work is a blessing essay

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Labor Day Informational Text: “Work is a Blessing” from This I Believe

Of all the national holidays, Labor Day is the most passive. It floats as the first Monday in September. It lacks a symbol, a song or ritual, but maybe that is not so strange for a holiday established to be a collective celebration of rest. Labor Day is set aside to recognize the importance of labor in our lives.

That sentiment was at the heart of a speech recorded by Retired Lt. General Russel L. Honoré for  This I Believe, Inc . This I Believe is an “independent, not-for-profit organization that engages youth and adults from all walks of life in writing, sharing, and discussing brief essays about the core values that guide their daily lives.”

Honoré is best known for coordinating military relief efforts for Hurricane Katrina -affected areas across the Gulf Coast and as the 2nd Infantry Division’s commander while stationed in South Korea . Honoré, also known as “The Ragin’ Cajun”, speech was shared on NPR’s Weekend Edition , March 1, 2009.

Work is a Blessing

Honoré’s essay was titled To Work is a Blessing  and in it he describes how his father influenced him to see labor differently. His own work experience began in his youth when he had to milk 65 cows twice daily:

I remember complaining to my father and grandfather about having to go milk those cows. My father said, “Ya know, boy, to work is a blessing.”

Honore described how he I looked at those two men, and “had a feeling I had been told something really important, but it took many years before it had sunk in.” As a young man, he joined ROTC to pay for college, and that obligation led to his 37 year career in the Army.

In a visit to Bangladesh in the 80s he explains how he watched a woman breaking bricks with a hammer with a baby strapped to her back. When he asked if a machine would be more efficient and less difficult, an official explained that a machine would put that lady out of work. Honoré then understood:

“Breaking those bricks meant she’d earn enough money to feed herself and her baby that day. And as bad as that woman’s job was, it was enough to keep a small family alive. It reminded me of my father’s words: to work is a blessing.”

His position in the Army took him to multiple countries, where he grew to recognize that people, regardless of where they lived, who lived without jobs were not free. They become “victims  of crime, the ideology of terrorism, poor health, depression, and social unrest.” Instead, he argued that

“People who have jobs can have a home, send their kids to school, develop a sense of pride, contribute to the good of the community, and even help others. When we can work, we’re free. We’re blessed.”

Honoré’s speech is  (561 words); his audio recording of the speech is 4:02 minutes long. The readability level/Grade Level is 6.7; both speech and recording are available on the This I Believe  website.

Educators who might want to use this speech with students in grades 6-12 could align their questions to several Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for reading informational texts. Reading informational texts such as this speech help students build a foundation of knowledge in multiple fields. This background knowledge helps them to be better readers in all content areas.

Here are four anchor standards from the CCSS and questions stems for each strand:

RI.9-10.1 Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text of this speech says explicitly as well as inferences drawn from the text.

• What textual evidence supports your analysis of the Honoré’s speech?
• What inferences can you draw from specific textual evidence?

RI.9-10.2 Determine a central idea of a text and analyze its development over the course of Honoré’s speech, including how it emerges and is shaped and refined by specific details; provide an objective summary of the text.

• What is the central idea of the speech?
• How is the central idea developed?
• What supporting ideas are included in the text?

RI.9-10.3 Analyze how Honoré’s unfolds a series of ideas or events, including the order in which the points are made, how they are introduced and developed, and the connections that are drawn between them.

• What connections can you make among and between the individuals, ideas, or events in Honoré’s speech?
• What distinctions can you make between the speech’s individuals, ideas, or events?
• Analyze how Honoré connects the ideas and events of the text?

RI.9-10. 4 Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in Honoré’s speech, including figurative, connotative, and technical meanings; analyze the cumulative impact of specific word choices on meaning and tone.

• What does the word/phrase _______ mean in this selection?
• How does the Honoré’s  use of repetition of ___________ impact the tone of his speech?
• Identify and analyze which words or phrases specifically impact the meaning or tone?

Labor Day may be a passive holiday, but this day is important to recognize the importance of work in every life. Honoré concludes his short speech by saying he has no plans to stop working, restating his belief in his father’s words:

“I believe in the blessing of work.”

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Speeches > David E. Sorensen > The Blessing of Work

The Blessing of Work

David e. sorensen.

of the Presidency of the Seventy

March 6, 2005

I would like to express my appreciation to all the priesthood leaders and their wives who are here with us this evening. I’m especially grateful that Elder and Sister Cecil O. Samuelson are here. It was a great privilege to labor with Elder Samuelson in the Temple Department for many years. I can assure the students at Brigham Young University, as well as the faculty, that they are blessed under the able leadership of President and Sister Samuelson.

Tonight as I’ve thought about what I wanted to say to you, the young people of the Church, it has occurred to me that many are students. The reality is, my dear young friends, that we are all students of the gospel, aren’t we?

There was a man who worked for the United States Treasury Department. His job was investigating cases where counterfeit money was involved. He was so good at what he did that all it took was a quick look at a bill and he could tell if it was genuine or counterfeit. One evening at a press conference following his breaking up of a major counterfeit ring, one of the reporters directed this statement to him: “You must spend a lot of time studying counterfeit bills to recognize them so easily.”

His reply to this was, “No, I don’t ever study counterfeit bills. I spend my time studying genuine bills; then the imperfection is easy to recognize.”

So it is with the gospel, dear brothers and sisters. We are here to teach the gospel of Jesus Christ. There is no need to study the counterfeit, for we have the truth. As you study the true Church and allow the Spirit to work within you, you will have the answers and come to know how to respond to the various situations you will face. Concerning the Book of Mormon, a young missionary shared this thought with me, which I have found to be true over the years: Remember that the Book of Mormon is not on trial—we are.

This evening I would like to speak with you concerning one of the most essential principles of the entire gospel. I speak of the doctrine of work. It is my hope that what I say will help guide you in the work you are now doing or may be doing in the future.

Those of you who are graduating from high school or college, or are otherwise in the work force, may be asking yourselves questions like this when you apply for employment: “What are my working hours? What are my fringe benefits? What holidays will I have off? Will I have enough time to hang out with my friends or pursue my hobbies?” With questions like these, however, when you focus on your leisure hours instead of your working hours, you may be prevented from seeing a much greater opportunity.

Work is an eternal principle. Whom do you know who has all the riches of the earth and more and yet is continually working? Our Heavenly Father! He is a worker. Our Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ have shown us by Their examples and teachings that work is important in heaven and on earth. Jehovah worked to create the heavens and the earth. He called the waters together in one place and caused the dry land to appear. He created the sun, the moon, and the stars. He created every living thing in the sea and on the land. Then the Father placed Adam and Eve on the earth to take care of it and to govern the other creatures. (See Genesis 1:1–28.)

But Their work did not end with the Creation. In the Pearl of Great Price we read, “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man” (Moses 1:39; emphasis added). This, of course, includes every man, woman, and child. Of all the things He could concern Himself with, our Heavenly Father has chosen to labor for the benefit of our eternal souls—your soul and my soul.

Jesus said, “My Father worketh hitherto, and I work” (John 5:17). He also said, “I must work the works of him that sent me” (John 9:4).

Work Is a Blessing

You and I also have a work to accomplish. Satan would tempt us to believe that our work is not worthwhile or that we have no need to work at all. He is wrong on both counts. We do have a need to work. We have a responsibility to take care of our own needs and the needs of our families. This tradition of being self-sufficient has been the Lord’s way since Adam and Eve left the Garden of Eden. The Lord said to Adam, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). Adam and Eve worked in the fields so they could provide for their own needs and the needs of their children (see Moses 5:1).

But providing for ourselves is not the only purpose of work. Suppose you were given a great sum of money or for whatever reason became instantly financially self-sufficient. Even then the command to labor has not been lifted. The Lord said to the people of Israel, “Six days shalt thou labour” (Exodus 20:9). He did not include any exceptions in that commandment for those who had enough and to spare! As Elder Neal A. Maxwell described, “Work is always a spiritual necessity even if, for some, work is not an economic necessity” ( CR, April 1998, 50; or “Put Your Shoulder to the Wheel,” Ensign, May 1998, 38).

Work is not a curse but a blessing; by work we not only obey the commandment of God but also enable ourselves to participate in God’s saving grace. The Savior said, “If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). So Christ made it clear that if we love Him and wish to be with Him, we must obey His commandments, including that early commandment to Adam to work.

The Lord told the Latter-day Saints at the beginning of the Restoration, “Now, I, the Lord, am not well pleased with the inhabitants of Zion, for there are idlers among them” (D&C 68:31). And still later, in the 20th century, President Heber J. Grant, a prophet of God, said, “Work is to be re-enthroned as the ruling principle of the lives of our Church membership” ( CR, October 1936, 3).

Have you ever thought about what would happen if people did not work? Would our schools function? Would our government run? Would our televisions have programming? Although we sometimes think it would be nice to have all the money we ever wanted and never have to work again, I can assure you that is not the path to true happiness. Some of the most miserable people I have met have been those who, for one reason or another, have not been able to work for extended periods of time.

Work is a family responsibility. I know some of you are away from home. I remind you that right now you are benefiting from the work of your family. Your parents have worked hard to provide for your physical, spiritual, and emotional well-being. They do not expect anyone else to take over this responsibility for them. They do expect you to share some of the load.

When I attended my son’s graduation from the Harvard Business School, Dean Kim Clark, who is a member of the Church, asked each of the graduating students gowned and seated in the front rows to look behind them at their loved ones. As the graduates turned around, Dean Clark paused and said, “Were it not for the support of your family members, you would not be receiving this honor today.” And so it is for each of you. You have received much. In turn, you are expected—even required—to offer similar support and love to your own children and families. This does not mean (using the vernacular of the day) continually “hanging out.” As you grow older, your parents expect you to provide for yourselves and become independent.

We all share in the work. Remember it is important to start early in life to teach your children that they should do their part in the work of a family. Those of you who have had the experience of growing up in a home where you were taught to work can bear testimony to its value in your life today. As a matter of fact, just last Thursday Elder Samuelson said to me how grateful he was that his father taught him to work and that his wife’s mother and father taught her to work.

So far as we are able, Church members should do their best to provide the basic necessities of life—food, clothing, and shelter for their families.

We understand that in some places in the world you may encounter hardships when trying to provide for your families. These trials could include chronic illness, the loss of a spouse, the addition of an elderly parent, or providing for your children’s education. Our Heavenly Father is mindful of families in these situations. It is my conviction that He will give you the strength to carry on. He will always bless us if we ask Him in faith.

Work Is a Service

Good work attitudes, habits, and skills are learned through successful work experiences. Let me illustrate. On the ranch where I grew up, the cows had to be milked before dawn every day. It didn’t matter if it was Sunday or Christmas or any other holiday. It didn’t matter if it was cold. It didn’t matter if someone had the flu. It didn’t matter whether the sun was shining or a blizzard was raging. Every morning and every evening it was the same—the cows had to be milked.

Before my brothers were called off to war, they did most of the milking. But in 1943, when I was just 10 years old, I would enter our barnyard where there were about 10 to 12 cows waiting for me to let them into the milking barn. My mother and father used to say out loud to the cows, “Good morning. It’s good to see you!” I have to confess that as a young boy I didn’t feel quite the same way toward the cows.

After each cow was milked, I poured the milk from the pail into a 10-gallon can. Each can weighed about 80 pounds when full. It made me stretch my young muscles as I carried them to the road for the dairy to pick up.

My father quite frequently helped me with milking the cows, and occasionally Mother helped. I remember my father and mother continued to milk until they were in their late 80s. But Father didn’t milk the cows because he had to; he milked them because they needed to be milked. There is a difference. To him these animals were not just cows—they were Big Blackie and Bossie and Sally and Betsy. He wanted them to be contented. He always said that contented cows give good milk. To my father, milking cows—as unsophisticated as it may seem—was not an imposition; it was an opportunity. Milking was not a job for him; it was a service.

