything has been, and how much you planned that has gone undone, and all the reasons you have to be embarrassed and ashamed: just take everything exactly as it is, put it in God’s hands and leave it with Him. Then you will be able to rest in Him — really rest — and start the next day as a new life.” St. Teresa Benedicts of the Cross

At the end of every workday, take a few moments for reflection and prayer (maybe even adapt St. Ignatius of Loyola’s Examen if you want a formal approach). Where in your day did your values align with your work? Where didn’t they? What are you “embarrassed and ashamed” about? Where could you have been better?

Ask for forgiveness, and then “leave it with Him.” The rest of the day is for rest; “start the next day as a new life.”

3. Pray Unceasingly

As Christians, we are told to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Not all of us are called to a cloistered life. However, it does mean that prayer should be a part of our day, throughout our day. It also means that we come to see work as a meaningful way that we help live out our Christian vocation and sanctify the world. The challenge is to find a way to integrate your faith into your professional life, thus transforming the workplace into an arena where the faith can be expressed. This isn’t easy, but Pope St. John Paul II provides some help on seeing the sanctifying power of work in his encyclical “Laborem Exercens” (“Through Work”). 

It may be through a daily rosary walk, the Liturgy of the Hours, or even a simple “Jesus, I trust in you” at 3 p.m. However you do it, try incorporating small moments of prayer throughout your workday. It will call to mind the Lord you should be dedicating your work to in the first place. It will keep you grounded in what matters. And, by integrating prayer into work, you’ll be integrating work into life … truly a more Catholic take on work/life balance.

Conclusion

By prioritizing well, seeking virtue, and praying unceasingly every Catholic professional can learn to maintain a work/life balance. Catholicism is a both/and religion. And so, it makes room for family, faith, and work. The work you do, the family you are responsible for, and the faith you live as a Catholic professional aren’t just competing forces that fight for your time. But rather they are meant to be complimentary opportunities that invite you to grow in sanctity. It is not always easy, but the journey to maintaining a work/life balance as a Catholic professional is a pivotal part of what it means to be Catholic.

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Do you know what every job requires, but is rarely included in a job listing? Professional skills.

These skills are often called “soft skills” – interpersonal qualities you need to succeed in the workplace. These skills help you get along well with others and can relate to people.

Workers in all kinds of job fields require personal qualities that go beyond specialized knowledge: teachers, sales reps, lawyers, freelancers, software developers, writers, doctors, administrative assistants, plumbers, and more.

Professional behavior in the workplace comes naturally to Catholics, simply because of what is asked of us as Christians. Let’s explore 7 easy Catholic professional skills that you can put into practice at your job right now.

1. Dress with dignity

Did you know that the way you dress affects what you think of yourself, and what others think of you? It may seem old-school, but dressing like a professional still matters.

What you wear to work can also depend on your job or work environment. If you work an office job that requires Business Professional attire every day, maybe put away the sweater and throw on a blazer. If the norm is casual dress, go with jeans instead of sweatpants. Even if there isn’t a dress code for your job, pick attire that is appropriate to the job you’re doing.

Regardless of whether you have to dress up or down for work, your appearance should always be neat and clean. You should always show up to work having put some effort into your outfit.

2. Say you’ll follow up and do it

Employers appreciate employees who communicate effectively and consistently. Written, verbal, and non-verbal communication are all important in creating a fruitful work environment. And if you say you’ll follow up, make sure you are true to your word and do it.

Be sure to brush up on your email communication skills. Most companies communicate primarily via email. The ability to write clear, concise emails will help you communicate effectively and stand out as an employee.

Pro Tip: Hand-written notes are especially memorable. It shows that you thought through what you wanted to say and took the time to write it out.

3. Be honest about your abilities and needs

In the workplace, do all tasks to the best of your abilities. However, don’t be afraid to be humble and ask for help when you need it. And if you feel that your job should challenge you more, offer suggestions to your boss for how to make this happen.

As a Catholic, you might have very specific needs. For example, you may have to let your boss know if you need a Holy Day of Obligation off to make it to Mass. When asking for specific exceptions, remember to be courteous and clear. Your boss is much more likely to approve your request for a morning off if you have a good attitude.

4. Watch your mouth

Applying this Catholic professional skill is pretty straightforward. Cursing and gossiping are two bad habits that have no place in a professional setting.

Avoid foul language when at work. Your co-workers might get offended, and it makes you look like immature. If you wouldn’t say it to your grandmother, don’t say it at work.

Avoid saying things that might harm a person’s character. Sharing information that isn’t yours to share can damage people’s trust in you.

How you respond to gossip can also affect your work-place environment. For this reason, it’s important to know how to handle workplace gossip.

5. Offer to help others out

People always appreciate an offer of extra help when they are facing a challenge. Even if it’s not your department, and even if they don’t ask, offering to assist a co-worker can be one of the best ways to stand out in the workplace.

Offering help in charity is one of the easiest ways to live out your Catholic faith. You lose nothing in offering assistance – the worst they can say is “no.”

6. Perfect your online presence

First impressions are very important. Nowadays, the one thing people do when they meet you is search your name on the internet.

To be sure that others have the best first impression of you possible, make sure your online presence is superb. Screen your social media accounts for anything inappropriate or unprofessional. If you have LinkedIn, make sure it is updated with a clear professional headshot, and your most recent resume.

