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Spirituality in the Workplace Thank you for inviting me this day of our strategic planning to talk about something close to my heart: “Spirituality in the Workplace.” Thank you, too, for welcoming me to the family, our community of the Philippine Women’s University. It is only my tenth day of work and service for the university. The topic assigned, Spirituality in the Workplace, is immense. It is vast. The keywords ‘spirituality’ and ‘workplace’ are loaded with varied definitions and many branches and levels fall under both categories. At the outset, I must say I can’t cover all the facets of this broad topic. Yet, this theme is most relevant and timely. I will not engage in any apologia about a particular approach. Rather, I can only share from where I am and where I have come from: as a minister of God of 18 years—assigned in administrative capacities in Radio Veritas, Manila Cathedral, the Bishops’ Conference and the Arzobispado. I believe in this topic. There was a fast-paced time of my life during the tenure of the late Cardinal Sin [when] I said to myself ‘I must fight for my holy Hour amidst A (Arzobispado), B (Basilica of the Immaculate Conception), C (CBCP) and D (DWRV-Radio Veritas). Prayer gives sense to my ministry. Indeed, prayer is the very soul of my Ministry. Speaking before you for the first time, I felt what I felt in writing my first of seven books. In my first book, Boatmen of Christ, I thought to have to prove myself as an intellectual, someone worth reading. In my other books, I let this mindset go and just trust in my readers. This is what I plan to do this day. I trust in you as my new family members as I am prepared to journey with you in the spiritual formation of faculty, students [and, administrators as well]. Prayer gives meaning to daily functions Prayer is essentially engaging in conversation to the Almighty. If a day’s work begins with Prayer or a moment of silence, there is the intention of fulfilling the will of the Lord. One, at least, begins with an end in mind. One begins focused an objective to be attained. Silence, a brief period of calm, allows the person to be centered. The vicissitudes, the pulls and pushes of the day, the tyranny of the urgent all cause the worker to be imbalanced, to be swayed, and to veer off-course. Silence, prayer, ground the person to a noble aim, the purpose of God. Silence is calm amidst noise and distractions. Principles and ideals belong to a person of silken and profound thought. The contrary holds for the shallowness of one easily pulled by fashions, peripheral and transitory. Indeed, silence is a struggle in a world of loud volumes. Silence need to be cultivated from within. The interior person seeks and longs for silence, some quietude. Prayer is being attuned to the Lord. It is searching for the frequency of God amidst cacophonies of the world. Openness to the will of God requires that the person is constantly looking and longing for the voice of God. God’s will is simply music to the heart; all others are distracting noises. When silence begins the working day, when prayer starts the demands of the day, the person intends to start on the right foot. Prayer is offering the whole day to the Lord, asking for the fulfillment of His will. Prayer, hence, bestows meaning to the day’s work. The trusting person in God can make sense of what is happening. This does not mean plain fatalism or a come what may, “bahala na” attitude. Rather, the prayerful person becomes a participant in God’s plan. This person values fidelity about success and recognizes the value of doing the ordinary tasks in an extraordinary way. Work is done out of Love. It is thus a labor of love. An interior faith is expressed in generosity and an understanding heart that forgives Spirituality is not just personal or private. Spirituality, to be genuine, is not to be confined to private beliefs, private prayers, and private devotions. There is a distinction between mere piousness and a contemplative spirituality. Spirituality in the workplace is not just a thirty-second opening prayer to begin a day with no consideration as to the ethics of conducting business or a moral implication of one’s conduct on others—superiors, peers and subordinates. One cannot help but shine. A treasure is stored, yes, but a treasure has also to be displayed. The Gospel exhorts: “You are the light of the world; you are the salt of the earth.” The Lord Jesus commands his followers to be leaven, to be catalysts and change agents.” Faith is not meant to be just private but for the public. Spirituality is not merely private but for general audiences. Therefore, in terms of work, there is the challenge of generosity. A workplace spirituality is not just pleased with attaining the minimal output. The worker is aware that he is a humble servant of the Lord and King. Having this image in mind, one imitates the generosity of God. The Lord gives abundantly in excess, in overflowing measure His graces and choicest blessings. Why would he, the grateful servant, economize his service, giving back cheap work? No, the Christian laborer excels, doing his best, goes beyond what is simply required. God cannot be outdone in generosity. The Trinity—Father, Son and Spirit—deserves the first three places: gold, silver and bronze. There is no medal for fourth place. The Christian worker seeks not his own glory but God’s glory. Therefore, the Christian worker remains humble. Even though there is no media coverage, even though the work done does not merit and Inquirer headline, even though there is neither spotlight nor limelight, the Christian worker does his job in excellence because God sees what He does. In relating