Proverbs, Chapter
31, Verse 30
Charm is deceptive
and beauty fleeting; the woman who fears
the LORD is to be praised.
Woman is the key to the salvation of the world. It
is the miracle of God that the salvation of mankind was deposited in the care
of the Virgin Mary and likewise in the physical sense the material world
through the modern woman who is faithful to the precepts of the Lord. Such a
woman knows the secret to raising children to be happy and successful is to do
it in a home overflowing with love. A woman of faith truly knows:
God
is our refuge and our strength, an ever-present help in distress. Therefore, we
fear not, though the earth be shaken and mountains plunge into the depths of
the sea.
“The
hour is coming, in fact has come, when the vocation of woman is being
acknowledged in its fullness, the hour in which women acquire in the world an
influence, an effect, and a power never hitherto achieved. That is why, at this
moment when the human race is undergoing so deep a transformation, women
impregnated with a spirit of the Gospel can do so much to aid humanity in not
falling.” (Closing speeches Vatican Council II, 12/8/65).
Mother
Mary is a perfect role model for all women, of course, but for women who work
in particular. According to St. Louis de Montfort, Mary has principle virtues,
which when practiced help to lead us to her Son and create a home and world
that celebrates the greatness of the Lord.
- Ardent Charity: How can you demonstrate great love at work? This
is not the same love as a spousal love, of course. How do you approach
your employees? Your supervisors? Your clients? Your customers? Is your
approach focused on valuing a relationship more than a material good? Are
you able to articulate information and ideas in a mutually respectful way?
- Heroic Patience: Do you really listen at work? Are you
able to rise above a situation in order to assist others as they learn new
tasks? Do you hold your temper or judgment about your supervisor when you
disagree with them? Are you willing in your attitude to seek understanding
of others, even when it is difficult?
- Divine Wisdom: Recalling your baptism, and especially your
confirmation, do you recall and use the gifts of the Holy Spirit in your
work decisions? Do you pray for guidance? Do you seek Biblical and Church
tradition answers and solutions? Do you show gratitude to God when you
recognize divine wisdom at work?
- Angelic Sweetness: Is your approach nurturing and relational? Do
you avoid calumniation of fellow co-workers and supervisors? Even when
difficult, do you respond to others at work by extending grace and mercy?
- Profound Humility: Are you focused on others more than yourself? Do
you recognize the work of the team, or are you taking credit for the work?
Do you care who gets the credit? Does this impact the way you treat
others?
Mary’s
virtues bring us to a very feminine leadership style: one steeped in
relationship building, not shying away from truth or faith, but approaching
others in grace. When practiced at work, these virtues of Our Lady can lead us
to Holiness and a fulfilled leadership at work.
Feast of the
Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome
Today the liturgy celebrates the
dedication of the Lateran Basilica, called “mother and head of all the churches
of the city and the world.” In fact, this basilica was the first to be built
after Emperor Constantine’s edict, in 313, granted Christians freedom to
practice their religion. The emperor himself gave Pope Miltiades the ancient
palace of the Laterani family, and the basilica, the baptistery, and the
patriarchate, that is, the Bishop of Rome’s residence — where the Popes lived
until the Avignon period — were all built there. The basilica’s dedication was
celebrated by Pope Sylvester around 324 and was named Most Holy Savior; only
after the 6th century were the names of St. John the Baptist and St. John the
Evangelist added, and now is typically denominated by these latter. Initially
the observance of this feast was confined to the city of Rome; then, beginning
in 1565, it was extended to all the Churches of the Roman rite. The honoring of
this sacred edifice was a way of expressing love and veneration for the Roman
Church, which, as St. Ignatius of Antioch says, “presides in charity” over the
whole Catholic communion (Letter to the Romans, 1:1). On this solemnity the Word of God recalls an essential truth: the
temple of stones is a symbol of the living Church, the Christian community,
which in their letters the Apostles Peter and Paul already understood as a
“spiritual edifice,” built by God with “living stones,” namely, Christians
themselves, upon the one foundation of Jesus Christ, who is called the
“cornerstone” (cf. 1 Corinthians 3:9-11, 16-17; 1 Peter 2:4-8; Ephesians
2:20-22). “Brothers, you are God’s building,” St. Paul wrote, and added:
“holy is God’s temple, which you are” (1 Corinthians 3:9c, 17). The beauty and
harmony of the churches, destined to give praise to God, also draws us human
beings, limited and sinful, to convert to form a “cosmos,” a well-ordered
structure, in intimate communion with Jesus, who is the true Saint of saints.
This happens in a culminating way in the Eucharistic liturgy, in which the
“ecclesia,” that is, the community of the baptized, come together in a unified
way to listen to the Word of God and nourish themselves with the Body and Blood
of Christ. From these two tables the Church of living stones is built up in
truth and charity and is internally formed by the Holy Spirit transforming
herself into what she receives, conforming herself more and more to the Lord
Jesus Christ. She herself, if she lives in sincere and fraternal unity, in this
way becomes the spiritual sacrifice pleasing to God. Dear friends, today’s
feast celebrates a mystery that is always relevant: God’s desire to build a
spiritual temple in the world, a community that worships him in spirit and truth
(cf. John 4:23-24). But this observance also reminds us of the importance of the material buildings in
which the community gathers to celebrate the praises of God. Every community
therefore has the duty to take special care of its own sacred buildings, which
are a precious religious and historical patrimony. For this we call upon the
intercession of Mary Most Holy, that she help us to become, like her, the
“house of God,” living temple of his love.
— Benedict XVI, Angelus
Address, November 9, 2008
Daily
Devotions
[1]http://www.integratedcatholiclife.org/2013/01/wallace-everyday-example-of-mary-for-women-who-work/
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