This philosophy is something that helped me as I grew up. It helped me to find out that all honest work is honorable. Within a few years I realized that routinely performing these chores actually began to give me a sense of confidence and empowerment. I took pride in my work. I found out that no one could make me feel inferior about the kind of work that I did. As Eleanor Roosevelt said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent” (Points to Ponder, Reader’s Digest, February 1963, 261). You control your own attitudes—especially you young people—in your attitude about work. Self-confidence and empowerment can serve you well—in the classroom, on State Street, or on Wall Street.

Instead of thinking of our daily work as an imposition, we should think of it as an opportunity. That’s just the way my father taught me to feel about the cows. Those teachings have remained with me all my life, and I continue to visit the ranch and its memories as often as possible.

Think about it. If my father could find purpose in a few cows, surely each of us can find purpose in our work.

Learn to Love Work

One of the best ways I know to enjoy life is to learn to love work. My wife, Verla, is the perfect example. She began to work for her sickly Aunt Bertha at age 10 washing the dishes and cleaning her house. She has been working ever since. The type of work she has done has been different at different stages of her life. She has excelled as a student, taught first grade for a few years, reared our seven children, worked in the PTA, served on the local school board, labored in the mission field, given hundreds of Church talks, and served on many community boards and as a volunteer.

Some of her work has been what the world may consider mundane, such as keeping a large household running. Some of her work has been the more intellectual pursuit of taking graduate courses, and much of it has been the spiritual effort of teaching the gospel. But always, no matter what the task, she has given it her whole effort. She has found great joy in her work. She told me just today that she hoped to be like her Aunt Vera, who when she was 90 said that she hoped she never got too old to work. The happiest people I know are those who enjoy their work—whatever it is.

You may remember the story that shows how our attitude about work can make all the difference.

A traveler passed a stone quarry and saw three men working. He asked each man what he was doing. Each man’s answer revealed a different attitude toward the same job.

“I’m cutting stone,” the first man answered.

The second replied, “I’m earning three gold pieces per day.”

The third man smiled and said, “I am helping to build a house of God.”

Remember the old saying, “Your attitude determines your altitude.”

We should be able to find ample purpose in our work, no matter what it is. In any honest work we can serve God. King Benjamin, the Nephite prophet, said, “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings ye are only in the service of your God” (Mosiah 2:17). Even if our work simply helps to provide for the necessities for our families, we are still helping God’s children.

The Lord is not pleased with those who are lazy or idle. He said, “The idler shall not have place in the church, except he repent and mend his ways” (D&C 75:29). He also commanded, “Thou shalt not be idle; for he that is idle shall not eat the bread nor wear the garments of the laborer” (D&C 42:42).

From the very earliest days of the Church prophets have taught Latter-day Saints to be independent and self-sustaining and to avoid idleness. True Latter-day Saints will not voluntarily shift the burden of their own support to someone else. You should determine, young friends, right here and now, that to the extent possible in your own situation, you will be self reliant all of your life.

Many of you young women are now or will become mothers and may be blessed to spend many years at home raising children. Others of you sisters may not be able to become mothers or, if you are mothers, may not be able to stay at home full-time. Whatever your situation, I would encourage all of you young women to follow our prophet’s counsel and get as much education as you can. Education itself is valuable. Your education will give you a sense of security if you are home raising children. Should your future lead you into the paid workforce, generally speaking, education will allow you to have more meaningful and more rewarding employment.

Our work itself must have integrity and be for worthy purposes. Our Heavenly Father is not happy when we receive gain from evil or idle pursuits. President Spencer W. Kimball put it this way: “I feel strongly that [those] who accept wages or salary and do not give [fair] time, energy, devotion, and service are receiving money that is not clean” ( CR, October 1953, 52). Pretty strong words, aren’t they? He also said that money obtained by evil or idle practices such as theft; gambling, including lotteries; graft; sale of illegal drugs; oppression of the poor; and the like is unclean money.

President Kimball defined the difference between honorable work and evil work:

Clean money is that compensation received for a full day’s honest work. It is that reasonable pay for faithful service. It is that fair profit from the sale of goods, commodities, or service. It is that income received from transactions where all parties profit.

Filthy lucre is . . . money . . . obtained through theft and robbery . . . gambling . . . sinful operations . . . bribery, and . . . exploitation. [ CR, October 1953, 52]

Today there are many who offer the lure of easy money, suggesting shortcuts to quick riches and a life of ease. We hear about them all of the time. These offers are illusions, and the prophets have consistently counseled against falling prey to the temptation of “easy money.” We must not lose the ability to make sound judgments, to weigh risks and benefits, and to grasp the larger messages in life.

In the workaday world there are many who are spiritually insensitive because they are carnally minded. Try to avoid them. How tragic it would be if, because of our employment, we were put in contact with those who would destroy our spirituality. “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). The Lord has told us that “the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned” (1 Corinthians 2:14).

Naturally we should find the proper balance between work, rest, and relaxation. Without work, rest and relaxation have no meaning. There’s an old saying: “Doing nothing is the hardest work of all.” Not only is it pleasant and necessary to rest, but we are commanded to rest on the Sabbath day (see Exodus 20:10). To those who observe the Sabbath day, the Lord promises that “the fulness of the earth is yours” (D&C 59:16).

Some of you may know that Sister Sorensen and I spent a few years in Asia. While living there we heard an old adage: “Choose a job you love and you will never have to work a day in your life.” For the most part I believe that is wishful thinking. I do not want to sound dismal. But the reality is that work is not always naturally appealing. I think a more appropriate maxim might be President Thomas S. Monson’s counsel. He said, “Choose your love; love your choice” ( CR, October 1988, 82; or “Hallmarks of a Happy Home,” Ensign, November 1988, 71). He was actually speaking about marriage, but I would submit that this advice applies to your chosen vocation as well. Choose the job you love, then love your choice.

What I’m getting at here is many people get stuck in the rut of thinking their work ought to be more rewarding or more glamorous or at least less monotonous! When the going gets tough—as it inevitably will—they start thinking that perhaps their chosen work isn’t really all they thought it would be. They begin believing the grass is greener on the other side of the fence. You’ll find these folks saying, “If I only had decided to study medicine instead of the law, I could have been a great doctor.” Or perhaps, “I wish I had his high-power job. If I were the boss like him, I’d work at it really hard and treat people well and be successful.”

People who can’t get out of this rut often have difficulty achieving excellence in any profession. They fall in love with a career but then become disenchanted with the small and simple things and end up quitting to pursue their fantasy over the next horizon. They drift from job to job, never settling long enough to truly achieve excellence. (If my remarks are bothering some of you, I invite you to repent.)

Once you have chosen your work, love it! No job is perfect. Every job has its challenges and its days of drudgery. Just like marriage, success and excellence at your work will likely require years and years of dedicated and persistent effort.

Let me give you an example. Michelangelo, the virtuoso painter and sculptor, shared this profound insight about his work. He said, “If people knew how hard I had to work to gain my mastery, it would not seem so wonderful at all.” Some of you may have seen firsthand Michelangelo’s brilliant work. But how many of us have stopped to think of the literally backbreaking, tedious job of chiseling the statue of David out of a single slab of solid marble! And to create a 14-foot statue of David! And certainly David was not Michelangelo’s first sculpture. Undoubtedly he struggled and labored with hundreds and thousands of sculptures before achieving that masterpiece. Wouldn’t it be tragic if Michelangelo had decided after his first few grueling years of sculpting marble that it was just too hard, too tedious, and too boring—that he’d much rather be a writer? The irony is, had he made that change, he would have likely discovered that writing can be tedious and boring too!

You will find more success if you enthusiastically persist in your work despite the shortcomings of your job and despite the daily small and simple things. Focus on the career at hand and resist the temptation of wandering eyes. In fact, I am so bold as to say it doesn’t matter so much what job you choose. I promise you that if you stick with it and pursue excellence in your chosen career, you will indeed enjoy a large measure of success and you will end up loving your work more than you might have imagined.

Words of Counsel

Let me add a few additional words of counsel.

First, work hard to get along with others. Be part of the solution, not part of the problem. Indeed, be a light, not a judge. Studies confirm over and over that people generally do not lose their jobs because they lack the technical know-how or skills. More frequently, the difficulty is that they can’t get along with other people. I realize that you may not please all of the people all of the time, but you can please most of the people most of the time—especially if one of those people is your boss.

Second, remember that people seldom improve when they have only their own yardstick to measure themselves by. I can assure you that I have made more improvements in my life and in my business as a result of others’ criticism than from their praise. Learn to measure yourself with someone else’s yardstick occasionally. If your boss comments that you lose your temper too easily, take it seriously. If your spouse comments that you lose your temper too easily, and your friends comment that you lose your temper too easily, it is likely that you lose your temper too easily. When you hear such feedback, listen before you deny it. Evaluate it. Weigh it. Do you think changes are in order? Regardless of criticism, learn to get along with other people. If you want to get along with them, you can.

Third, be an optimist. Do not accept pessimism, especially when it is directed at you personally. Do not accept pessimistic statements about your Heavenly Father. Consider their source—they come from Satan. Do not accept pessimistic statements about the leaders of this Church or the Church as an institution. It takes work to reject Satan’s messages, but such work will lead to happiness.

A word to the returned missionaries: Do not abandon the principles or the habits or the great experiences that you learned in the mission field. Do not abandon your appearance. The Brethren do not expect you to wear a white shirt and tie and a dark blue suit now that you are back in school, but you should maintain the good grooming you learned in the mission field. Dress for success! When your personal habits reflect the cleanliness, the dignity, and the principles of the gospel you taught as a young missionary, they will serve you well in the workplace.

My message this evening could be summed up in two statements. The first is from President David O. McKay. He said, “Let us realize that the privilege to work is a gift, that power to work is a blessing, that love of work is success” ( Pathways to Happiness [Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1957], 381).

The second is from our own dearly beloved living prophet, President Gordon B. Hinckley. He said:

The major work of the world is not done by geniuses. It is done by ordinary people, with balance in their lives, who have learned to work in an extraordinary manner. [“Our Fading Civility,” Brigham Young University inauguration and spring commencement exercises, 25 April 1996, 15]

It is a given that there will be disappointment and discouragement along the way, brothers and sisters.

Orson F. Whitney comforts us:

No pain that we suffer, no trial that we experience is wasted. It ministers to our education, to the development of such qualities as patience, faith, fortitude and humility. All that we suffer and all that we endure, especially when we endure it patiently, builds up our characters, purifies our hearts, expands our souls, and makes us more tender and charitable, more worthy to be called the children of God . . . and it is through sorrow and suffering, toil and tribulation, that we gain the education that we come here to acquire and which will make us more like our Father and Mother in heaven. [Quoted in Spencer W. Kimball, Faith Precedes the Miracle [Salt Lake City: Deseret Book, 1972], 98]

As a humble servant of the Lord, I promise you and bless you that as you work at keeping the standards the Lord has set through the scriptures and His prophets, as you study, as you pray, as you pay your tithes and offerings from the money you earn from your work, you will be more successful in all of your life as well as in your daily work. You will become a better worker. You will be a more productive worker. You will be a more effective worker. All because the Spirit of the Lord will be with you and aid and strengthen you.

I bring to you a special greeting from our beloved prophet, President Hinckley. Not long ago, in a speech to the members of his home stake, President Hinckley said: “Things are not as bad as we sometimes think. . . . I have great optimism concerning this Church. I have tremendous optimism concerning the youth of this Church. We do not need to fear. We have nothing to fear if we will live the gospel, if we will make our decisions in the light of the gospel. If we will get on our knees and pray to the Lord for His enlightenment, understanding, direction, and courage, we do not need to fear.”