with one’s fellow worker, that interior faith is more compassionate. That interior faith seeks to understand and willing to forgive the shortcomings of others. Sin is a reality in the world and the workplace is no exception. True, justice and restitution are in order when an offense has been committed. Once more, the person with prayers breaks out of his comfort zone to understand the human situation: what conditions gave rise to sin? What structures are there that are obstacles to God’s grace? Is there a subculture of moral permissiveness? The person of prayer is called to be a witness in the workplace. The workplace is a settling with structures, systems, with its unique atmosphere, its own milieu and its own dominant values and culture. The acceptance of spirituality in this context depends on the people and the leaders of that organization. A context resistant to spirituality can be likened to the Word of God sown on rocky ground or amidst thorny bushes. But a context embracing spirituality can be likened to the Word of God reaping a bountiful harvest—sixty-fold or even hundredfold. Faith is manifested as a presence and witness to productivity and output, as well as interpersonal relations. Spirituality is caring for the pressing concerns of co-employees. If a spirituality of the home revolves around the commitment of family members to be a domestic church, a church of the home, then workplace spirituality assumes a similar responsibility. An individualistic, personalistic, pietistic, “kanya-kanya” spirituality is no real spirituality at all. The workplace is then viewed as a community of persons where there is creativity. Color, laughter and freedom enhance productivity. When people like and enjoy what they do, they produce better results. This workplace [values] respecting the other and communicate with the other. The subculture of trying not get punished, beating the system, gaining extra favors, saying the “popular thing”, keeping your worries to yourself, not rocking the boat do not at all foster team work and communication. The ideal workplace is where respect and partnership are fostered. We are to invest on the lasting things: faith, hope, charity Testimonies of faith inspire peoples and organizations. Many items are deemed urgent. At that time, these were most pressing and these were needed to be done immediately. In fact, daily life is about beating deadlines, struggling through traffic, paying our bills and accounts taking our pills. But all these are fleeting, shelved \, archived, forgotten by the person filed in the drawer, transitory like the sands of time. The Psalmist says that we live to be seventy or eighty for those who are strong and most of these years are emptiness and pain. Yet Saint Paul reminds as of three things that last: faith hope and charity. The organization sustains itself on its collective memory of things that last. The organization, in order to continue its existence, relies on what is stable, what is permanent, what is ensuring. Sustainability uses the image of the foundation inspiring fact, encouraging hope and sacrificial love. Heroes of faith, hope and charity are badly needed in the workplace and they – these ethical geniuses – bring the best of who we really are. The history of an organization is a retelling of heroic stories – real people who went out of their way to fulfill a dream. Despite doubts and sarcasm, people still believe in innate goodness and a capacity to serve. Despite despair and the hard times, people still hope and smile for better times. And love, the most misused and abused word, is still that many-splendored thing and the nature of God and the calling of what we were meant to be. Any workplace that cultivates theses three virtues is a blossoming community after the heart of the Lord. The schedule from eight a.m. to five p.m. is a daily opportunity to hunt for those golden moments to promote faith, hope and love. A day will hot be complete. It will still be night. It is as if the sun never rose, if opportunity for faith, hope and love did not come into fruition. Any workplace spirituality needs to uphold values, creativity, inclusion of all principles and vocation The current literature on workplace spirituality lists these essential elements. These important items highlight the primary of the human being – the person’s right to life and happiness. From the biblical perspective, this assumes greater role as the human being was made in the image and likeness of God. Man mirrors the divine. The human being is a creature of God, each one, redeemed by Christ and is a temple of the Holy Spirit. The human being is most precious. He/She is loved by God for the human being is the high point of all creation. Values, creativity, inclusion of all, principles and vocation are all transcendental elements – pointing to the divine in man. Values ground the human being particularly the young towards a practice of the faith based on righteous living, obeying the Decalogue and living the spirit of the beatitudes. Creativity is the participation of man in the work of the Creator who masterpiece is unfolding and continuing. Inclusion of all is the reason of the redemption. Christ died and rose for all without exception especially for the marginalized and those discriminated against. Principles are the teachings of Christ, the doctrines of the Church, the ideals we try to live out each day even to the point of heroism and sacrifice. Vocation is contrasted with mere professionalism and is seen in the context of God’s calling to serve and help others. These basis ingredients for workplace spirituality: values, creativity, inclusion, principles and vocation make the workplace sacrosanct. Man is called to imitate God in