Taking 10 minutes to clean up your online profiles really pays off. If the interview panel for a potential job searches your name, you want them to see your most authentic self, not those grainy selfies you took in high school.

7. Choose joy

Negative emotions in the workplace spread quickly. But guess what? So do positive emotions!

Joy, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, is the mark of the Christian. That doesn’t mean you can’t speak up if something is wrong. If you see something that should be fixed, give your boss feedback along with suggestions for improvement. You can talk about problems effectively if you offer solutions. In fact, one of the best ways to live a life of joy is learning how to turn mistakes into success.

The fact is that people enjoy working with positive, humble co-workers. They will always remember you for your joy. Remember, an upbeat attitude can only affect the workplace in a good way.

A Final Word

You might wonder if anyone will even notice these professional habits. Actually, your boss, customers, and co-workers do. By practicing these easy Catholic professional skills, you will make a great impression on those around you, contribute true catholic business values to your workplace, and become more confident in your own talents and abilities.

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As Catholics, following Christ is the most central part of our life, guiding our beliefs, values, and actions. This doesn’t stop at the workplace. However, in the modern secular culture, it’s not uncommon to encounter co-workers who may hold misconceptions about, or even openly persecute, the Catholic Church. As the Church faces increased persecution, Catholic professionals will only have to deal with this reality more and more. In these situations, it’s crucial to respond with wisdom, grace, and a deep commitment to our faith. In this article, we will explore what to do as a Catholic professional when a co-worker persecutes the Church.

Identify and Pray

The first step in addressing any issue is recognizing it. Persecution of the Catholic Church in the workplace can manifest in various ways, from casual derogatory comments to more overt forms of discrimination. Identifying these actions is the initial and crucial step in responding effectively, while also avoiding unnecessary escalation.

As Catholics, prayer needs to be our first response to adversity. When faced with persecution, remember the teachings of Jesus in Matthew 5:11-12: “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you [falsely] because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” Take a moment to reflect on this passage and consider the opportunity for spiritual growth that persecution presents. Never forget, no matter how difficult the situation, God can bring goodness and beauty out of it.

Rejoice and Be Glad

For this reason, we can actually rejoice when a co-worker persecutes the Catholic Church. While it may seem counterintuitive, our faith encourages us to find joy in persecution, not for the persecution itself, but for the strength and conviction it demonstrates in our beliefs. Of course, though, we should always do so with the hope that the other has a conversion of heart. As Jesus says we are called to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us (Mt. 5:44). When a co-worker persecutes our Church, we should remember to pray for them. These prayers can lead to a change of heart or a deeper understanding of our faith.

But I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you. (Mt. 5:44)

Praying for someone who persecutes the Church involves seeking guidance on whether to engage with your co-worker regarding the issue or not. It is crucial to take a moment to discern if the situation requires a direct confrontation or if it is wiser to turn the other cheek and let go of minor provocations. The Holy Spirit will be your guide here, and prayer can help illuminate the best path forward.

Engaging the Person

If, guided by prayer, the Holy Spirit leads you to engage, approach the person with a spirit of love, truth, and joy. Workplace evangelization can be challenging, but sometimes this is what the Lord asks of us. It’s essential that when we engage someone who persecutes the Catholic Church that we try to follow St. Paul’s command in Ephesians to live the truth in love (Ep. 4:15). Here are a few tips on how to live the truth in love in these conversations:

• Truth: When discussing your Catholic faith, ensure that your statements are rooted in the teachings of the Church. Grounding your perspective in the truth not only strengthens your position but also demonstrates the depth of your faith and understanding.
• Love: As Catholics, we are called to approach all encounters with love and compassion. Remember 1 Corinthians 13:2, “If I have the gift of prophecy and comprehend all mysteries and all knowledge, if I have all faith so as to move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.” Let love guide your words and actions during the conversation.
• Joy: Maintain a joyful disposition during the conversation. This doesn’t mean you have to be overly cheerful, but rather, approach the dialogue with a sense of inner peace and confidence in the Lord. Your joy can serve as a powerful testimony to the positive impact of Catholicism.

Conclusion

Dealing with co-worker persecution of the Catholic Church can be challenging, but as Catholics, we have the tools of faith and love at our disposal. By identifying the persecution and praying, striving to rejoice in the face of abuse, and engaging with the person from a place of truth, love, and joy, you can navigate these situations with grace. Remember that your actions not only defend your faith but also witness to the goodness of the Church. Your response may help your workplace become friendlier to Catholicism, convert a co-worker, or just strengthen your own faith. Either way, when we respond with love and truth to the persecution of the Church from a co-worker, we are doing the Lord’s will.

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Introduction

In a world where professional success often overshadows personal values, it’s important to remember the core principles that guide us as Catholics. The Catholic Church emphasizes a set of values that not only enrich one’s spiritual life but also provide a strong foundation for a fulfilling professional career. In this article, we’ll delve into the top Catholic professional values to strive for: faith, hope, love, the dignity of work, and prayer. Understanding and incorporating these values into your professional life can lead to a more meaningful working life and help you to preserve your faith in the workplace.