So tonight, my dear young friends, I would like to bear my testimony to you today. I believe in this Church. I believe in Jesus Christ. I believe in what He said. I believe what He said when He told the Nephites, “I created the heavens and the earth, and all things that in them are. I was with the Father from the beginning” (3 Nephi 9:15). I know that He is the Son of Elohim, the Father who created Adam and Eve. I know, my dear young friends, that He, the Son, was born of Mary in Bethlehem of Judea. I know His birth to be as Matthew said in the days of Herod the King. Jesus Christ said, “I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life” (John 8:12). I believe in Jesus Christ wherein He said, “If a man keep my saying, he shall never see death” (John 8:51). I know that He and His Father appeared to the boy prophet Joseph Smith.

I know Jesus Christ can help each of us in our work if we will help Him in His work.

For the names of the righteous shall be written in the book of life, and unto them will I grant an inheritance at my right hand. And now, my brethren, what have ye to say against this? I say unto you, if ye speak against it, it matters not, for the word of God must be fulfilled. [Alma 5:58]

I know and testify that we have a living prophet, Gordon B. Hinckley, who can help us in our work if we heed his counsel.

You, my dear young friends, are the hope of this Church. You are the hope of the communities where you live. You will become the future leaders of this Church, the future leaders of the communities, of the world. I bear you my humble testimony that if you will work for our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, that He will bless you and watch over and keep you all the days of your life. And I bear you this testimony in His holy name, even our Lord, our Redeemer, our Savior, even the Holy One of Israel, Jesus Christ, amen.

© Intellectual Reserve, Inc. All rights reserved.

David E. Sorensen was a member of the Presidency of the Seventy of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints when this fireside address was given on 6 March 2005.

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Work Is a Blessing

During a recent visit to Santa Fe, New Mexico, we went to the IAIA Museum of Contemporary Native Arts . Entering an art museum, you never know what you might learn or what creative thoughts will strike. No different during this visit. A quote by Rick Bartow , a prominent contemporary Native American artist, struck a chord.

“My life is work. Work is the blessing.” – Rick Bartow

I went to an art museum and learned about the blessing of work.

Rick Bartow was not the reason for our visit to the Museum of Contemporary Native Arts, but he left an impact in with his simple quote along with his art.

As to why this quote hit me, I am not completely sure. The first sentence seems straightforward and honest, and the second sentence delivers a zinger – work is a blessing .

Who Is Rick Bartow?

Rick Bartow is an artist. As with most, his story is not that simple. Rick’s art reflects his Native American roots and, likely, his life story as a college graduate, Vietnam veteran, alcoholic, father, and musician. None of this in any order, as his story is more messy than linear.

Rick reflected on a low point in his life :

“A local man saved my life, basically, kicking me pretty well down the waterfront with his cowboy boots. I was horrified and embarrassed to realize I had hit bottom. I stumbled home a bloody mess. I woke up with the pillow stuck to my face. Knots all over the top of my head, one eye closed, teeth busted. Everything you look like after a good drunken brawl. I needed a lesson.”

Rick joined Alcoholics Anonymous, beginning a life of sobriety, while his mother recovered the Bronze Star he had earned yet threw away.

The next chapter of his life highlighted his art and a Portland, Oregon, gallerist may have had a lot to do with this. Charles Froelick meshed with Rick Bartow almost immediately during an art showing, becoming quick friends.

Charles reflected:

“Rick knew how to compose with graphic and lyric strength and beauty. He knew and expressed his vulnerabilities with humor and poignancy. He was an unassuming fellow and did not have airs of importance or elitism about his art making. He was not desperate for fame.” “He was inspiring; he was intellectually and esthetically challenging, and he was not afraid of making tough work, nor afraid of beauty and engagement.”

A messy, artful life.

Our life stories impact our work, and our work impacts our life story. Maybe this is how these two simple statements came together powerfully.

Life Is Work

We miss the humble fact that life is work. We want the easiest street possible. No upward struggles. No detours. No potholes. What we find is that others create challenges for us. More than this, we create our own situations that drag us down.

No matter what happens in life, life is work. We need to work to keep our story between the lines of going off the edge and driving the distance of possibility. We need to do the work.

I imagine Rick knew this fact. His experiences told him so.

Jill Hartz, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art Executive Director and co-curator of Rick’s large retrospective, offered this insight on his work:

“Rick Bartow’s work was all about relationships, how the worlds of nature, humans, and spirit connect, influence, and balance one another.”

We begin to see how life is work. Many relationships and connections and we need to find the right balance between them all. Our responsibility is to do the work.

Work Is the Blessing

All this work in life sounds tough, and it is. Rick then hits us with the kicker – Work is the blessing .

A blessing? Doesn’t it seem more like a curse?

We get caught in this trap.

Do I have to do this?

Does it have to be this hard?

Can I just skirt by?

When we shift to thinking of our work as a blessing, we can feel our whole mind shift. The shift is one of a knowing smile that this can be fun. If we approach what comes our way as a gift to learn, grow, and become who we are supposed to be and the life we are trying to design, we embrace our work in joy.

When our purpose fits our place, and our place fits our purpose, brilliance happens.

What I realize is we need place and purpose to agree to achieve real work-as-a-blessing. When our purpose fits our place, and our place fits our purpose, brilliance happens. We work hard, yet we are in a positive flow. Purpose is what we do, and place is where we do it. Think work and organizational culture. Our why, what, how, and where align in a messy, wonderful way!

Work Is a Gift

Rick hit it home :

“We all are given a gift. My job is to be an artist. As I tell my son, who’s a hip-hop artist — I told him early on that we were given a blessing, and we were given a curse. Because sometimes it’s not much fun, but you have to do it.”

We are given the gift of the ability to work and do the work. We have our talents to use.

Does this mean we need to work all the time? Of course not. We need to find the right balance, especially when we add in family, friends, and community. Add in time for nature breaks and time to renew, and we know our work requires us to leave it all behind from time to time.

“Work is the blessing” is an attitude shift. Rather than being drudgery, work opens what is possible within us and how we can bring a spirited spring in others.

Work is not always fun, but it is what we are built to do.

Work Is Transformational

Rick’s art “captures the almost unbearable beauty of the moment of transformation.” Bob Hicks with the Oregon ArtsWatch made this observation. For me, this is a fitting description not only of his art but his two-sentence statement – “My life is work. Work is the blessing.”

Between the two sentences, a transformation happens. Work as a blessing is a transforming thought. Our challenge is to do the work in which we sweat and smile in concert with each other.

Donating = Growing (Community and Self)

How can you experience work as a blessing?

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Was not familiar with Rick Bartow before reading about him here today. I’m walking away considering how my work is a blessing and a curse. It’s the balance that matters. The beauty of it is that if it’s significantly off kilter, we can continue to find ways to work and make a change to contribute in new ways. It’s still work, just a new path to follow.

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Coram Deo ~

Looking at contemporary culture from a christian worldview.

God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life by Gene Edward Veith

God at Work: Your Christian Vocation in All of Life by Gene Edward Veith Jr. Crossway. 176 pages. 2011 edition.   ****

In this helpful book, Gene Veith gives us an exposition of the doctrine of vocation, and then he applies that doctrine in a practical way to life in the twenty-first century. He begins by looking at the nature of vocation – what is the purpose of vocation, how to find one’s vocation, how God calls us to different tasks and how He is present in what we do in our everyday lives. He then addresses specific vocations and specific problems common to them all. His treatment of vocation is drawn mainly from Martin Luther’s understanding of vocation. Veith tells us that God has chosen to work through human beings, who, in their different capacities and according to their different talents, serve each other. This is the doctrine of vocation. The purpose of vocation is to love and serve one’s neighbor. The doctrine of vocation encourages attention to each individual’s uniqueness, talents, and personality. These are valued as gifts of God, who creates and equips each person in a different way for the calling He has in mind for that person’s life. Veith tells us that the Reformation theologians emphasized the equality of vocations before God, and that each Christian has multiple vocations. We have callings in our work, in our families, as citizens in the larger society, and callings in the church. In addition, callings change over time.  And whatever our vocation is, and in the very way it changes, our callings are not completely under our control; rather, they come from the Lord’s hand. Despite what our culture leads us to believe, vocation is not self-chosen. We do not choose our vocations, instead, we are called to them. Finding your vocation, has to do, in part, with finding your God-given talents (what you can do) and your God-given personality (what fits the person you are). The doctrine of vocation, though it has to do with human work, is essentially about God’s work and how God works in and through our lives. Our part is to carry out our vocations. The outcome belongs completely to the Lord. Veith tells us that the Christian life is to be lived in vocation, in the seemingly ordinary walks of life that take up nearly all of the hours of our day. The Christian life is to be lived out in our family, our work, our community, and our church. In addition to the doctrine of vocation, topics that the author addresses in the book are the origins of work, evangelism, callings in the family, society and church, rest and retirement.  This is an excellent introduction to the topic of the vocations and callings of the Christian. Here are some of my favorite quotes from the book:

• Work is a blessing; work is a curse. Work can indeed be satisfying, since it is what we were made for, but it can also be frustrating, pointless, and exhausting. Work is a virtue, but it is tainted by sin.
• Christians are engaged in the world by carrying out their vocations. This is how they can be a positive influence in the culture.
• It is in vocation that evangelism can most effectively happen.
• The family is the foundational vocation. Other earthly authorities grow out of the authority exercised in the family.
• Being a citizen of a particular nation is a divine calling.
• Being a Christian is itself a calling. That is to say, a person becomes a Christian by being called by God.
• Laypeople are especially positioned to reach people outside the church, by virtue of their secular vocations, which put them in contact with people who would never darken the door of a church.
• What surprises some Christians is that when all is said and done, the specific responsibilities of vocation are not any different, from the outside, for Christians or non-Christians. A Christian construction worker or a Christian physician does pretty much what a good non-Christian in those fields must do.
• We indeed have a calling to serve in our local churches, but it must be emphasized that our so-called “secular” vocations are actually “holy offices” where we are to serve our neighbors and live out our faith.
• The Bible tells us to work; it also tells us to rest. We are to pause from our work to worship God on the Sabbath Day. In vocation, we are to rest in Christ even when we are hard at work.
• Retirement from a lifelong vocation can be difficult, especially for those with Protestant work ethics. Properly, though, the laying down of a vocation after many years of work is a kind of Sabbath, a kind of reward for service rendered.

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Is Work a Blessing or a Curse? (Genesis 3:19)

• July 27, 2023
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• Work and Rest

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Is work a blessing or a curse? Genesis 3:19 says, “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground.” Life is very different because of the fall. Read or listen to this chapter from  Work and Rest God’s Way  to see why work is still a blessing.

Table of contents

God’s work brings him glory, our work should bring god glory, god put adam to work in the garden before the fall, our work can be satisfying and fulfilling, our workplaces don’t feel like eden, the immorality of laziness.

The text in this post is from my book, Work and Rest God’s Way , and the audio is from the audiobook . I am praying God uses the book and accompanying Family Guide to exalt Christ and encourage you as you serve Him.

Most of us probably feel like we could have a good argument with ourselves about whether work is a blessing or a curse. Bob Black, an American anarchist and author, wrote in his essay, The Abolition of Work :

No one should ever work. Work is the source of nearly all the misery in the world. Almost any evil you’d care to name comes from working or from living in a world designed for work. In order to stop suffering, we have to stop working. Bob Black, The Abolition of Work and Other Essays (Port Townsend: Loompanics Unlimited, 1986).

Not only does Black think work is curse, he thinks it’s the cause of all suffering.

How do we determine whether this author is correct in his assessment? How do we know if work is a blessing or a curse? We look to the Bible because it is the authority. The question is not, “What does Bob, or me, or you, or anyone else think?” The question is, “What does the Bible teach?”