holiness. The workplace needs to be a place where heroes can be found but also saints. What is one, true, good and beautiful, what is noble and pure – these are not just terms of knights, chivalry, crusades. What are just for epics and legends can be a reality in the workplace – if we just believe. A Liturgical Spirituality is a Spirituality of Remembrance When I was in San Carlos Seminary, I asked my formator Father Albert Murschaert, CICM, “Of the many spiritualities in the Church, what kind of spirituality do you prefer? “I was surprised by his answer which I did not understand at first. He said “Liturgical Spirituality.” We do not have to be a theologian to reckon our life in terms of Christmases. All remember our past Christmases: our gifts, our reunions, ninongs, carols, Simbang Gabi. We all love to celebrate the Lord’s birth. Even Filipinos outside the country celebrate and long the Christmas they have known here at home. A liturgical spirituality is a spirituality of celebration. It celebrated the seasons and the rhythm of life: birth, adulthood, forgiveness, nourishment, marriage, vocation, yes, even death of a person we hold dear. This is why we have the sacraments. All the more we celebrate the birth of the Lord: Christmas; likewise. His death and resurrection: Holy Week and Easter. We value the other important events in our Lord’s life: the presentation, His baptism, the transfiguration, Ascension, etc. We hold dear the dates important to our dear ones: their birthdays, their anniversaries: weddings and those of the departed. The measure of caring in the family is how these celebrations are faithfully kept. There measure of caring in the family is how these celebrations are faithfully kept. These are much emotion when the important events for an individual are remembered and also much trauma when these events are forgotten. An organization which works for aims of service has likewise important events, particularly its foundation. We extend the importance of valuing our own birthday, the significance of Christmas to the beginning of the institution we hold dear. Remembrance and celebration reinforce socialites. Much practices, traditions and rituals were initiated to accentuate that people do care about –us through the dates important to us. This is not viewed as a boring annual repetition but a recognition that we are but just human and have to be continually affirmed that we are loved, that something close do remember and care. It is not only Time but Place as well that has to be Sacred There are sacred times. This is the rationale of the liturgical season. There are sacred places as well: the church, adoration chapels. A spirituality of the workplace would necessarily give priority to a sense of the Sacred. I read a book entitled Everyday Sacred whereupon the lady writer from New York describes her busy routine each day going to work. In such rat race competitive atmosphere, the author Sue Bender describes how she socializes the space not only within the workplace where she gives witness to the transcendent but also the distance from home to work. Everywhere people were rushing; the milieu was impersonal. She has to fight to make her space sacred. She advocates a simpler, uncomplicated lifestyle. She makes haste slowly. She gets to know personally the same people she bumps into going to and from work: the ticket lady at the bus terminal, the man who sells sausages on the street, the boy who sells the newspapers. Making a place sacred is not just attending Mass at the chapel or making a brief visit to the Blessed Sacrament. It is a brave attempt to treat individuals as human beings who we encounter each day going to encounter people along the way with respect and warmth, not just objects to be avoided as we rush to make it on time on the Bundy clock. It is also an immerse challenge for the commuter to sacralize space and time during traffic. Traffic volume and pollution contribute to irritation, impatience, short temper, even use of unkind remarks and all the more reason, why the battle between good and evil, even between sanity and madness can occur in the busy congested avenue just outside the workplace. When order breaks down in a traffic jam, what first comes out from our lips, what do others beside us hear: expletives or our speech in situations of trials? People need to hear what is noble, kind and gentle especially in trying moments. A Workplace Spirituality is founded on a theology of stewardship The parables of Jesus in the Gospels are many but there is a recurring theme in most of the stories used by Our Lord to evangelize. That motif is one of stewardship. These are basically two classes: the good and the bad steward, the sheep and the goat, good and faithful servant and the wicked, lazy lout. There are different nomenclatures used depending on the translation of the Bible: manager, administrator, servant, steward. One thing is clear: a theology of stewardship recognizes as the God of talents, this was a test of wise investments. Temporal goods were given to the servants. The first two doubled the temporal goods entrusted to their care. The third just hid that one talent under ground. The Lord is using terminologies in a business context such as interest in a bank, good, wise judgment in explaining moral choices. Those who deemed to enter the Reign of God were called good and faithful, good is not only in the moral sense but also in the sense of competence and expertise. Goodness is a dynamic term not only avoiding evil but also in a pro-active way creating opportunities to proclaim the Gospel and to catch as many maenad women for salvation. In the words of the late Pope John Paul II of happy memory, there must be a new evangelization