Faith

At the heart of Catholicism lies faith, the unwavering belief in God and His divine plan. In a professional context, faith serves as the bedrock upon which all other values are built. It encourages trust in God’s guidance, even in the face of uncertainty and adversity. Here are some Catholic professional values that faith inspires:

• Integrity: When we place our faith in God, we know that doing what is right is more important than doing what is easy. Trust that doing what’s right will lead to positive outcomes in the long run by maintaining your integrity in all professional dealings.
• Resilience: Embrace challenges with faith in God’s plan. Difficulties and setbacks are part of any career, but having faith that they serve a purpose and will ultimately lead to growth can make them easier to endure.
• Example and Witness: Approach your work as a way to set an example to others. By seeing your professional role as a way to lead others closer to God, you align your career with your mission to share the Gospel.

Hope

Hope in the Lord keeps us moving forward, even in the darkest of times. It is rooted in the belief that God has a plan for each person’s life. This includes our working life, which makes hope a Catholic professional value. Here’s how to incorporate hope in your career:

• Goal Setting: Set realistic yet challenging career goals. Real hope allows you to see the challenges before you, while also trusting that the Lord will bring something good and beautiful out of these difficulties. Trust in God’s plan for your career and keep moving toward your objectives.
• Peace and Joy: Cultivate a positive attitude grounded in God, even in the face of setbacks. Hope reminds us that challenges are opportunities for growth, and with perseverance in God, we can overcome them. This is especially relevant in the workplace where challenges are part of daily life. When we live according to our hope, we find a deep peace and joy no matter the struggles we face.
• Prayer: Prayer plays a significant role in fostering hope. Regularly pray for guidance, strength, and the ability to maintain hope in your career. Seek God’s wisdom in your professional decisions and even take time to talk with the Lord throughout your workday, especially when you are making big decisions or are stressed.

Love

Love is the cornerstone of Catholic teaching. As a result, it is clearly a top Catholic professional value. Here’s how to integrate love into your career:

• Compassion: Show compassion toward your colleagues, superiors, and subordinates. Understand that everyone has their struggles. Offering support and empathy can create a positive work environment where people feel that they are cared for.
• Teamwork: Embrace the concept of teamwork and collaboration. Genuine love for your fellow professionals should motivate you to work together effectively, fostering a sense of unity and shared purpose. When we take the time to love our co-workers, we can see their skills and help them flourish in their working environment.
• Ethics: Uphold ethical standards in your professional life according to God’s truth. Treating others with love means making decisions that benefit not only yourself but also your colleagues, the business, and the common good. Remember that love requires willing the good of the other, and this means doing more than just being nice. We also need to know what is true and good in God’s eyes.

Dignity of Work

The Catholic Church places a high value on the dignity of work, emphasizing that all honest work has inherent worth and is a means to fulfill one’s vocation. This value encourages individuals to view their careers as a way to serve God and society. Here’s how to honor the dignity of work:

• Professional Excellence: Strive for excellence in your chosen field. By doing your job to the best of your ability, you not only fulfill your professional responsibilities but also glorify God who has given your work dignity and meaning.
• Fair Compensation: Advocate for fair wages and just compensation for yourself and your colleagues. Recognize that work should not exploit or demean individuals but should provide a means for a dignified life.
• Service to Others: Consider how your work benefits others. Whether you’re a teacher, doctor, accountant, or any other professional, your work contributes to the betterment of society. Don’t just focus on yourself when you work but be sure to think of the common good as well.

Prayer

Prayer is the foundation of a devout Catholic’s life. In the context of a professional career, prayer can serve as a source of guidance, strength, and inner peace. Here’s how to incorporate prayer into your work life:

• Morning Offering: Start your workday with a morning offering. This will help you keep God’s presence at the forefront of your work throughout the day and remind you of your ultimate goal in life – to serve Him.
• Detachment: Prayer helps us to stay centered on what matters most, God’s will. When we take time to talk with Jesus, we are better able to focus on what He wants. This will give you the freedom to do what is best in your profession in God’s eyes. We can’t make good business decisions if we aren’t free of attachments.
• Gratitude: Practice gratitude through prayer. Expressing thanks for your job, opportunities, and the ability to make a positive impact in your professional life.

Conclusion

Incorporating these top Catholic professional values – faith, hope, love, the dignity of work, and prayer – into your career can lead to a more meaningful and fulfilling professional journey. It can also help you witness to a life in Christ and evangelize your workplace. By aligning your work with your faith-based principles, you will not only find success in your career but will also make a positive impact on the world by giving a witness to the Gospel.

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Being a Catholic professional in a secular workplace can be quite a tightrope walk. Striving to live out your faith and answer the call to evangelization while also maintaining respect for workplace boundaries and job security is no easy feat. Fortunately, there are ways to navigate this delicate balance and uphold your Catholic values in a professional setting without compromising your job or your beliefs.

What does it mean?

Ask fifty people about being a Catholic professional in a secular workplace, and you’ll receive fifty unique answers. There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to this dynamic situation. It hinges on the individual Catholic professional and the specific workplace they find themselves in. Context is key, making each experience a tailored journey. However, there are a few principles that we can follow that apply across the board.