Work Is a Blessing Because God Works

Morality (or goodness) is defined by God:

For the Lord is good. Psalm 100:5; see also 1 Chronicles 16:34, Psalm 25:8, 34:8, 86:5, 135:3, and 145:7.

Good is what God does, and what God does is good.

Just as listening and speaking are moral , so is work. The Bible opens with God working: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth” (Genesis 1:1). Then:

And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. Genesis 2:2–3

The words “His work” occur three times in two verses. God is the first worker, revealing work is good and moral!

Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows the work of His hands .” God’s work is creative, purposeful, thorough, and it benefits us: “For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work ; I will triumph in the works of Your hands ” (Psalm 92:4). Jesus said, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working ” (John 5:17).

Isaiah 6 showcases the wonderful vision of God sitting on His throne, high and lifted up, with the train of His robe filling the temple. Angels fly around Him, and Isaiah 6:3 says, “One cried to another and said: ‘Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of His glory !’” Creation is the display case for God’s work.

Romans 1:20 says, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” The greatness of creation reveals the greatness of the Creator. God reveals Himself to the world by His creation because work reveals something about the worker. Work speaks of character, motivation, and skills. God’s work is of the highest quality because it is an expression of who He is.

We should work because we want to be like God. Genesis 1:27 says, “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” We are made in the image of God with some of His attributes. We work because we are His image-bearers! Ephesians 5:1 commands us to “be imitators of God.” To work is to be like God because it reflects what He does.

In Isaiah 43:7, God said, “Everyone…I have created for My glory ,” which is why in 1 Corinthians 10:31 Paul said, “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God .” Giving glory to God means representing Him well; therefore, what we do should give others an exalted view of God. Since God’s work is of the highest quality, ours should be of the highest quality. We strive for excellence because our work says something about the God we represent. Jesus said, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven ” (Matthew 5:16). Why do we work as though our labor brings God glory? Because it does! People look on, see what we do, and when it is done well, it gives glory to God.

Colossians 3:23 says, “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. ” Why do we work as though we’re laboring for Christ? Because we are! Ephesians 6:7 says that we work “with goodwill doing service, as to the Lord , and not to men.” Even when performing jobs that might seem menial or insignificant, we should do our best because we’re doing them for the Lord. Our work ethic is one of our greatest testimonies. We must view our occupations as ministries, and our workplaces as mission fields, whether we’re in an office building, school, or our home. Our work is done God’s way when it’s done for His glory!

Work Is a Blessing Versus a Curse

We might have expected Jesus to spend all His time in the temple worshiping, praying, discussing Scripture, and doing other things that seem spiritual. Instead, He labored as a carpenter with His earthly father, Joseph, before beginning His public ministry (Mark 6:3). The Son of God Himself worked, and so did other great men in Scripture. Paul was as a tentmaker (Acts 18:1–3). Luke was a physician (Colossians 4:14).

God called people to serve Him when they were working. Moses was caring for sheep (Exodus 3:1). Joshua was Moses’ servant before he became his successor (Exodus 33:11). Gideon was threshing wheat (Judges 6:11). David was caring for his father’s sheep (1 Samuel 16:11). Jesus called four men to serve as His disciples while they were fishing (Luke 5:1–11).

For others, their professions aren’t listed, but they worked so hard for God’s kingdom that Paul named them in his letters! For example, Tabitha “was full of good works and charitable deeds” (Acts 9:36). Euodia, Syntyche, and Clement were praised because they “labored with (Paul)” (Philippians 4:2–3). Epaphroditus worked so hard he nearly died (Philippians 2:30). Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis were commended for their effort for the Lord (Romans 16:12).

God created us to work . Genesis 2:15 says, “Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.” God gave Adam the job of dressing and guarding the garden. What does this original mandate mean? To “tend” means to foster growth and to improve. To “keep” means to preserve from failure or decline.

Genesis 1:31 says, “Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So, the evening and the morning were the sixth day.” God gave Adam work to do on the sixth day, which means it is also “very good.” The timing is important: sin hadn’t been introduced . Since this is prior to The Fall, it demonstrates work is not part of the curse. Instead, it is part of God’s perfect creation.

“Tending and keeping” Eden was designed to be a pleasant experience for Adam. He was meant to find his job fulfilling, purposeful, and rewarding. God created man to enjoy work so that He could enjoy watching him, just as parents enjoy watching their children do something positive and productive.

Just as God observed His work and was satisfied with it, we can have the same experience. Few things are more fulfilling than accomplishing a lengthy task or finishing a difficult job. Animals are motivated by instinct and physical need, but we have higher motivations than simply surviving. We crave meaning, significance, and purpose. We want reasons to get up in the morning. Our jobs give us these reasons and helps fulfill our desires.

We should embrace the work God has given us, and express gratitude to Him because it allows us to:

• Provide for ourselves and our families
• Experience satisfaction and fulfillment
• Develop character and endurance
• Make discoveries about God’s creation
• Advance the kingdom through our talents

Work is an important part of life. Remembering the above truths allows us to view work as a blessing . Then we can labor joyfully and without complaint, finding pleasure and giving thanks.

Second only to Jesus, Solomon was the wisest man to ever live. In Ecclesiastes 2:24, he said, “Nothing is better for a man than that he should eat and drink, and that his soul should enjoy good in his labor. This also, I saw, was from the hand of God.” Solomon makes the same point four other times, in Ecclesiastes 3:12, 5:18, 8:15, and 9:7. God does not use highlighting, italics, underlining, or bold for emphasis, but He does repeat Himself when He wants to make sure we don’t miss something. He wants us to know that along with eating and drinking (or the simple things in life), “nothing is better” for us than that “(our) soul enjoy” our work.

The Fall Can Make Work Feel Like a Curse

Unfortunately, over the centuries, work has developed a negative reputation. We often view it as something that we are forced to perform that is difficult or unpleasant. How did something positive become viewed negatively? If we take our minds back to The Fall, God pronounced several judgments. To man He said:

Cursed is the ground for your sake; in toil you shall eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, and you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for dust you are, and to dust you shall return. Genesis 3:17–19

Work figures centrally in the judgments. God still expects man to work after The Fall, but the pleasant experience has been replaced with drudgery and discomfort. The word “toil” implies challenge, difficulty, struggle, and exhaustion. Work itself is still good, but the process and the result are not always positive. Our efforts are not always rewarded in the way we expect or desire. We sow seed, but the plants grow among thorns and weeds.

God created Eden as an earthly paradise. It was a safe enclosure with purity and innocence. As a result of The Fall, instead of laboring in the garden, we’re forced to work “of the field.” Unlike the garden, the field represents an unbounded, unprotected area with less inhibition and more worldliness. We face greater hostility in our jobs, simply because we’re Christians. Think of the opposition Joseph faced working in Egypt (Genesis 39), the Hebrews faced in Egypt (Exodus 1:8–22), and the Jews faced when they returned to the land (Nehemiah 4).

God’s original design for work was ruined by sin, but God will restore it to its pre-Fall condition without the burdens The Fall introduced. Regarding the coming kingdom:

They shall build houses and inhabit them; they shall plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They shall not build and another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat; for as the days of a tree, so shall be the days of My people, and My elect shall long enjoy the work of their hands. They shall not labor in vain .” Isaiah 65:21–23

Work that was previously painstaking will again be pleasant. After the consequences of The Fall are removed, we continue working. Revelation 22:3 says, “There shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him .” Even in heaven, we continue serving God, but no longer encumbered by the curse. We see that whether before the curse, during the curse, or after the curse, God expects us to work.

One of the other consequences of The Fall is the sinful nature we received. The curse made work unpleasant, so we’re tempted toward laziness (being a sluggard) . Since God commands us to work, failure to do so is sinful.

When we think of the “worst” sins, lying, adultery, and murder come to mind, but laziness might not. Some people don’t even recognize laziness is a sin. This is unfortunate because as moral and beneficial as work is, laziness is equally immoral and detrimental. As positively as Scripture presents work, laziness is presented equally negatively.

Laziness could run a competitive race for the most underrated sin. Quietly it anesthetizes its victim into a lifeless stupor that ends in hunger, bondage, and death. Ronald Sailler and David Wyrtzen, The Practice of Wisdom (Chicago: Moody, 1992), 82.

Though laziness is a sin that has no place in the character of a Christian, like pride, dishonesty, unforgiveness, and anxiety, it is a sin that all of us can identify with to some extent. Laziness might be a more difficult struggle for some than for others, but nobody can say they escape its temptation completely. If we appreciate the blessing of work, we’ll be better prepared to resist the temptation to be lazy.

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9 Ways Work Is a Blessing

• Michelle Cox

A spiritual appreciation of work.

August 5 is “Work Like a Dog Day.” Sometimes we think about work and just see all of the negatives, but there are many blessings we can find in working hard if we just look for them:

1.  Work provides for our basic needs. It puts a roof over our heads, food on the table and clothes on our backs. 

2.  Sometimes it can provide us with the extras—things like buying something special for our spouses or children or taking that long-anticipated trip to an exotic locale.

3.  It allows us to give to people who need a helping hand, whether it’s the single mom struggling to make ends meet or senior citizens whose expenses are more than their monthly income.

4.  Working hard allows us to tithe. After all, everything that we have comes from God.

5.  Work helps us donate to missions at home and abroad. Those funds might help a teen center get kids off the streets, or it might provide food and clothes for an orphanage clear across the world.

6.  Working hard makes us feel good. There’s a true pride in seeing the results of our labors, in knowing that we’ve made a difference.

7.  Working allows us to be a good example for our children and grandchildren. 

8.  Work bonds family, friends and co-workers—it’s always more fun when we work together.

9.  Work means we have something to do and that we have the physical and mental abilities to do it. 

Today would be a great time to move forward with the tasks that God’s called us to do. The best formula for success comes from Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.”

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The Liturgy: Work of the Holy Trinity

by Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B. July 18, 2016

It is well known that the reforms of the liturgy associated with Vatican II had as their goal greater participation on the part of all. Many things changed in the external celebration of the rites designed to facilitate this, and those changes have borne abundant fruit. But the renewal of the liturgy also wished to provide a fresh understanding of the meaning of the rites, a deeper theological grasp of what the words and the signs mean. And ultimately of what God does, what God accomplishes when the sacred liturgy is celebrated. Deepening this theological grasp is of immediate pastoral relevance, for it means greater interior and conscious participation in the rites themselves. This theological renewal is a work that we can take up anew, a question that continually needs our attention.

This is the approach that The Catechism of the Catholic Church takes, and here I would like to show how useful some of its formulations are for a deepened understanding of the liturgy. After ten brief paragraphs that deal with preliminaries ( CCC §§1066-1075), the first major section on the liturgy ( CCC §1076) begins with an immensely profitable paragraph for those seeking to develop a fuller, more conscious, and active participation in liturgical prayer. I want to comment on this paragraph here.

Strikingly, the section begins with the mystery of Pentecost. “The Church was made manifest to the world on the day of Pentecost by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” The significance of such a beginning should not be missed. Pentecost is the culmination of Jesus’ Paschal mystery, where the crucified and now risen and ascended Lord lavishes on the world the Spirit with which he himself was anointed. We could say that Pentecost is the point at which Jesus wished to arrive, as it were, so that what he did in one time and place could be extended to every time and place through his Holy Spirit. This extension is the Church, that is, the assembly of all that Jesus draws to himself when he is lifted up. (See Jn 12:32).

