Thursday, September 15, 2016

St. Gianna & St. Josemaria: Patron Saints of Work/Life Balance


Everyone needs a few more heavenly intercessors. Sure, our guardian angels watch over us, but why not enlist the aid of the saints as well? "All Christians should adopt their own patron saints," it says on the Catholicism channel of About.com. There are patron saints of churches, countries, professions, and even diseases. Over the next nine months, we'll pick some new Patron Saints For Your Marriage.

Some of these saints are famous, and others are relatively obscure. But each one is a worthy heavenly helper. Since September began with a celebration of Labor Day, let's start with two patron saints of work/life balance: St. Gianna Molla and St. Josemaria Escriva.

St. Gianna Molla: Wife, Mother, Doctor


As a 20th-century woman, St. Gianna lived through experiences that are familiar to all of us today. She was an educated, professional woman who kept a close eye on family finances and worried when her husband went away on business trips. She enjoyed concerts, skiing, and family vacations. She volunteered her time to help the poor.

She also exemplified the principle of prioritizing well: God first, family second, and work last. Despite being a busy working mom, she took the time to attend Mass and pray the rosary every day.

Gianna was thrilled to be a wife and mother, nicknaming her husband Papa d'oro, or father of gold, and calling her children "my dearest treasures." She never considered her time spent with her children as less important than her time spent in the office. She loved mothering and doctoring equally well. Her attitude toward work could be summed up in her much-quoted saying: "One earns paradise with one's daily task."


Gianna's husband, Pietro, remodeled his parents' house into a clinic for her so that she could work closer to where they lived. She kept her hours short, sometimes limiting her working day to two hours. After their third child was born, Pietro suggested that Gianna give up her medical office. She responded with a chiding look, but then promised "when we have one more child, I will stop my medical work and will be a full-time mother, even though that will be difficult for me."

She never got that chance. Gianna encountered a serious complication during her fourth pregnancy due to the growth of an ovarian cyst. The doctors recommended either to abort the baby, perform a complete hysterectomy (during which the baby would also die), or attempt to remove the cyst surgically. Gianna chose option 3, saying, "I want them to save the baby."

After the surgery, Gianna was able to carry her baby to term. Doctors delivered the baby successfully through a C-section, but Gianna developed an infection and died in the hospital shortly afterward.

Gianna's husband and the daughter she died to save were both present when Gianna was canonized by Pope John Paul II at the Vatican in 2004.


St. Josemaria Escriva: Priest, Founder, Lawyer


St. Josemaria was canonized in 2002, also by Pope St. John Paul II (there's a reason why John Paul was dubbed a "saint-maker"). Born in 1902, St. Josemaria died in 1975 after devoting his life to founding the organization Opus Dei, which means "work of God."

Josemaria was ordained a priest in 1925, just a few short months after his father died. The family was soon plunged into financial difficulties. As the oldest son, Josemaria felt responsible for his family's well-being, but his salary as a priest was minimal.

In 1927, Josemaria began studying law in Madrid so that he could earn enough to support his mother and younger siblings. In the meantime, he continued serving as a priest and laying the groundwork for the foundation of Opus Dei, which currently has around 85,000 members worldwide.

A main principle of Opus Dei is the sanctification of ordinary work. Josemaria saw clearly that all work was noble. "It is time for us Christians to shout from the rooftops that work is a gift from God and that it makes no sense to classify men differently, according to ther occupation, as if some jobs were nobler than others." (Christ is passing by, no. 47)

Like St. Gianna, St. Josemaria saw no inherent difference between work inside and outside the home. All work is a form of service to others, of love made manifest, of prayer in action, he believed. In this quirky and evocative word portrait, Josemaria revealed how it's possible to attain holiness even through housework.
You are writing to me in the kitchen, by the stove. It is early afternoon. It is cold. By your side, your younger sister — the last one to discover the divine folly of living her Christian vocation to the full — is peeling potatoes. To all appearances — you think — her work is the same as before. And yet, what a difference there is!
It is true: before she only peeled potatoes, now, she is sanctifying herself peeling potatoes. (Furrow, no. 498)

In other words, intention is everything. Saints from Josemaria to Gianna to the recently canonized Mother Teresa have all expressed the same idea in slightly different wording. As we explain in our book The Four Keys to Everlasting Love, "the value of our work can be measured by the love and care we put into it. Even the smallest, most mundane task can be a kind of offering to God."




St. Gianna and St. Josemaria, pray for us, that we may learn to love our daily work.

Image of St. Gianna: © José Luiz Bernardes Ribeiro, via Wikimedia Commons; image of St. Josemaria: ©  Pablovarela (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0], via Wikimedia Commons; other images  courtesy of Pixabay.

8 comments:

  1. Thanks for your insight for your fantastic posting. I’m glad I have taken the time to see this.
    Round Bag

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had my first outbreak of Herpes virus nearly 2 years ago. Of all the tardiness, the pain and itching were unbearable. I literally freaked out as my general physician said that it had no cure. The outbreaks were not that frequent initially, but every time I fell sick, it would resurface. I had so many sores this year that I was desperate to try anything to get rid of them. Three months ago a friend suggested that I try DR AKHIGBE remedy that's helping people get cured from HSV, COUGHING, HIV&AIDS, GENITAL HERPES, ALS, SNEEZING, HEPATITIS B, CANCER e.t.c. I quickly ordered the product and started using the remedies. I'm so relieved to say that I've not had even one outbreak for a whole month now. Moreover, I'm feeling great from within. I truly endorse this herbal product DR AKHIGBE rendered to me. So if you are suffering from any deadly disease you can also contact this great man on his email Drakhigbeherbalhome5@gmail.com contact his whatsApp +2349021374574.   