Doing your job well 

Living out Catholic values in the workplace extends beyond mere religious affiliation. It involves excelling in your job, as it pertains to the dignity of both workers and work itself. Every occupation, regardless of its perceived significance, carries inherent dignity, enabling individuals to support themselves and their loved ones. Even if your work is not directly tied to the Church, its spiritual worth should not be underestimated. The value lies not in who you work for but in the commitment to excellence and the positive impact you make through your work.

Consider the example of a nurse working in a secular hospital. While their role may not be explicitly tied to Catholicism, their dedication to providing compassionate care to patients upholds the values of love, mercy, and dignity that are central to the Catholic faith. By embracing their work with diligence and genuine concern for others, they contribute to the spiritual well-being of both patients and their colleagues, making a profound difference in the lives they touch.

Exuding virtue 

Your work can be a powerful form of evangelization if done well and with joy. You don’t have to force exaggerated or fake cheerfulness – genuine joy rooted in faith is always appealing.

No need to be self-righteous or preachy; just focus on being holy. Your work life should reflect the joy of the Gospel without lacking authenticity. Show genuine care for your coworkers and those who interact with you, and naturally, people will be drawn to you, and thus appreciate what you believe.

As an exercise, choose one area for personal growth in the workplace. It could be cultivating patience or engaging with coworkers before your first cup of coffee. Even small steps can create opportunities to share the Gospel with your colleagues.

Evangelizing

You’ll likely have few options for direct evangelization in a secular workplace. That’s okay. Yes, it’s good to evangelize. It’s also good to keep your job. Contrary to what some may say, it is rarely the case that it is better to lose your job than not evangelize. If you have to feed your family, that comes first. Measure your word and action choices against your job security, but don’t let a good opportunity go to waste if you can avoid it.

That isn’t to say that you can’t evangelize at all. Of course, Christians are called to evangelize through their example. The very nature of who you are should be evangelistic. If you don’t feel like you can talk to your coworkers about religion, there are some other things you can do. You can wear a cross or have a crucifix at your desk (assuming your work allows that). Praying before meals is also a great conversation starter.

Get to know your coworkers if you aren’t sure where to start and how direct you can be. Yes, even Sharon from accounts payable, whom you can’t stand. Maybe start with Sharon. The more you authentically engage with your coworkers and get to know them, the better you can genuinely care for them. The inherent flaw with street evangelization is that the evangelist doesn’t have a relationship with the person he is evangelizing. That’s not to say that the “cold calling” of evangelization can’t work, but it likely isn’t the best option in your secular workplace. Know your coworkers, their values, and how you can approach them about matters that … actually matter.

Pray, read Scripture, and ask the intercession of the saints. Whatever works well in your prayer life, stick with that. You may need all the help you can get to not only spread the Faith but to keep your own in a secular workplace. You don’t need to proselytize, but you do need to live out your Catholic values.

What not to do

We often talk about how to evangelize, but we don’t often talk about how not to evangelize. This comes back to knowing your coworkers. If Sharon from accounting loves art, lecturing her on how the Council of Trent replied to the Protestant Reformation is NOT the way to go, lol. Perhaps the Church’s rich tradition as keepers and stewards of great art is a better starting point.

As a rule, you probably don’t want to make any grand evangelistic gestures. Maybe don’t pray the Our Father in Latin on your weekly conference call (unless you’ve already given your two weeks’ notice, then go wild). Of course, this is a hyperbolic example. The point is, large, impersonal gestures are often more to make the evangelist feel important than to evangelize. Even if not the case, they rarely translate in an office setting.

Community 

Find others who are in a similar situation. Maybe you have other Catholic coworkers. Talking about the faith with them may intrigue other coworkers. At a minimum, they may have questions you can answer.

If you don’t have Catholic coworkers, you probably know other Catholic professionals who work in secular workplaces. Joining a Catholic professional group or social club is a great way to meet other Catholics in similar situations to your own. Pray with each other for the strength to live out your Catholic values in your respective workplaces, and know you always have a community from which to draw strength.

About the Author:

Joe Coleman is a freelance writer, editor, and audio production consultant. He holds a BA in Philosophy from Loyola Marymount University (and actually uses it from time to time). A former fellow at KNOM Catholic Radio in Western Alaska, he got his start as an on-air host, producer, and news writer. Currently, you can find him in Southern California writing about national parks, outdoor gear, and the role of Catholics in the business world.

The post Living as a Catholic Professional in the Secular Workplace appeared first on Catholic Professionals.

Those are just a few of the self-conscious questions contemporary society has faithful Catholics pondering every day.

Even though we have the First Amendment in the United States, Christians walk on eggshells when it comes to being public about their faith, especially at a place of business. Catholic professionals maybe more than most, given the not-so-faint streak of anti-Catholicism in our nation’s past and contemporary progressivism’s less-than-tolerant attitude toward Catholic moral teaching.

If that sort of thing nags at you, perhaps they even frighten you, there’s good news. You don’t have to answer those questions. And no blog is going to be able to give you one-size-fits-all advice on the subject. Only you can gauge the level of tolerance for religious discussion in a given secular workplace, and when the time is right to make a stand on a topic.

But since there is nothing in doctrine that says you have to go around citing Bible verses and Catechism of the Catholic Church references all day long, relax a little.