After Pentecost, Jesus is active in a new way through his Spirit: “The gift of the Spirit ushers in a new era in the ‘dispensation of the mystery’— the age of the Church…” The expression “new era” is especially helpful, for it indicates that our communion with Christ and conformity to him will not come about through some imaginative leap backwards in time. We are not trying to picture ourselves encountering a first-century Jewish rabbi. No, this new era is a realm appropriate to the new condition; namely, his glorification at the right hand of his Father. This new era is “the age of the Church, during which Christ manifests, makes present, and communicates his work of salvation through the liturgy of his Church, ‘until he comes.’”

So this is where and how and why the liturgy appears. Jesus, having lived the particular circumstances of a single earthly existence that culminated in his crucifixion, is now glorified and will come again in glory. Between the one coming and other, as the many centuries pass, Christ is constantly doing three things through the liturgy. He is manifesting and making present and communicating to every time and place his work of salvation accomplished in one time and place.

These three actions are consequential for our active participation in the liturgy. They describe what we are to discern and grasp. They are a clue to the meaning of all the words and gestures and signs. In fact, among everything that happens in the liturgy, it is nothing less than Christ himself at work. Through the liturgy’s words, gestures, and signs, the mighty deed of Christ’s death and resurrection is displayed before us (Christ manifests) as the very content of liturgy. By means of words, gestures, and signs the past event becomes a present event (Christ makes present). Through them all, the power of the saving deed is delivered to us in such a way that we are saved by it (Christ communicates).

But why is it that this should happen through the liturgy? “In this age of the Church Christ now lives and acts in and with his Church, in a new way appropriate to this new age.” In fact, liturgy is a consequence of Jesus’ glorification, and it is “appropriate” precisely because the realm of words, gestures, and signs pulls us into the domain of faith, without which we could not detect his presence as risen Lord. For “risen” does not mean that Jesus is simply “up and running again” and so has returned to the ordinary human existence that he shared with us before his Paschal Mystery. If that were all it meant, then one would have to—I can only speak somewhat facetiously—go to Jerusalem and stand in a long line waiting to meet Jesus. But no. “Risen” means filled with divine glory. “Risen” means a body once crucified now placed in a realm entirely beyond death. “Risen” means present in the Spirit, filling all material things with a sacramental presence in which matter is used to communicate this new life, yet never in such a way that the fullness of this life is available here and now. This is the “new way appropriate to this new age.”

Two thousand years between us and the historical Jesus is not a gap when the Spirit is “the Church’s living memory.”

“He acts through the sacraments in what the common Tradition of the East and the West calls ‘the sacramental economy’” “Economy” here means a divine arrangement of things; in this case, God’s own arrangement that the life of the risen Lord should be delivered to the Church through the sacraments, that is, through the material elements of the liturgy. The next part of the sentence says it this way: “this is the communication (or ‘dispensation’) of the fruits of Christ’s Paschal mystery in the celebration of the Church’s ‘sacramental’ liturgy.” The fruits of Christ’s Paschal mystery— his death, resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Spirit are all for our sake. All this is communicated to us, “dispensed” to us, in the celebration of the liturgy. The fruit of Christ’s Paschal mystery is the Church herself, which comes into being as the fruits are communicated through the words, signs, and gestures of the liturgy.

Rightly then, we must attend to the external forms of the liturgy and enact them well. The ultimate reason for this is not in order to pull off some event, which in virtue of the force of its performance, moves the participants, pleases them, and stirs them up. Rather, these external forms are a divine economy through which Christ manifests himself as present and acting to save us. Every time the liturgy is celebrated, Jesus, in effect, is present to the assembly saying, “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth, which the world cannot accept, because it neither sees nor knows him. But you know him because he remains with you and will be in you.” (Jn 14:16-17).

The Father: Source and Goal of the Liturgy

T hus far I have spoken of just one section of the Catechism , §1076, which offers a dense but accessible theological opening to the nature of the liturgy. This paragraph is followed by a section on the Father as source and goal of the liturgy. Sections 1077 to 1112 are a beautiful treatment of how the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all at work in the Church’s liturgy, each in a different but profoundly related way. The section is divided into smaller parts which treat in turn the roles of each member of the Trinity, beginning with the Father. I will comment now on the paragraphs that concern the Father (§§1077-1083), leaving the other sections for later columns. In all that I say about these paragraphs, I try to unfold the riches that are packed into the various formulations. It is my hope that, once having followed the commentary, my reader will find that the words of the Catechism thereafter stand forth in all their strength. And then one could refer back to the Catechism —and not this essay!—to recall and deepen the grasp on the very rich thinking of the Church expressed there.

One of the stylistic features of the Catechism that I particularly appreciate is how it very often just “talks Scripture,” that is, it embeds scriptural verses seamlessly into its discourse and makes these verses part of the whole. This is routinely done without a particular introduction that would begin something like, “As St. Paul [or somebody else] says…” This has the effect of saturating the catechetical text with Scripture and at the same time rendering the teaching in the form of a deepened grasp of Scripture or of its further unfolding. This Scriptural discourse is the style employed to open this section on the Father. Without saying so, the text begins with the beautiful hymn of praise that St. Paul uses to open his letter to the Ephesians. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places” ( CCC §1077). The biblical text is well-suited to begin a development on the Trinity, for it mentions “the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” and further says that it is he who is blessing us in Christ. (The Spirit will be mentioned shortly after; it is normal in Trinitarian talk to begin with Father and Son.) But the biblical text is likewise chosen because the Catechism wants to focus on the words blessed and blessing and to use the concept of blessing to describe liturgy.

The notion of blessing moves  in two directions ( CCC §1078).  It describes what God has done and continues to do for us,  but it also describes what we do in response to God’s blessing. We bless God, as the language of the psalter teaches us often to do, as in “Bless the Lord, O my soul!” or “I will bless the Lord at all times!” or many such similar expressions. With this twofold direction of blessing established, the Catechism can then make a very large statement: “From the beginning until the end of time the whole of God’s work is a blessing” ( CCC §1079). It should be noticed that the Catechism’s language is not explicitly about liturgy yet. This approach wants to put liturgy into a larger category, a category as big as God’s whole dealing with his creation from the beginning to the end of time.

This thought is developed in the several sentences and paragraphs that follow. This huge sweep of “from the beginning to the end of time” is displayed in the way we know it from the Bible. The creation itself is a blessing, “especially man and woman.” The peace established after the flood with Noah is mentioned and the qualitative shift in blessing that begins with Abraham ( CCC §1080). Then an impressive list of blessings is unfolded, and the Catechism ’s language becomes an eloquent echo and summary of the major epochs of blessing that the Bible narrates:

The divine blessings were made manifest in astonishing and saving events: the birth of Isaac, the escape from Egypt (Passover and Exodus), the gift of the promised land, the election of David, the presence of God in the Temple, the purifying exile, and return of a ‘small remnant.’ The Law, the Prophets, and the Psalms, interwoven in the liturgy of the Chosen People, recall these divine blessings and at the same time respond to them with blessings of praise and thanksgiving. ( CCC §1081)

This long list successfully impresses upon us how varied and abundant the blessings of God have been. It is indeed “astonishing.”

At the end of the paragraph just cited, liturgy is at last explicitly mentioned, “the liturgy of the Chosen People.” The twofold direction of blessing is recalled again because repetition is good teaching, and the point is more concrete now because of the preceding long list. The shape of liturgy is emerging out of the huge sweep of blessings mentioned: liturgy “recall[s] these divine blessings and at the same time respond[s] to them with blessings of praise and thanksgiving.”

The next paragraph follows quite naturally from this, but at the same time it marks a significant qualitative shift. Carefully constructing this rich context of blessing from the beginning of creation and through the history of the Chosen People, the Church can now express in a very direct statement her belief about her own liturgy: “In the Church’s liturgy the divine blessing is fully revealed and communicated” ( CCC §1082). A great deal is claimed in this simple sentence.

In the context of the vast history of divine blessing (a history as old-as-the-world), the Catechism zeroes in on a particular context: the Church’s liturgy. And about this liturgy, two things are claimed. First, in the Church’s liturgy, divine blessing is fully revealed. Second, the blessing is not only revealed, it is also communicated. We should pause to be sure we have grasped the enormity and wonder of this claim. We should recall it every time we celebrate the liturgy. The short sentence needs development, of course. In the sentences that follow, the development is explicitly Trinitarian in its formulation. Likewise, the notion of blessing continues to be the leitmotif of all that is said. So, developing this thought, it can be said that the divine blessing is fully revealed and communicated in the Church’s liturgy because, “the Father is acknowledged and adored as the source and the end of all the blessings of creation and salvation.”

[caption id="attachment_4276" align="alignright" width="300"] Alek Rapoport, Trinity in Dark Tones (Genesis 18) (1994); CC-BY-SA-3.0. [/caption]

This is a first dimension of liturgy: we acknowledge the Father as the source and end of blessing, and we adore him. We bless him for blessing us. But what is the climax of the Father’s action of blessing? The next sentence says it: “In his Word who became incarnate, died, and rose for us, he fills us with his blessings.” In terms of Trinitarian theology this sentence is carefully constructed. The second Person of the Trinity is acting in his Incarnation, Death and Resurrection, but he is named as the Father’s Word in whom the Father fills us with his blessing. We are in the heart of the Trinitarian mystery here. The Father is the source of another, “his Word,” through whom he acts, through whom he blesses.

This concentrated presence and action of the Father’s Word, Jesus Christ, is a second dimension of liturgy. The next sentence continues the development of this display of the mystery of the Trinity and gives us a third dimension of the liturgy: “Through his Word, he pours into our hearts the Gift that contains all gifts, the Holy Spirit.” Theologically this is a perfectly balanced sentence and a profound thought. The Father remains the subject; he acts through his Word; and through that Word he gives us the greatest blessing of all: the Holy Spirit. If one were to say, “Show me all that!” then we could point to the liturgy and say, “In the Church’s liturgy the divine blessing is fully revealed and communicated.”

The final paragraph of this section of the Catechism on the Father as the source and goal of all liturgy is an even more tightly packed Trinitarian formulation. The paragraph gathers into several statements all the rich ideas laid out in what has preceded. The twofold direction of Blessing remains essential to follow this paragraph’s sense. The liturgy is called “a response of faith and love to the spiritual blessings the Father bestows on us.” ( CCC §1083). The two directions are both there: the Father’s blessings and our response. But our response is described in an elaborate sentence that names the Church in the liturgy and each of the members of the Trinity in different positions:

The Church never ceases to present to the Father the offering of his own gifts and to beg him to send the Holy Spirit upon that offering, upon herself, upon the faithful, and upon the whole world, so that through communion in the death and resurrection of Christ the Priest, and by the power of the Spirit, these divine blessings will bring forth the fruits of life ‘to the praise of his glorious grace.’

We have come full circle from the citation of St. Paul that opened this section. In the liturgy we are exclaiming, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places.” A phrase from the full citation of the Pauline text is used again now to finish this section and to indicate that this paragraph concludes the development. Both directions of blessing are there. The Church prays that the divine blessings will bring forth the fruits of “the praise of his glorious grace.” The praise of his glorious grace—this indeed is an excellent way to say what we are doing when we celebrate liturgy.

Christ's Work in the Liturgy

I n the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraphs 1077 to 1112 are a beautiful treatment of how the Father, the Son, and the Spirit are all at work in the Church’s liturgy, each in a different but profoundly related way. The section is divided into smaller parts which treat in turn the roles of each member of the Trinity, beginning with the Father. I commented above on those parts that concerned the Father. In this present section I would like to treat the paragraphs titled “Christ’s Work in the Liturgy,” paragraphs 1084 to 1090.