      Delete
  2. My name is Alandre, and I base in USA...My life is back!!! After 2 years of Broken marriage, my husband left me with two kids.I felt like my life was about to end i almost committed suicide,i was emotionally down for a very long time.Thanks to a spell caster called Blessed Mark, Which i met online. On one faithful day,as I was browsing through the internet,I came across allot of testimonies about this particular spell caster. Some people testified that he brought their Ex lover back,some testified that he restores womb,cure cancer,and other sickness,some testified that he can cast a spell to stop divorce and so on.I also come across one particular testimony,it was about a woman called Diana,she testified about how he brought back her Ex lover in less than 2 days, and at the end of her testimony she dropped Blessed Mark e-mail address:Blessedlovetemple@gmail.com After reading all these,I decided to give it a try.I contacted him via email and explained my problem to him.In just 48hours, my husband came back to me. We solved our issues, and we are even happier than before Blessed Mark, is really a gifted man and i will not stop publishing him because he is a wonderful man...If you have a problem and you are looking for a real and genuine spell caster to solve all your problems for you. contact his email address: Blessedlovetemple@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  3. I want to thank Dr Emu a very powerful spell caster who help me to bring my husband back to me, few month ago i have a serious problem with my husband, to the extend that he left the house, and he started dating another woman and he stayed with the woman, i tried all i can to bring him back, but all my effort was useless until the day my friend came to my house and i told her every thing that had happened between me and my husband, then she told me of a powerful spell caster who help her when she was in the same problem I then contact Dr Emu and told him every thing and he told me not to worry my self again that my husband will come back to me after he has cast a spell on him, i thought it was a joke, after he had finish casting the spell, he told me that he had just finish casting the spell, to my greatest surprise within 48 hours, my husband really came back begging me to forgive him, if you need his help you can contact him with via email: Emutemple@gmail.com or add him up on his whatsapp +2347012841542 is willing to help any body that need his help. 

    ReplyDelete
  4. I actually was told otherwise, that the herpes can not be treated and that there is no way to make it go away once you have it. But I decided to do my own research and found out it is possible to fight it.. I got a lot of information about it here in forums and online,I got Dr Ogala contact on a group were a man from Cordova was sharing his testimony of how he cured him of herpes so I decided to give him a try I emailed him through drogala03@gmail.com . he called me to know if I actually wanted the cured after which the cure was sent to me few days later I was surprised when the same doctor who told me that I was diagnosed of herpes told me that I was completely free from herpes you can reach him through his email drogala03@gmail.com . or through his WhatsApp +2347049668119 if you are diagnosed and also wanna be free from this deadly virus because he is really gonna be of help to you..

    ReplyDelete
  5. REAL URGENT EFFECTIVE SPELL CASTER TO HELP BRING BACK EX LOVER AND SAVE MARRIAGE  

    Hello everyone my is Elisa Keily am so overwhelmed with joy all thanks to Dr Raypower spell.my husband left me for another woman few years back and I was very devastated cause I never did anything wrong to him,I was left with my two kid and a job that pays little.i was almost giving up until I saw a testimony online about Dr Raypower and I decided to contact him.i explained my problem to him and he assured me I'll see a positive result after 24hurs,surprisingly my husband came back the day after the spell begging me to forgive him and promised to never leave.my husband has been back for 6 months now and we've never had any issues, am glad I didn't doubt Dr Raypower cause he sure can solve any problems with fast relief you can also contact him for help now

    Email: Urgentspellcast@gmail.com or Urgentspellcast@yahoo.com

    Website: https://urgentspellcast.wordpress.com/ 

    WhatsApp: +14243308109

    ReplyDelete
  6. Hello
    We are professional traders, earning on forex and binary for investors weekly, will love to tell you all more about our investment platform where you can invest funds as little as $200 and start earning $2500 weekly, alot of people has benefited from this investment offer before and during this convid-19 virus, if you passing through financial difficulties due to this coronavirus and you need help paying bills simply choose a suitable investment plan for yourself and start making profit weekly

    $500 to earn $5,000 in 7 days
    $1000 to earn $10000 in 7 days
    $5000 to earn $50000 in 7 days

    To Start your investment now contact Via whatsapp: (+12166263236)
    email: tdameritrade077@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete
  7. I had my first outbreak of Herpes virus nearly 2 years ago. Of all the tardiness, the pain and itching were unbearable. I literally freaked out as my general physician said that it had no cure. The outbreaks were not that frequent initially, but every time I fell sick, it would resurface. I had so many sores this year that I was desperate to try anything to get rid of them. Three months ago a friend suggested that I try DR AKHIGBE remedy that's helping people get cured from HSV, COUGHING, HIV&AIDS, GENITAL HERPES, ALS, SNEEZING, HEPATITIS B, CANCER e.t.c. I quickly ordered the product and started using the remedies. I'm so relieved to say that I've not had even one outbreak for a whole month now. Moreover, I'm feeling great from within. I truly endorse this herbal product DR AKHIGBE rendered to me. So if you are suffering from any deadly disease you can also contact this great man on his email Drakhigbeherbalhome5@gmail.com contact his whatsApp +2349021374574.   

    ReplyDelete