Besides, odds are that being accused of evangelizing to the point of losing your job is far less likely than becoming lazy about your faith in today’s hyper-busy business world. As is the case for the devout college student whose faith dissolves in the ultra-secular world of higher education, there’s a certain amount of “use it or lose it” danger that comes from bottling up one’s faith in the workplace.

1. Practicing religion without an un-secular word.

Silence can be a powerful spiritual tool for Catholic professionals in the secular workplace. And it can help with preserving your Catholic faith in the secular workplace without ever saying a word. Consider harnessing the spiritual power of silence to strengthen your faith and do good for others throughout the day. That’s right — good, old-fashioned spiritual works of mercy.

Your workplace probably isn’t interested in hearing you stand up at your desk to announce a rosary or chaplet for the intentions of all present. But you can certainly be something of a prayer warrior — or prayer ninja, to be more exact — interceding for others throughout the day, without them ever knowing it.

Prayer is strong and we all need much more of it than we realize. That’s especially true for people who are hostile to the very thought of God. Rather than letting your faith atrophy in the workplace, keep your Christian radar tuned in throughout the day and keep an eye out for reasons to intercede.

• Watching a colleague give a presentation? Offer a silent prayer for his/her success.
• Somebody in a foul-mood day? Pray for peace in his or her heart.
• Back-biting coworker? Pray for those who persecute you. (Hmmm. Where have heard THAT before?)
• Project not going well? Call on an assist from the Holy Spirit.

2. You’re not in this faith preservation thing alone.

And, dear Catholic professional, remember that you’re Catholic and the entire Church Triumphant is in your corner. There’s no problem too big or too small that someone who has gone before us marked with the sign of faith can’t help us handle.

• Big problems: Colleague letting alcohol affect his/her performance? Ask the intercession of Venerable Matt Talbot.
• Medium-sized problems: Someone struggling with writing a report? Ask St. Francis De Sales to back him/her up in prayer.
• Smaller but annoying problems: Lack of organizational skills overshadowing someone’s talent? Put St. Zita on the case. You probably never heard of her because she was misplaced, but she’s there to call on.

And not every prayer needs to be exclusively for the benefit of someone else. for instance, if you’ve got a boss who’s mean and nasty, and walking out on him/her isn’t an option, invite Blessed Mother and St. Joseph to pray that he/she will discover how to lead from a place of respect. (That may sound fruitless, but just saying such a prayer can do wonders for your own ability to cope.)

3. Preserving your faith by praying for yourself.

Preserving your Catholic faith in the secular workplace requires taking care of your own spiritual well-being. And here’s more good news: you’re never alone in the effort. The Communion of Saints surrounds you at all times. And of course, even in the most secular of secular places, the King is in the building if you call on Him.

• Questioning your career choices? “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I place my trust in You!”
• Close to losing your temper? “Jesus, meek and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Thine.”
• Feeling uncharitable? “Lord, give me the grace not to judge others.”

And if you don’t feel comfortable going straight to “Management” turn to his mother.

• “Mary, conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee.”
• “Immaculate Heart of Mary, pray for us now and at the hour of our death.”
• “Our Lady, Queen of Peace, pray for us!”

You may recognize those brief prayers as classic “aspirations” — a fabulous tradition in the Church and tailor-made for Catholic professionals who want to actively practice their faith in a secular workplace. And you can do it quietly, in a single, silent or near-silent breath. In fact, the word “aspiration” traces back to a Latin word — that word is aspirare, which means “to breathe upon.” In prayer, an aspiration is a brief prayer we breathe out on behalf of ourselves or others.

4. Prayer has a great pedigree.

Where Catholic aspirations started is anyone’s guess, but there are plenty of them to be found. Christians have been cranking them out for a long time…in the neighborhood of two-thousand years, give or take. Why? Because trying to find appropriate ways of expressing one’s faith in the course of a day is nothing new. In 1st Thessalonians Chapter 5 St. Paul urges us to pray without ceasing, which definitely calls for some variety in the types of praying we do.

Indeed, trying to practice the Faith under the constraint of time or place has been going on for a while. One of the many great things about being Catholic is that we have two-thousand years of people who kept the faith through all sorts of hardships to rely on. If martyrs can sing songs of praise on their way to the lions, aspirations are sure to help Catholics preserving faith in the secular workplace.

“Aspiration” and “frustration” have more of a connection than the simple fact that they rhyme.

About the Author:

Jim Moore is a copywriter and editor, who is passionate about helping clients communicate about businesses, brands, products, people, companies and causes they believe in.

Search here for Catholic job postings, or Catholic Professionals you can hire.

The post Preserving Your Catholic Faith in the Secular Workplace appeared first on Catholic Professionals.

We work hard and strive for career success, but we experience setbacks.

Let’s just talk about the pandemic for a second. From one day to the next, basically unannounced, we’ve been thrown into working from home, wearing masks, and some into unemployment. There’s daily news of new cases of transmission, ICU units full, and people dying from the virus can all be pretty depressing.

Let’s talk about our personal situations with Catholic professional mistakes.  Some of us have moved from stale office jobs to home office slobs (e.g. wearing basketball shorts to a work meeting).  A lot of us chased our passion to do good and started freelancing. We started to build our small businesses. We’re reminded of inspiring reasons for our work from St. Joseph. But we realize it isn’t always easy – you have a massive project delay, you lose a client, you missed an important meeting, and lose a deal…

As  Catholic Professionals, we are neither immune to Covid-19 nor to setbacks, mistakes, and failures, perhaps even experiencing depression, while having to put on our best face and client service smile.

