Cultivating Holiness Through Our Work

The mystic Meister Eckhart said, “Do not think that saintliness comes from occupation; it depends rather on what one is. The kind of work we do does not make us holy, but we may make it holy.”

I pondered this insight as it relates to Mary of Nazareth. Mary tends to be revered because of her occupation, so to speak: the mother of God. However, it is not this position in and of itself that makes her holy. Rather, it was her openness to listen, to trust God, and to act on the invitation extended by the Angel Gabriel that made her holy. Furthermore, once she made her decision, she accepted the responsibility and the consequences of her choice without grumbling or trying to renege.

Mary must have been an extraordinary mother, for we can surmise that she nurtured her son’s remarkable compassion for the poor and ailing, modeled the life of prayer that he adopted, and taught him to believe that God would fulfill God’s promises, even in the face of death. She could have brought up her son to be proud, selfish, entitled, and arrogant; instead, she made her work of mothering holy by drawing on her own humility, deep faith, and radical trust.

Just as with Mary, our work does not confer holiness on us, but we make it holy by the care and attentiveness with which we do it. I’ve known as many holy dental hygienists, certified nursing assistants, and preschool teachers as holy physicians, college professors, and chief executive officers. During the Advent and Christmas season, may holy Mary inspire us to attend to our vocation, whatever it is, with care, commitment, and the knowledge that God is always with us.