|
|
Post by Dr. Robert Gotcher on Jun 3, 2021 0:58:27 GMT
How does the teaching on the Cross apply to the business world, the public square for lay Catholics?
|
|
|
|
Post by spaeth09 on May 30, 2023 1:01:34 GMT
I always feel that I forget the first part of Matthew 16:24. “If anyone wants to follow after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me." I simply want to put the cross on my shoulders and get to work. However, forgetting to deny myself first turns this lesson into a huge ego trip! "Look how much I can carry!" "I'm so busy!" To deny myself first manifests itself in sitting out the afterwork party once and while. Its a contemplation of God's Will before starting your day so that the work you do, the cross you carry, is truly the one God is asking you to take on. We find ourself trapped in cycles of Acedia where we are super busy, but nothing we are doing is actually the thing we are supposed to be doing! We forget the first part of the command: "let him deny himself".
In the business world it has looked like: letting others talk first, taking the responsibility for something that the team missed, giving yourself time to think before acting rashly or using words you'll regret later, skipping lunch to pray once and while, resisting the temptation to use people for what they can do for you and your career.
A lot of these would be the same for lay Catholics in the public square.
|
|
|
|
Post by Rich Fedor on Jun 2, 2023 16:00:54 GMT
I believe that I am always to bear my cross gladly without expectation of recognition or accolades. It is a reminder to be always focused on God's will in my life. Jesus warned that the world will be unkind to us because of our faith. When I am bearing my cross, which involves living out my faith, there may be times that I will be mocked and ridiculed. This may occur at both at work and in the public square. Heck, it may even happen within my own family and circle of friends. This may make things difficult at times, but I must continue to strive to keep my faith and my relationship with Jesus first and foremost. Sometimes this is little things like saying grace before a meal when out to dinner, no different than I would at home. Not to draw attention from anyone, but to live my faith in public no differently than I would in the privacy of my own home. At work it means not being afraid to discuss matters of faith when the opportunity arises, no differently than if my kids were to ask about it at home.
God willing, I will never have to face extreme circumstances in which I am asked to bear my cross. One example I think of is with the spread of assisted suicide be made legal in some states. As a hospice nurse, this could become an issue for me if, God forbid, our state were to make this abomination legal. At least at this point, the hospice industry views doing anything to hasten death as immoral and unethical. People have asked me about this situation in the past which has caused me to give some thought to it. At this time, I have resolved that, if it were to be made legal, and my company were to try to force me to participate, I would resign or force them to fire me when I refuse. If they were to make exceptions for religious reasons, I would then need to discern if God is calling me to bear the cross of staying with the agency and be the voice of moral reasoning, or bear the cross of finding a new job and possibly an entirely new line of work. One thing is for sure, because my faith comes first, I would never participate in this. Because I would not be willing to do something against my faith, there would be a cross to bear in some way.
Another thing that comes to mind when I think about bearing my cross in business and the public square is Mother Teresa's poem, "Do it Anyway." It talks about doing what is right, which is what God would ask us to do, regardless of what others think or how they react. At the end she points out that, when we leave this world, it is God who judges us and no one else. For me, this is another reminder that I am to bear my cross gladly, whatever that cross may be.
|
|
|
|
Post by steveheun on Jun 5, 2023 16:17:34 GMT
One significant cross that I am carrying for Christ at this time which I see prominently affecting how businesses operate and am encountering to some extent within my current company is the ideology of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. This ideology goes against Catholic teaching. We as Catholics in business can take the approach that given the political nature of this ideology and the passion for which it is being thrust upon all areas of society, including the business world, it is easier to stay quiet and not enter the arena to share our thoughts (which could potentially negatively impact our careers) and how Jesus would have responded to these concepts. Then it is all about me, not about doing His will. Willing to stand up for ones’ faith and beliefs against such strong opposition is a phenomenal cross to bear. Do we deny ourselves a peaceful existence to share the teachings of our faith? The cross gives us the courage to do so. We are taught to carry that cross with humility.
This also applies equally to how lay Catholics should interact with others in our communities. Jesus would never have been in favor of the implementation of programs and policies based on group identity. By nature, they are unjust. Utilizing language from Catholic Social Teaching allows us to offer up our cross to impact change to these identity-based initiatives to encompass Dignity (of all people, not based on specific characteristics), Equality (respect for all, but noting that people have different talents and abilities), and Solidarity (inclusion in the organization, but taking into account the first two concepts above). The cross provides for our salvation. It provides us an opportunity for detachment in the business world and our communities, to look out for the greater good and beyond our specific needs and desires or protection. That is the how we can carry our cross daily in our heart and minds peacefully to do God’s will. The teachings on the cross are a great reminder that I am not on this journey alone.
|
|
|
|
Post by Chris Lauterbach on Jun 10, 2023 14:46:04 GMT
I had a situation the other day at work. Tuesday night, we got home late because of class, and my CPAP broke down, so I did not get a lot of sleep. As I am getting ready for work, I was already crabby, so when my phone started blowing up with text messages about one of my team that had a horrible attitude in the morning, I was less than thrilled. Especially since I had a new hire that is still training, and it creates a negative environment. I asked the Holy Spirit for guidance, and I told my wife. No matter how bad off I was that morning, I cannot display it to my people.
If we are ordained, we will always have to bear some cross. Whether it is our own, or someone else's from time to time. That is what ministry and serving God is all about. I think the key is not to display to people that you are carrying that cross. Keep it in your pocket don't strap it on your back for everyone to see. You will push away the people you are helping.
For the record, I talked to my one employee and calmed the situation down. I think the Holy Spirit helped me. Lesson learned.
|
|
jan
New Member
Posts: 9
|
Post by jan on Jun 29, 2023 1:47:20 GMT
I think the teaching of the Cross includes something like this: the cross is the place where the lesser attempts to defeat the greater, not that they know they are doing it then and there ("Forgive them, Father, they know not what they do"), but that it is the intersection of submission and domination. The cross inverted the true character of the actors: those who should submit thought and acted as though they were dominant and He who was Dominion, submitted. It is not an intersection of irony, and it goes beyond paradox. It is THE mystery, because the greater knew this had to be in order to completely defeat the ignorant lessor.
In the business world, the faithful should always submit himself to the dominion of justice, in all aspects, arenas. That is the ideal, but the reality is more near the opposite: expediency for the purpose of profit. The triumph of profit seems to be ascendant, while the world of justice and fair recompense is defeated or shunned. That is a cross on which the ambitious attempt to crucify restraints in order to liberate profits. It is the same cross on which those who recognize business as a creative enterprise meant to supply the needs of God's images here on earth, have to submit in faith their work and inspirations to the slow pace of the right thing.
Politics, likewise. The faithful, truth-seeking Catholic will sacrifice his appetite for immediate effect or personal gain to the health and happiness of those whom he is to lead, or legislate for. But that requires, of course, knowledge of what is true and truly good governance, and not merely the taste of the times. Wise leaders will sacrifice the scintillating and screaming now for the solid and steady true. But such sacrifice is not often entered into, or seen in its fruitfulness, because we can't get beyond the din of our hammers pounding nails into that slow-going right thing.
|
|