Titles and subtitles are effectively used throughout the Catechism . They help the reader to see the structure and logic of the exposure. The subtitles of this section on Christ’s role in the liturgy have subtly employed a useful technique of putting three periods either before or after the four subtitles, indicating that the four sections can form one sentence. So, “Christ glorified…” is the first section, while the second section is titled “from the time of the Church of the Apostles…” Then, “is present in the earthly liturgy” and finally, “which participates in the liturgy of heaven.” Seven dense paragraphs can thus all be summarized with one sentence: Christ glorified, from the time of the Church of the Apostles, is present in the earthly liturgy, which participates in the liturgy of heaven. Let us see how the Catechism exposes all that is contained in this loaded sentence.

It is good to recall that we are in a part of a larger section titled “The Liturgy— Work of the Holy Trinity.” Even as the exposition naturally treats Father, Son, and Spirit in that traditional order, it regularly links one member of the Trinity to the others. This is done effectively in the first subsection titled “Christ glorified…” The very first statement includes mention of all three persons of the Trinity in a dynamic relationship to each other, acting for the sake of the Church. The emphasis falls on Christ, the focus of this section. It says, “’Seated at the right hand of the Father’ and pouring out the Holy Spirit on his Body which is the Church, Christ now acts through the sacraments he instituted to communicate his grace” [emphasis mine] (§1084). So, Christ is the principle one who acts in the liturgy, but he does this from the “place” of his glorification, expressed here in the biblical phrase, “seated at the right hand of the Father.” From there he pours out the Holy Spirit on the Church. Ascension and Pentecost stand behind this formulation, an idea previously established in §1076 and upon which I commented above. In the Ascension, Christ is taken from our sight but only to act in a new and deeper way through the Holy Spirit in the liturgy.

There follows a definition of sacraments, which older Catholics will recognize as a slight expansion on a traditionally pithy and efficient way of saying what sacraments are. “The sacraments are perceptible signs (words and actions) accessible to our human nature. By the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit they make present efficaciously the grace that they signify” (§ 1084). The older and simpler definition that I remember from my youth was “Sacraments are outward signs instituted by Christ to give grace.” The slightly longer definition of the Catechism adds several dimensions to this essential core. It specifies “words and actions” as what the signs are formed of.

This rightly draws our attention to both as requiring our understanding. It further emphasizes that these signs are fitted to the perception of our human nature— a useful reminder; for after all, it is God who is acting and it is good to take note that he acts in a manner suited to us and our way of understanding. Another addition to the older simpler core is mention of the Holy Spirit along with Christ. This addendum allows for a fuller Trinitarian understanding of sacraments and will be developed in the next major section on the Holy Spirit and the liturgy.

The next paragraph, §1085, says precisely what that grace is. This paragraph is one of the densest and most beautifully formulated paragraphs of the entire Catechism . It is packed with theology, and, once understood in its fullness, it serves as a very useful formulation of what this section sets out to teach; namely, “Christ’s Work in the Liturgy.” Picking up on the words “make present” and “signify” from the definition of sacraments just given, this paragraph begins with a short sentence that says it all, even if it will need to be unfolded in what follows: “In the liturgy of the Church, it is principally his own Paschal mystery that Christ signifies and makes present.” So, the Paschal mystery is the basic content. The words and actions of the liturgy deliver that— or better said, the action of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit deliver that.

Then the phrase “Paschal mystery” is developed. Even without the Catechism it is, of course, known that this phrase basically refers to the death and resurrection of Jesus; but several things are quite useful in the way the Catechism sets forth this teaching. It first notes that Jesus pointed to this climax of his mission throughout his earthly life both by his teaching and his actions. But the passage then comes quickly to the center and does so by using an expression of Jesus that we know from John’s Gospel, even if that origin is not explicitly noted here. In John’s Gospel Jesus spoke of his approaching death and resurrection as being “his hour.” At the turning point of the whole gospel we read, “Before the feast of the Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father” (Jn 13: 1). Relying on this and other uses of the term from John’s Gospel, the Catechism says, “When his Hour comes, he lives out the unique event of history which does not pass away: Jesus dies, is buried, rises from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of the Father ‘once for all.’” All this is the Paschal mystery, and it is this that Christ signifies and makes present by the words and actions of the liturgy. He can make present what happened in the past precisely because it is “his Hour,” which the Catechism strikingly notes “does not pass away.” It explains how this could be. Precisely because it is “his Hour,” it is unique in its relationship to time. “His Paschal mystery is a real event that occurred in our history, but it is unique: all other historical events happen once, and then they pass away, swallowed up in the past.”

That the Paschal mystery is a real event that occurred in history is a crucial point. Jesus really was crucified at one particular time and in one particular place. Indeed, in this way the Son of God shows that he really did become incarnate and enter into history, so deeply in solidarity with our condition that he enters the ultimate limits that death imposes on our particular time and place. Then from one particular place and time Jesus rises and is filled with divine glory. Resurrection bursts the bonds of time and place. “The Paschal mystery of Christ, by contrast, cannot remain only in the past, because by his death he destroyed death, and all that Christ is— all that he did and suffered for all men— participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them all.”

Jesus really was crucified at one particular time and in one particular place. . . . Then from one particular place and time Jesus rises and is filled with divine glory.

This is beautifully put: “transcends all times while being made present in them all.” To destroy death means, among other things, that the bonds of a particular time and place are burst open. Time and space themselves are burst open, and the risen and glorified Christ is present in them all. In the liturgy Christ signifies this (precisely this!) and makes it present. The paragraph ends with what is nothing less than a joyful announcement: “The event of the Cross and Resurrection abides and draws everything toward life.”

Clearly, this is a powerful formulation and teaching of “Christ’s Work in the Liturgy.” This is the first of four points developed around this theme, and it is the foundation of the others. The subsequent paragraphs in fact are for the most part simply citations from Vatican II’s programmatic document on the liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium . This too is a common feature of the Catechism ’s style of teaching. It cites the documents of many councils but especially those of Vatican II. As such, it can be considered a kind of hermeneutic of the Council and indeed part of the task of its ongoing application. It is probably the case that, apart from theological experts, not many people actually sit down anymore and read Sacrosanctum Concilium straight through. But throughout the Catechism we encounter this document and other major documents cited again and again.

Here I have chosen to concentrate my attention on the several paragraphs of the Catechism that are newly formulated. These paragraphs form a new context for the conciliar citations, which in many other places have been usefully commented upon. The Catechism uses these citations to unfold the single sentence that I said at the beginning could summarize this whole section: Christ glorified, from the time of the Church of the Apostles, is present in the earthly liturgy, which participates in the liturgy of heaven. I have tried to show how enormous is the beginning of this sentence: “Christ glorified . . . .”

The Holy Spirit and the Church in the Liturgy

A bove I commented on those parts of the Catechism of the Catholic Church that concern the distinct roles of the Father and the Son in the liturgy. Next I would like to begin to treat the section entitled “The Holy Spirit and the Church in the Liturgy” (§1091-1109).

It is striking that after considering the role in the liturgy of the Father in Himself and of Christ in Himself, these next paragraphs of the Catechism treat the Holy Spirit together with the Church. This is seen already in the title of the section, and the reasoning behind this is immediately explained: “The desire and work of the Spirit in the heart of the Church is that we may live from the life of the risen Christ” (§1091). The Spirit is, as it were, looking in two directions: toward the risen Christ and toward the Church. He “takes” from the risen Christ and makes what he takes the Church’s own. When the Spirit finds in us “the response of faith which he has aroused,” then the liturgy in fact can become “the common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church” (§1091). This is something marvelous. The liturgy is something that God does, and it is something that the Church does. It is at one and the same time a divine work and a human work.

A huge claim follows, even if it is expressed in deceptively simple language. It is that in the liturgy “the Holy Spirit acts in the same way as at other times in the economy of salvation” (§1092). This means that the divine action of the Spirit that unfolded through all the centuries of both the Old and the New Testaments is concentrated now in the event of the liturgy. Four verbs summarize the Spirit’s action: the Spirit prepares the Church to meet Christ, recalls Christ, makes present His mystery, and unites the Church to Him. Each of these dimensions is developed under separate subtitles. This whole section of the Catechism on the Holy Spirit and the Church in the liturgy is twice as long as the sections on the Father’s and the Son’s roles. For the present let us examine the first of the four subtitles.

The Holy Spirit prepares for the reception of Christ. This title, this sentence, exactly describes the action of the Spirit in two places: in the economy of salvation and in the sacramental economy. As such, it is the first instance of what I called a “huge claim,” namely, the convergence of Spirit’s work in salvation history with Spirit’s work in the liturgy. Throughout the Old Covenant, the Spirit was preparing a people for Christ’s coming. Now, in the liturgy, all that was prefigured there is fulfilled. This is why “the Church’s liturgy has retained certain elements of the worship of the Old Covenant” (§1093). Three such elements are mentioned, the first two stated simply as reading the Old Testament and praying the Psalms. The third element is more complex. It is “recalling the saving events and significant realities which have found their fulfillment in the mystery of Christ” (§1093).

Underlying this expression is the notion of feast as understood in the religion of Israel. Feasts consisted in “recalling saving events,” which, precisely because they were God’s deeds, could become present again in the celebration of their memory. These events cumulatively build up an inner meaning, which the Catechism calls “significant realities.” Key instances are mentioned: “promise and covenant, Exodus and Passover, kingdom and temple, exile and return” (§1093). All of these find their fulfillment in the mystery of Christ, and it is as we recall those events and realities in the liturgy that the Spirit fulfills them in our very midst.

[caption id="attachment_4274" align="alignleft" width="222"] Fr. Marko Ivan Rupnik; The Baptism of the Lord (2007), detail: Holy Spirit ; Photo: Carolyn A. Pirtle. Used with permission.[/caption]

The next paragraph defends this concept, or in any case, gives it a firm theological foundation, calling the relation between what was prefigured in the Old Covenant and its fulfillment in Christ the “harmony of the two Testaments.” The Catechism affirms: “It is on this harmony of the two Testaments that the Paschal catechesis of the Lord is built, and then, that of the Apostles and the Fathers of the Church” (§1094). The term “Paschal catechesis” provides important insight into the Church’s justification of the way in which she understands the Old Testament and uses it in the liturgy. In reality, the Church’s understanding of the Old Testament is “Paschal catechesis,” and its original and authoritative practitioner is the risen Lord Himself.

A footnote in this paragraph refers the reader to Luke 24:13-49 where, in two different Resurrection appearances, the Lord indicates that the Messiah’s Death and Resurrection is the meaning of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms, of the entire Old Covenant. The Apostles, the Catechism contends, build their understanding of the mystery of Christ on His own “Paschal catechesis,” and the Church Fathers follow in the pattern of the Lord and the Apostles.

The Catechism states that this way of interpreting the hidden meaning of the letter of the Old Testament has a technical name: “It is called ‘typological’ because it reveals the newness of Christ on the basis of the ‘figures’ (types) which announce him in the deeds, words, and symbols of the first covenant” (§1094). That is, the warrant for this method of scriptural interpretation is in the Scriptures themselves, as the Catechism then demonstrates with examples from the New Testament. Typological interpretation of Scripture is not the invention or intrusion of a later period or a different culture — say, that of the patristic Church. No, the Fathers continued what was begun by the risen Lord and the Apostles, and they extended it to all parts of the Scriptures.

All of this explains why in her liturgy the Christian Church continues to celebrate the great deeds of God from Israel’s past. Just as the Holy Spirit was preparing Israel for the coming of Christ, now the same Spirit prepares the liturgical assembly for the coming of Christ. The Catechism puts forward the various liturgical seasons as prime examples of this: “For this reason the Church, especially during Advent and Lent and above all at the Easter Vigil, re-reads and re-lives the great events of salvation history in the ‘today’ of her liturgy” (§1095). All of us who hear these Old Testament readings proclaimed during Advent, Lent, and especially at the Easter Vigil, will certainly listen more sensitively and profit the more from hearing them if we keep in mind that by means of them the Holy Spirit is actively preparing us to meet Christ in the very liturgy in which they are proclaimed.

