Why Work Should be Awesome

By John D. O'Brien, S.J.

Saint Joseph is one of only four saints I can think of (not including the Blessed Mother), who has more than one feast on the Roman calendar – the other saints being Peter, Paul, and John the Baptist. St. Joseph’s great solemnity, of course, is March 19th, and its technical title is “St. Joseph, Husband of Mary”; but today we honour him as “St. Joseph the Worker”, so I’d like to propose a little reflection on the purpose and value of work.

Work often has a bad name in our society. It always surprises me how many people consider their jobs, their livelihood, as drudgery, folks who willingly live and work only for that mythical golden reprieve called “the weekend.” I can understand the need for rest. I can also understand working crummy jobs as a means to other ends, like a better job or a university education. But how tragic it is when people live their whole lives working “only for the money”, with little sense of higher purpose, craft or calling.