The good news: we’ve all been through big-time setbacks. Failure can reveal our limits and lead us to creativity and new solutions. We’ve got to deal with mistakes and failure just like the way we learned to walk and talk.

And often God shows us His plan by letting us find out what doesn’t work.

How a Catholic Professional Looks at Failure Differently

Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines failure as a lack of success, a falling short, a state of inability to perform a normal function.

I’d like to believe there’s a Catholic definition of failure different from this one. Alas, there isn’t. There’s just more to it.

As Catholics, failure can take on also a spiritual sense. It is an invitation to discernment, greater trust in God, less self-reliance, stronger hope in spiritual realities. It’s a necessary part of the path of detachment from selfishness.

Why is Failure so Disappointing?

Because we usually measure our self-worth by what we accomplish and what others think of us – by our degree of perceived career success.

Pope St. John Paul II could hardly “manage” the last 5 years of his life. But he was not less effective because of it. He showed us that our self-worth does not flow from our work. Although we usually like people when they do something for us, or when they “do us good,” as we tend to say. Our self-worth actually flows from simple existence. Just because we are, we have incredible value. JP2 called this value our “lovability.” We are the image of a God who is love.

What Happens When We Experience Failure?

We feel different things. That we are worthless. We feel other people judge and condemn us. That others are better than us. That we can’t accomplish anything. Perhaps that everyone else is to blame, or I alone am to blame.

Neither success nor failure changes our self-worth as human beings. We often forget that. We should never question our self-worth. Mistakes are simply the gateway to new discoveries, and the path to career success is paved with lessons learned.

5 Tips to Learn from Catholic Professional Mistakes 

Making Catholic professional mistakes is something we can’t change. But we can become more humble, more grateful, more generous, and more trusting. Here are five steps to take advantage of setbacks:

1. Admit the mistake and accept the facts

For most people, it is very painful to look closely at their failures and setbacks and to admit mistakes. Therefore, we tend to delay it. We tend to feel victimized, blame other people, or quarrel with fate. But if we delay and deny, we can’t learn from our mistakes nor correct them. Therefore, the first step is to admit to ourselves failure, mistake, and setback.

Permanent self-pity blocks us from analyzing the situation, learning, and becoming active again. People around us will withdraw from us or become aggressive towards us if we always complain about our misery. Other people also make mistakes and experience loss. Therefore, accept that bad things happen to good people (like us) from time to time.

2. Allow feelings of fear, anger, and disappointment to arise

Whenever our expectations are not met, negative feelings such as fear, anger, sadness, disappointment, and guilt spread within us. We can’t avoid these feelings. We should give ourselves permission to feel them for a time. It’s ok to let the inner movements find a way out. Not at the expense of others and loved ones. But crying, exercising, keeping a diary, and talking about it can help us calm down and face it.

3. Talk with someone / Confession (if needed)

Feelings of guilt are natural. They urge us to seek out the merciful love of our Heavenly Father. If we are not guilty of something “confess-able”, a spiritual conversation helps to better discern God’s intentions and work through the feelings. “Why did He allow this to happen?” If everything works for good for those who love Him (Rom 8:28), what can we learn from this?

If you did something wrong, confession frees our souls from endless self-pity and self-contemplation. Through confession, we confess our sins and the guilt we feel. The Lord fills our souls with light and grace. To do this, we need to reflect on and describe what we have done.

4. Analyze the course of events. Look for the lesson!

We need to analyze the situation objectively. This helps us extract an objective lesson. We need to find out how the mistake occurred. Helpful questions include:

• What was my contribution to the failure/setback? What are my weaknesses, objectively speaking? (Here I might ask my spouse for advice – she usually sees them pretty clearly.) Write them down!
• What factors beyond my control played a part in it? Observing outside influences separately is important because we can only change ourselves. Other people, the environment, economic developments, natural events, etc. we cannot control (and often can’t foresee).
• Ask yourself, as mentioned above: What does God want to tell me with this? What can I do better in the future? He certainly does not want to tell you that you are worthless. That is not His voice. Everything works for the good (again, Rom 8:28). So, I should pursue a different goal, or set a different expectation for myself, or invest in continued education to improve my skills.
• Finally, what innocent trait characterizes my mistake or weakness that could help other people? For example high sensitivity; “workaholic-ism” (or just plain ole’ hard work); easy-going-ness (or calm temperament); superficiality (or joyful disposition). Jot down a few ways to harness this trait for doing good. This could become the hidden blessing for career success.

5. Direct your gaze to your strengths

A failure first takes up all our power of thought. We can only think about this event. This makes us feel bad and inferior. To strengthen our self-confidence and to build up new energy again, we must consciously direct our gaze to our positive attributes.

So, answer the following questions: Where have I experienced career success in the past? What strengths, positive qualities, and abilities do I have? Write down the qualities and successes and read them over and over again. (Here, I ask my spouse for input as well.)

Then, set some guidelines for future actions. What opportunities do I have now? What new goals do I want to set for myself?