The phrase “above all at the Easter Vigil” deserves our attention. The Catechism does not develop it in this particular paragraph, but it does provided us with a crucial element of what is needed to understand more deeply this part of the “mother of all Vigils” ( Missale Romanum , “Rubrics for the Easter Vigil,” §20). The Holy Spirit is active in the liturgical assembly precisely by means of the details of what is read. The seven Old Testament readings of the Easter Vigil are representative texts that proclaim whole blocks of essential Old Testament theology, moving from creation through Abraham’s sacrifice to the most important reading, the Exodus; four subsequent readings announce pivotal themes of the prophets.

An understanding of these texts in relation to the Paschal Mystery, which is so explicit in the Easter Vigil, can serve also when these or similar readings appear at other times in the liturgical year. The Collects that follow each reading are a rich resource for understanding these links between Old Testament themes and their fulfillment in Christ’s Paschal Mystery. These express with simplicity and clarity the Church’s profound Christological and sacramental understanding of the Old Testament texts.

This first subsection of the Catechism on the Holy Spirit and the Church in the liturgy concludes by returning to the word “prepare” from its title, highlighting again the notion of the liturgy as a common work of both the Holy Spirit and the Church. “The assembly should prepare itself to encounter its Lord and to become ‘a people well disposed.’ The preparation of hearts is the joint work of the Holy Spirit and the assembly, especially of its ministers” (§1098). We can hope that this work of the Holy Spirit in us, together with our own disposition to be open to his inspirations, will make of our liturgies what they are truly meant to be in the plan of God: a divine work and the work of the Church.

The Holy Spirit recalls the mystery of Christ

We saw above that the Catechism treats the Holy Spirit and the Church together in this section precisely because it wants to emphasize that the Spirit brings it about that the liturgy actually becomes “the common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church” (§1091). In the strongest sense of the word, the Spirit and the Church co-operate in the liturgy. The priority, of course, is in the Spirit’s action; but the Spirit acts on the Church in such a way that it can genuinely be said that liturgy is also the Church’s work, the Church’s action. Four verbs summarize the Spirit’s action: the Spirit prepares the Church to meet Christ, recalls Christ, makes present his mystery, and unites the Church to Him (§1092). Each of these dimensions is developed under separate subtitles. Previously we examined the section titled “The Holy Spirit prepares for the reception of Christ.” We turn now to the second of the four subtitled parts (§§1099-1103).

This section begins by using the technical liturgical word memorial. It says, “the liturgy is the memorial of salvation,” and then adds, “The Holy Spirit is the Church’s living memory” (§1099). This beautiful little sentence is worth unfolding. A footnote attached to it leads to John 14:26, where Jesus said, “‘But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have told you.’” Jesus’ promise still holds good. It is as fresh as ever. And one could point to the liturgy as the place where it is precisely and most fully realized.

The words of Jesus reveal that the dimension of the liturgy that is a “memorial” of the past is something far larger than the effort of a human community to keep close over time, despite the vicissitudes of history, to the memory of important past events. It is instead a divine work in which the Father sends us another gift, the Holy Spirit, to keep the gift of his Son’s own incarnate presence among human beings as fresh as in its first particular appearance in first-century Palestine. Two thousand years between us and the historical Jesus is not a gap when the Spirit is “the Church’s living memory.” The Spirit’s work is a divine work, and so is complete, total, fully accomplished.

Two dimensions of the liturgy reveal the Spirit at work in this way, and these are treated in two smaller subtitles in this section: the Word of God and Anamnesis . We all know that Scripture is read in the liturgy, but what actually is happening when that is done? Some particular member of the assembly stands up and reads, but the Spirit is operating through this action. “The Holy Spirit first recalls the meaning of the salvation event to the liturgical assembly by giving life to the Word of God…” (§1100). Two words are crucial to the claims of this sentence: meaning and life . When we hear words, they can mean many things, often too many, perhaps even contradictory. Words are risky. But the assembly is not left simply to itself and to its own wits alone for penetrating the words of Scripture correctly. The Spirit “recalls the meaning”— the divinely intended meaning “of the salvation event.” In addition to meaning, the Spirit gives life to the words. Again, words are risky. At worst, they could just be so many sounds hitting against eardrums, or they could have no more effect than the vague sensation of, “I’ve heard that before.” Instead, in the liturgy, the Spirit gives life to the words in such a way that they can be received and lived for what they truly are; namely, the very Word of God in the irreducible newness of this present moment of proclamation.

“The Holy Spirit gives a spiritual understanding of the Word of God to those who read or hear it” (§1101). The idea of spiritual understanding of the Word is introduced here as yet another concept to build upon meaning and life mentioned in the previous paragraph. Sometimes nowadays the word “spiritual” is used by religious seekers or refers to religious seekers in any number of fairly vague ways, but in Christian theology the word “spiritual” is always traceable to the Holy Spirit and to the specific work of the Holy Spirit in the divine economy. So, if here it is a question of “a spiritual understanding of the Word of God [for] those who read or hear it,” that means that the Spirit will put worshipers “into a living relationship with Christ, the Word and Image of the Father” (§1101). A living relationship with Christ is the spiritual understanding of Scripture. And it is typical that we experience and know the Spirit in the Spirit’s referring us to another, to Christ, and to Christ recognized as the Word and Image of the Father.

We do well to recall that we are examining a part of the Catechism that speaks about the Liturgy as the Work of the Holy Trinity, where the role of each member of the Trinity is distinguished and discussed. Here, in speaking about the Spirit’s role, the other Persons of the Trinity are completely implicated, as we have had occasion to see already in other formulations. This is a beautiful yielding of one Person of the Trinity toward the other. The Spirit puts us in a living relationship with the Son and helps us to know Him as Word and Image of the Father. All this is happening in the liturgy as the Word of God is read. All this is what it means to say, “The Holy Spirit recalls the mystery of Christ,” as the title of this section indicates.

“Covenant” is one way of summarizing the content of the whole of Scripture. Scripture is the story of the covenant.

But there is more. “The proclamation does not stop with a teaching; it elicits the response of faith as consent and commitment, directed at the covenant between God and his people” (§1102). So far we have seen a number of key words expressing what the Spirit delivers by means of the liturgical words and actions: meaning, life, understanding, living relationship with Christ. Now the direction shifts. All this requires a response, but the response itself is helped by the Spirit. This divine help is needed so that our particular response can be more than what we might come up with by ourselves, so that it can be bigger than the sum of the parts of the vision of a particular gathered community. That bigger response is here described as “consent and commitment directed at the covenant between God and his people.” So, Christian liturgy is more than simply some of the baptized gathered together to hear a little Scripture and think about it. The hearing of Scripture in the Spirit ought to bring us to nothing less than a consent and commitment to enter into—huge words!—the covenant between God and his people. “Covenant” is one way of summarizing the content of the whole of Scripture. Scripture is the story of the covenant. In the liturgy we do not hear this story as information about religious people of the past. Hearing it means for us to enter into that same covenant in the here and now of this particular liturgy: "It is the Holy Spirit who gives the grace of faith, strengthens it and makes it grow in the community” (§1102).

All these ideas considered so far were under the smaller subtitle “The Word of God.” The next smaller subtitle is “Anamnesis,” and this is treated in just one paragraph. Anamnesis is a technical word used to describe a fundamental dimension of all liturgy, and its introduction here is part of the learning that the Catechism wants to promote. A simple, useful description is offered: “the liturgical celebration always refers to God’s saving interventions in history” (§1103). We could say that God’s saving interventions in history are a large part of the content of liturgy. Those interventions are what many of the words refer to, whether they are the words of Scripture or of prayer; and they are also the sense and meaning of the various symbols and ritual actions. This is true of all liturgical celebrations. At this point the Catechism is speaking in general terms that are meant to apply to all the sacraments and all the other liturgies that the Church celebrates. In all of these, “the celebration ‘makes a remembrance’ of the marvelous works of God in an anamnesis which may be more or less developed” (§1103).

The center of the saving interventions of God in history is, of course, the Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ; and this is the ultimate content of all anamnesis . In the liturgy, the Death and Resurrection of Christ is “remembered” in a qualitatively unique way. It is remembered by the Holy Spirit for the Church. Then there is “co-operation.” The Church willingly makes remembrance in the way that the Spirit fashions. This is not memory in the form of information from the past. It is memory that gives meaning, life, understanding, living relationship with Christ. And, “The Holy Spirit who thus awakens the memory of the Church then inspires thanksgiving and praise ( doxology )” (§1103).

We have examined here five rich paragraphs grouped under the title, “The Holy Spirit recalls the mystery of Christ.” This is the second of four subtitles that treat the role of the Holy Spirit and the Church in the liturgy. The third subtitle picks up immediately from this sense of the memory of the past and brings it into the present. The first sentence of the next section connects us with this. “Christian liturgy not only recalls the events that saved us but actualizes them, makes them present” (§1104). This will be our next subject.

Celebrating the Paschal Mystery

R ecalling the saving events of God in history is thus a major dimension of the liturgy. But this does not exhaust all that happens. “Christian liturgy not only recalls the events that saved us but actualizes them, makes them present” (§1104). This is followed by a sentence that makes a very useful distinction: “The Paschal Mystery of Christ is celebrated, not repeated.” With the term “Paschal Mystery” the Catechism goes to the heart of what is remembered in liturgy.

I hope that just several lines of that important paragraph cited here can throw into relief the importance of this cross reference. We read, “The Paschal mystery of Christ, by contrast, cannot remain only in the past, because by his death he destroyed death, and all that Christ is—all that he did and suffered for all men— participates in the divine eternity, and so transcends all times while being made present in them all” (§1085). This is the logic behind saying now at §1104 that, “The Paschal Mystery of Christ is celebrated, not repeated.” That the Paschal Mystery can be made present in all times is the work of the Holy Spirit and comes about through the liturgical celebration. §1104 continues, “It is the celebrations that are repeated, and in each celebration there is an outpouring of the Holy Spirit that makes the unique mystery present.”

§1105 introduces the technical liturgical term epiclesis, a term always associated with the Holy Spirit in the liturgy. It explains, “The Epiclesis (“invocation upon”) is the intercession in which the priest begs the Father to send the Holy Spirit, the Sanctifier, so that the offerings may become the body and blood of Christ and that the faithful, by receiving them, may themselves become a living offering to God.” This explanation focuses on what happens in the Eucharist, where the strongest, most forceful action of the Spirit is at work. In the present moment of the liturgy the offerings are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ. As such, the transformed offerings render present the Paschal Mystery, whose roots are in the past but in the here and now of the liturgy “transcends all times while being made present in them all.”

Further, the Paschal Mystery is rendered present not in some static way. That is impossible and would contradict the very meaning of the Mystery. Rather, it is rendered present in a way that directly effects us who celebrate. It is rendered present precisely in such a way that the faithful who receive the Body and Blood of Christ may be themselves transformed into what they receive and in this way become “a living offering to God.”

Taken seriously, these are dizzying claims. When the Father sends the Spirit onto the offerings, bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Christ; and we who receive them are transformed by the same Spirit into what we receive. This “form” into which we are “trans-formed” is named here “living offering to God,” and a footnote references Romans 12:1. It is important to take note of this scriptural warrant because this verse virtually from the beginning of the Christian community’s existence has exercised enormous influence on how the eucharistic celebration is understood. Paul is taking account here of the enormous implications of life in Christ and contrasting it with his own former Jewish practice and worship.

What is possible now in Christ is a new kind of sacrifice, a new kind of worship, a new cult. Paul urges—and the reader feels his solemn wonder—“offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, your spiritual worship.” What Paul is speaking about here effectively comes about when “the faithful, by receiving [the transformed gifts] themselves become a living offering to God.”