employing new approaches, new methodologies, new evangelization but a new way with charity as well. Therefore, yes, innate goodness is important but in reaching out to the poor in their dire context and the young in the generation 2 language. The Lord says that we should be innocent as doves, true but we need to be crafty as serpents as well. The Lord also employed the Parable of the Devious Employee who had written off a great percentage of the debts of his master’s creditors. That devious employee was not morally upright but he was crafty. The Lord admonishes us to learn the ways of the people of the world to gain ahead in their business. The Lord also uses a parable often misunderstood especially in these times of laborer’s rights, CBA’s and strikes. The master pays the same amount for those who worked for a whole day, half day or just a few hours. This is not injustice. “Unfair!” was the complaint raised. Lift maybe unfair or indeed life is unfair, it has inequalities but God is good. God is just. God rendered the minimum of justice to all. To five a person his due is justice; to give a person what he needs is charity; to give a person what he wants is generosity, and God cannot be outdone in generosity. The Lord further employs the language with pasturing: goats and sheep and the language of agriculture: seed falling on the roadside, rocky ground, among thorns and a harvest that is thirty fold, sixty fold and a hundred fold. In the end, it boils to ethical options, moral choices. But for the good, we will be judged on how much we have loved. To those on his right, He invited to enter heaven and enjoy the heavenly banquet those who feed the hungry, gave water to the thirsty, clothe the naked, revisited the sick or in prison. It is not only avoiding evil but chasing opportunity upon opportunity to be charitable. There is a challenge of the workplace as an institution. True, there is survival and sustainability but there is the stark reality of poverty which we can not claim to be blind to and our response would determine our salvation or damnation. There is one regret among the good: that he or she could have done more. A day in the workplace includes a checklist of responsibilities to be rendered according to a time table and program of activities. A workplace aims for success indicator. But a spirituality that permeates the working area conscienticizes that the organization is not just a body of success to the loss of others but fidelity, presence, witnessing to peoples, not just a profiting or money making institution but having compassion with a human face to so many poor all around. Joseph of Nazareth is a faithful steward Among Catholic spiritualities, there are so many: Devotion to Mary is a Marian spirituality. A follower of Saint Ignatius has an Ignatian spirituality a follower of Saint Frances has a Franciscan spirituality. A disciple of Saint Dominic has a Dominican spirituality. A friend of Saint Augustine has an Augustinian spirituality. An admirer of St. Therese of the Child Jesus has a Theresian spirituality but what of the follower of Saint Joseph? There is no popular, top of the mind adjective to describe to spirituality based on the stewardship of Joseph of Nazareth Joseph of Nazareth was entrusted the care of the child Jesus with his mother at a very precarious moment of his life when the most powerful in the land was after the death of the newly born Messiah. The Gospels describe Joseph as that just man I propose this man of justice as our model of stewardship. He was likewise provider and protector of a family where holiness resides. We can identity with Joseph of Nazareth because he has undergone joys and sorrows, highs and lows of daily existence. The infancy narratives of the Gospels point to the leadership role of Joseph of Nazareth. Joseph was confronted with the choice of secretly divorcing Mary who was found to be with child. Joseph, too, was obedient to God’s plan when the angel of the Lord came in a dream. Joseph struggled after so many rejections to find a decent place where Mary can give birth to Jesus. Yet Joseph was awed by the glory of the First Christmas with angels, shepherds, Magi, Joseph has a honor of giving the name “Jesus” during the rite of circumcision Joseph heart was torn and likewise comforted by the prophecy of Simeon about the child. Most dramatic and perilous was the escape into an unfamiliar country as Herod massacred the innocents. They returned from Egypt but still an evil Archways reigned in brail. There was the trial of losing and the joy of finding Jesus in the Temple. Joseph of Nazareth is a guide of guardianship, protecting the family entrusted to his care, upholder of justice and principles. Conclusion In the end, a workplace spirituality has its real test outside the workplace Holiness is not only from nine am to six pm but 24/7. Holiness is wholeness meaning the whole day, twenty four hours a day seven times a week like Mary of Nazareth, we seek to fulfill the will of the Lord each day. In His will is our real happiness. In the will of the Lord, we find ourselves as God has planned for us, as God loved us. God is important to us in every facet of our lives, work and outside of work; He is rear to us, nearer than we are to ourselves, really within us at work, home, study or leisure. We give glory and praise to Him this morning, God of nature, of history, of all times and places, indeed all generations and peoples, God is the God of Love. We ask his benevolence as we conclude our strategic planning, may we continue upholding and encouraging one another as we constantly build our faith community at PWU! Thank you and good day! God bless us all!
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