A Career Mistake is a Better Teacher than Success

How we deal with setbacks and Catholic professional mistakes has a major impact on our personal and professional development. If we resign to circumstance, if we start to doubt ourselves and our abilities because of failures, then we block the chance to learn from our mistakes. If you feel depression, and it reaches deeper than some recent setback, you may want to seek some professional help. You can find inspiration on dealing with depression in the lives of many saints who experienced it but also learned to serve God more faithfully with it, too. Career success is not something given. It is hard-earned and forged through many mistakes.

A person would never get around to doing anything if he always waited until he could do it so well that no one could detect a mistake – St. John Henry Newman.

Important to remember: If you don’t make mistakes, you don’t learn. If you don’t learn, you don’t change. If you don’t change, you don’t grow.

About the Author:

Bill Webster is a Business Development advisor for small businesses, as well as a Fundraising Consultant for impactful non-profits. As a father of two, he spends free time teaching them the things he loves: the Catholic Faith, languages, and tennis. With a BA in Philosophy, minor in Ethics, he is interested in helping businesses and non-profits set themselves up for impact: to change the lives of the people they serve, and thus make Christ’s Kingdom more present.

Search here for Catholic job postings, or Catholic Professionals you can hire.

The post 5 Tips for Turning Catholic Professional Mistakes into Career Success appeared first on Catholic Professionals.

Whether you’re freelancing or temporarily removed from the office, here are seven ways to pray while working from home! And the best part is, you can use all of these when you go back to the office in person! 

#1: Start a Prayer Group 

When COVID-19 lockdowns first began, people were stressed and scared more than usual. My husband, the only Catholic at his company, was asked to begin a prayer group with his co-workers every morning. They started fifteen minutes earlier than the regular work day. This grounded their work and lives in the Lord and each other’s prayers. 

It can be uncomfortable to suggest praying with your coworkers, especially virtually. If prayer per se is too bold to pull off, you may consider starting a moment of group support or reflection, open to all faiths. Who knows, you may end up surprised how many Christians or even Catholics you already work with that you didn’t know about!

#2: The Angelus

Though the history of the Angelus is a bit more sparse than many other Catholic prayers, it remains a popular devotion for working Catholics. The Angelus is a brief meditation on the Annunciation traditionally said three times a day: at 6 a.m., 12 noon and 6 p.m. In past times, church bells would toll at those hours to summon the surrounding Catholics to stop work and pray. 

If you aren’t already waking up at 6 a.m., it might be tough to begin doing so just for the Angelus. Try setting an alarm for noon to remind you to take a quick break and pray right where you are! If you’re already stopping for lunch, it might be just as easy to pray this beautiful prayer before your midday meal.

#3: Say Grace

While most Catholics say grace before the three main meals of the day, feel free to incorporate it into your snacking routine, too! Saying grace is a great reminder to be grateful for all the food that we are given, and to ask God’s blessing upon it. Whether it’s a mid-morning PopTart or some afternoon veggies, saying grace is a great way to pray while working from home. 

Many families like to add their own little personal prayers to grace. Scripture quotes, intercession for those who are less fortunate, and prayers for the poor souls in Purgatory are all popular ones. In this year of St. Joseph (a saint with great advice for working Catholics), my husband and I like to add “St. Joseph, please intercede for all the men of the Church” to the end of our grace. 

#4: Literally Pray While Working

Not all prayer needs to be vocal or standardized. Internally practicing gratitude or asking for patience with a frustrating problem are ways to cultivate a relationship with Him without stopping everything. 

Talking to God throughout your work day is helpful in building a reliance on His grace and support. It also alleviates some of the stress of your job. Keeping an Image of Our Lord taped to one of the three flat screen monitors in your workspace can make it easy to pray while working – all you have to do is glance over and say “Hi” or if you’re a simple soul, maybe you can give Jesus a quick fist bump.

#5: Find a Patron Saint

Sometimes it can seem like ancient saints are out of touch with our contemporary work world. Remember, saints are alive in Heaven and want to pray for us as much as we want to be prayed for! 

There are numerous patron saints for modern problems and careers. Saints are given patronage for a reason! Learning about the saint of your work can aid in your decisions to pray while working. You can also offer any highs and lows up to the Lord through the hands of the patron.

#6: Use Your Commute Time

If you are back in the office, use the time where you’re driving to work to pray or meditate on the upcoming day. And if you’re still working from home, use the time you normally drive to sit quietly in the presence of God to calm your soul and ask for strength for the coming day.

One of the coolest things about Catholic prayers is that there are prayers for just about any length of time. Is your commute normally five minutes long? A chaplet of Divine Mercy or morning offering will work well. Fifteen minutes? Listen to the liturgy of the hours. Twenty? Get that daily Rosary in! Even longer? Mix and match, turn on some worship music, or just talk to God out loud! 

#7: Make the Sign of the Cross

The sign of the cross is one of the simplest ways to pray while working, and yet it is deeply profound when made with intentionality. The sign of the cross is a reminder to ourselves that we are marked as Christians. We are protected by the Lord, and are asked to carry our own crosses each and every day. Demons flee from the sign of the cross, and it will strengthen and refocus you on what is most important. 