Even if the illustration here of the word epiclesis is made in reference to the Eucharist, what is said is meant to apply more broadly. “Together with the anamnesis , the epiclesis is at the heart of each sacramental celebration.” (§1106). This is not developed further in the Catechism, but awareness of anamnesis and epiclesis in every celebration of any of the sacraments is one of the most effective ways of attending to what is happening, what is effected by the Holy Trinity, in that celebration.

In this subtitle about how the Holy Spirit makes present the mystery of Christ, the connection with the past has been clearly made. The events from the past that saved us are actualized and made present. The last paragraph of this subtitle also speaks of something more paradoxical, more unexpected. The Spirit also mysteriously causes the future to make its presence and effects felt now. “While we wait in hope he [the Holy Spirit] causes us really to anticipate the fullness of communion with the Holy Trinity” (§1107). Communion with the Holy Trinity is meant to be our definitive future, yet even now, in the liturgy, we are really anticipating that future. The Spirit is the gift of the Father given to the Church in answer to her request for precisely that. “Sent by the Father who hears the epiclesis of the Church, the Spirit gives life to those who accept him and is, even now, the ‘guarantee’ of their inheritance.”

The Catechism places the word “guarantee” in quotation marks and in a footnote refers us to Eph 1:14 and 2 Cor 1:22. St. Paul uses this word for the Holy Spirit, and the community experiences that guarantee in the liturgy. In the present here and now of what the Spirit does for us, we already enjoy the inheritance for which we are destined. In Paul’s own words: “we . . . were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory” (Eph 1:14).

The communion of the Holy Spirit (§§1108-1109)

This is the fourth and final subtitle in the section of the Catechism treating the Holy Spirit and the Church in the liturgy. The word “communion” is used to indicate the culmination of what the Spirit prepares, recalls, and makes present. “In every liturgical action the Holy Spirit is sent in order to bring us into communion with Christ and so to form his Body” (§1108). Closely associated with this is another word: “cooperation”; and with this word the Catechism comes full circle from a point introduced at the beginning of this whole development. I have had occasion more than once to take note of the Catechism’s stress that the liturgy becomes the common work of the Holy Spirit and the Church. This can be said again now at the end. “The most intimate cooperation of the Holy Spirit and the Church is achieved in the liturgy.” The Spirit is called here Spirit of communion, and the Church is called “the great sacrament of divine communion which gathers God’s scattered children together.” Gathered where and how? Communion with whom? “Communion with the Holy Trinity and fraternal communion are inseparably the fruit of the Spirit in the liturgy” (§1108).

The last paragraph of this whole section on the Spirit and the Church can serve as a succinct and moving summary of all that we have seen in our analysis of the Holy Spirit and the Church in the liturgy. “The mission of the Holy Spirit in the liturgy of the Church is to prepare the assembly to encounter Christ; to recall and manifest Christ to the faith of the assembly; to make the saving work of Christ present and active by his transforming power; and to make the gift of communion bear fruit in the Church” (§1112).

Editors' Note: This essay is an adaptation of a series of articles published in Church Life Journal  from 2012-13.

Featured image: El Greco, Pentecost (ca. 1600), detail; courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Abbot Jeremy Driscoll, O.S.B.

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For Mormon Missionaries, Some ‘Big, Big Changes’

The church has loosened its strict rules for those evangelizing. And many members of Gen-Z are loving it.

Andres Gonzalez stands in front of a statue of Jesus Christ in Los Angeles as another missionary, Alec Crawley, films him for a video for social media. Credit... Isadora Kosofsky for The New York Times

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By Lauren Jackson

Lauren attended church in London, Los Angeles and Paris and spoke with current and former missionaries to report this story.

• May 10, 2024

Andres Gonzalez, 19, stands on the balcony of his Los Angeles apartment, his hands in his suit pockets. It is his first week as a missionary, but today, instead of approaching people on the street, he is shooting a video that he will later post to social media.

After about a dozen takes, he is successful. “Hello! If you would like to learn more about Jesus Christ,” he says to the camera in Spanish, “contact me.”

Mr. Gonzalez is the image of the modern missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which has changed many of its practices — from how missionaries preach to how they dress.

The faith, long known for sending tens of thousands of neatly and formally dressed young people across the globe each year to preach door to door, is encouraging new missionaries to spread the gospel on social media and, for some, with acts of community service closer to home.

As a church leader, Dieter F. Uchtdorf, put it, missionaries should feel comfortable sharing their faith in “ normal and natural ways .”

In the last few years, the church has also changed some rules for missionaries themselves — loosening restrictions on dress codes ( women can wear pants ) and how often they can call family members back home ( once a week , not just on Christmas and Mother’s Day).

To outsiders, the adjustments may seem small. But to missionaries who adhere to strict rules while on assignment, the shifts are dramatic.

“We’ve seen a lot of big, big changes,” Jensen Diederich, 23, said. He served his mission in Peru and said it was “monumental” when the church allowed him to call home weekly, instead of just twice a year.

The church believes missionary work is essential for the world’s salvation — that people must be baptized in the faith to get to the highest level of heaven after they die. Missionary work also helps increase the church’s membership, and it deepens many young members’ faith. Many missionaries begin their assignments just after they leave home. Instead of partying on a college campus, they commit themselves to the religion and develop habits that can last a lifetime.

One of those members was Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, who was a missionary in France in the 1960s. He has said the isolation of his mission allowed him to examine his faith without distraction . When asked about the changes, he said, “For young people of my generation, I think the separation from family and friends served us well.”

But he understands times have changed. “With today’s youth in near constant contact with one another, maintaining greater connection during a mission fits their life experience,” he added.

Many young church members say the new rules have made missionary service more attractive and realistic.

Kate Kennington, a 19-year-old with a mission assignment to London, said finding people online and messaging them is a more successful way of approaching potential converts. “It’s how I would want to be contacted,” she said.

“Knocking on doors and approaching people on the street are no longer seen as useful as they once were because of shifts in American culture,” said Matthew Bowman, a professor of religion and history at Claremont Graduate University who holds the chair of Mormon studies. He is also a church member.

For decades, missionaries’ clean-cut suits were signs of prosperity, Mr. Bowman said, and an effective way of appealing to converts. But they now feel “outdated.”

Many of the changes, especially the push to evangelize on social media, were fueled by the pandemic, which shut down in-person church gatherings and forced Latter-day Saints and Jehovah’s Witnesses to find alternatives to door-to-door preaching.

The missionaries use their phones to film videos of themselves promoting the church or sharing messages of faith. In one video , a missionary raps about his faith. In another , two missionaries throw a football and a Frisbee through an obstacle course in a church gym — an object lesson meant to visualize how Jesus Christ can help people overcome challenges.

So far, the changes appear to be working: In the last three years, as pandemic restrictions lifted and young members responded to an appeal from the church’s top leader for them to serve, the number of full-time proselytizing missionaries has risen by around 25 percent , according to church data. At the end of last year, the church had about 72,000 full-time missionaries serving around the world.

The church has just under 17.3 million members globally but has seen growth slow. From 1988 to 1989, during a surge in growth when the church expanded into West Africa , the church grew by about 9 percent . Last year, the church grew by about 1.5 percent .

A tradition of travel

Missionary work is a rite of passage for Latter-day Saints — and has been since the church’s founding in 1830.

The church’s missionaries have traveled the world, growing their faith from a fledgling start-up in upstate New York to a global religion that brings in billions of dollars in revenue .

Church leaders say it is men’s responsibility to become missionaries for two years starting at age 18. Missionary work is optional for women, who serve for 18 months. The church has historically encouraged women to focus on marriage and motherhood. But since 2012, when the church lowered the age women could become missionaries to 19 from 21, more women have been going .

Missionaries leave their families and friends, learn new languages and spend the first years of their adulthood spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.

While on a mission, they cannot date and must follow the religion’s ban on premarital sex, drinking, smoking, coffee and caffeinated tea. Communication with friends and family back home is restricted. They commit to stay focused on their work, and their proximity to their missionary partner creates a sense of accountability that keeps most from breaking the rules.

Until recently, the experience of young missionaries was similar to that of their parents. They first attended a missionary training center — a religious boot camp of sorts — before then traveling to their missions.

Most missionaries now start their training online at home , where the transition is less jarring. They can adapt to a mission schedule with their family’s support. Being home is also an opportunity for new missionaries to evangelize in their community.

“I’ve had friends who aren’t members of the church,” Tanner Bird, a 19-year-old missionary in Brazil who did part of his training at home in Houston. “And I just get super, super excited and talk to them about the gospel.”

Once deployed, men in some areas are allowed to wear blue shirts and go without ties , while women can wear wrinkle-resistant dress pants in “conservative colors.” Most missionaries now have smartphones and call their families weekly.

Some traditions remain: Young missionaries still do not get to pick their destinations. Many teenagers throw parties to open their assignments, reading their “call letter” aloud for the first time in front of family and friends. Others film elaborate announcement videos — including on ice skates . Some serve close to home (there are 10 missions in Utah). Others go as far as Tahiti or Tokyo.

Mr. Gonzalez, the missionary in Los Angeles, said he first imagined going on a mission when he was a child in Venezuela. His parents, who converted to the faith, often had young missionaries over for meals. After the church helped the family settle in Utah, he said serving as a missionary was part of his “American dream.”

Every morning, he wakes up at 6:30 a.m., the set time for many missionaries, with his “companion,” an assigned missionary partner. They are mandated to “never be alone,” with few exceptions, and each day follow a missionary schedule .

On Facebook, they contact people they have met, including those they have approached on the street in downtown Los Angeles. They also search groups for people who may be open to their message and post videos to generate interest in their faith. They keep track of potential converts’ progress, including lessons they teach. Every Monday, Mr. Gonzalez calls his parents.

Calls are also an opportunity for him to receive support. “It’s a little bit hard,” Mr. Gonzalez said of his mission work, describing people in downtown Los Angeles as “busy.” Still, he remains hopeful: “Some of them, they really are ready. They make time, even just like five minutes.”

The missionary experience is not for everyone. Some people feel isolated, find it difficult to adapt to a location, or struggle with the rules or the pressure to keep their commitment. Some people do leave early; the church does not comment on those who do.

Alex McAlpin, a 23-year-old who went on a mission to Denver, almost did not put in a missionary application. Before her mission, she attended Pepperdine University, where she wrestled with some aspects of church doctrine and history.

Then the church made its dress code change, allowing women to wear pants in 2018.

“That was the first day of my life that I thought maybe I would go” on a mission, Ms. McAlpin said. She saw the new dress code and the church’s other mission changes as a sign the church was evolving and listening to its younger members, many of whom hope their church will modernize in larger ways. “I wanted to be a part of the change.”

Lauren Jackson is an associate editor and writer for The Morning , The Times’s flagship daily newsletter. More about Lauren Jackson

Inside the World of Gen Z

The generation of people born between 1997 and 2012 is changing fashion, culture, politics, the workplace and more..

A younger generation of crossword constructors is using an old form to reflect their identities, language and world. Here’s how Gen Z made the puzzle their own .

For many Gen-Zers without much disposable income, Facebook isn’t a place to socialize online — it’s where they can get deals on items  they wouldn’t normally be able to afford.

Dating apps are struggling to live up to investors’ expectations . Blame the members of Generation Z, who are often not willing to shell out for paid subscriptions.

Young people tend to lean more liberal on issues pertaining to relationship norms. But when it comes to dating, the idea that men should pay in heterosexual courtships  still prevails among Gen Z-ers .

We asked Gen Z-ers to tell us about their living situations and the challenges of keeping a roof over their heads. Here’s what they said .

What is it like to be part of the group that has been called the most diverse generation in U.S. history? Here is what 900 Gen Z-ers had to say .

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