You can make the sign of the cross at any pivotal moment of your workday. Before work begins, before a big meeting, before and after any other prayers, and right after you sign off. Making your work a prayer and bookending it with such a powerful sign is a way to integrate your faith into your professional life. If you haven’t yet, get yourself a bottle of Holy Water and keep it handy in your home. Using it with reverence and humble petition allows God to touch us in ways we may not even see.

Concluding Remarks:

One of the most important elements of a holy lifestyle is the ability to orient all aspects to the Lord. Christ should be the vibrant, burning center of a life that revolves around him – work, chores, play, charity, eating, etc. 

Hopefully these ways to pray while working, even from home, will help you in giving your entire day to Jesus and keeping the faith alive even while doing your job. 

About the Author

Ella Matthews is an actress and writer who graduated with a Communications Media degree from a film school in California. She lives with her husband in Indiana, loves tea and interior design, and wants to be a mom.

Search here for Catholic job postings, or Catholic Professionals you can hire.

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Once Upon A Time, Not So Long Ago…

It’s 8:00pm on a Tuesday night in 1955. Like thousands of other households across the country, your family tunes in to the ABC Television Network. Your TV needs time to heat up, and then an image emerges from the blackness of the screen. The camera pans across a study room to an oddly dressed man in cassock and cape. But for the cross around his neck and the disarming smile on his face, you’d think he was a vampire.

He opens with a knee-slapper of a joke that has the crowd rolling with laughter. And he grins from ear to ear, visibly pleased with the reaction. Then he launches into his topic. Tonight he’s going to tell us about “The Divine Sense of Humor.” Nothing is scripted. He knows his topic inside and out. He just talks to us as if we’re having an intimate chat in his study.

At the height of its popularity, Archbishop Fulton Sheen’s “Life Is Worth Living” appeared on at least 15 TV stations. It was viewed weekly by an estimated 30,000,000 people, and loved by both Catholics and non-Catholics alike. Sheen received several Emmy Awards for the program. He’s the great example of what can be achieved when modern forms of social communication are used effectively in the service of the Gospel.

Where We Are

Consider this. According to conservative estimates: 

• Americans watch around 4.5 hours of television per day. 
• We spend about 5 hours per day on our mobile devices. With our Smart Phones, Tablets, or iPads, in hand, we play on apps or surf internet browsers non-stop.
• We listen to about 2.5 hours’ worth of music and radio every day. 
• One study shows that we spend just over 3 hours a day online. But another study shows that about ¼ of us are online constantly.
• Finally, experts estimate that we are exposed to anywhere from 4,000 to 10,000 advertisements per day!

That’s a lot of statistics, I know. Maybe you got a little discouraged seeing how much of our precious time is given to these “distractions.” After all, what would the Church be like if we devoted this amount of time to learning, praying, and living the Faith? What would the Church be like if we devoted this much time and energy to evangelization on the digital continent!

Where many of us see nothing but unfortunate distractions, the Church, like Fulton Sheen, sees great opportunity for sharing the Gospel. But to make this happen, we must be willing to invest our time, talent, and treasure.

Where Evangelization Needs to Happen

The statistics above show that we are increasingly becoming citizens of what Pope Benedict XVI called “the digital continent.” We spend more and more time in front of screens. And we spend less and less time interacting face-to-face with others.

It’s the Church’s duty to meet every person where they are, and share the Gospel with them right there. But when it comes to digital evangelization, the reality is we’ve fallen way behind.

With hundreds of television channels now available, only a very small handful are Catholic. And while the content on these Catholic stations may be good, the quality of appearance is not up to modern standards. Similarly most Catholic radio stations operate as AM stations – the cheapest platform out there, and often the most difficult to tune in to. And you can probably count on one hand the number of Catholic websites that are truly “world class.”

The Second Vatican Council, as if foreseeing this situation, issued its own digital evangelization call to arms: “It is quite unbecoming for the Church’s children (priests, religious, and laity) idly to permit the message of salvation to be thwarted or impeded by the technical difficulties or expenses, however vast, which are encountered by the very nature of these media” (Inter Mirifica 17).

Just as Catholics once had the duty to support the Church’s foreign missionary efforts, today we have an obligation to support the Church’s digital evangelization efforts on the digital continent.

A Digital Evangelization Call to Arms

 “The Church […] believes that its (missionary) task involves using the media to proclaim the good news of salvation.” As partners and co-workers in the Lord’s vineyard, we lay faithful need to get involved. We need to take evangelization on the digital continent very seriously. We need to devote more of our time, talent, and treasure to helping Catholic websites and blogs, newspapers and periodicals, radio stations and podcasts, TV stations and programming, to flourish! “All the children of the Church should join, without delay and with the greatest effort in a common work to make effective use of the media of social communication in various apostolic endeavors” (emphasis added).

So here’s my digital evangelization call to arms for you. Are you a Catholic with a heart for the Church who longs to see Catholicism flourish again? Do you have a special skill that you can use to aid the Church’s evangelization efforts on the “digital continent?” Then put your talents at the service of Christ’s Gospel! If you’re a person of means, pick a media-based apostolate (Word on Fire, EWTN, Lighthouse Catholic Media, etc.) and give generously of your treasure to aid them. It’s not about the money. It’s about meeting people where they are, and bringing the Gospel to them!

About the Author

Philip Rolfes is a freelance direct response copywriter, connecting people with the missions they’re passionate about.

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