Sanctify Your Work

"There is an urgent need for spreading the doctrine of Christ. Store up your training, fill yourself with clear ideas, with the fulness of the Christian message, so that afterwards you can pass it on to others. Do not expect God to illuminate you, for he has no reason to when you have definite human means available to you: study and work. (The Forge, 841)

The Christian must have a hunger to know. Everything, from the most abstract knowledge to manual techniques, can and should lead to God. For there is no human undertaking which cannot be sanctified, which cannot be an opportunity to sanctify ourselves and to cooperate with God in the sanctification of the people with whom we work. The light of the followers of Jesus Christ should not be hidden in the depths of some valley, but should be placed on the mountain peak, so that “they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven” [1].

To work in this way is to pray. To study thus is likewise prayer. Research done with this spirit is prayer too. We are always doing the same thing, for everything can be prayer, all activity can and should lead us to God, nourish our intimate dealings with him, from morning to night. Any honourable work can be prayer and all prayerful work is apostolate. In this way the soul develops a unity of life, which is both simple and strong.

We have considered the reality of our christian vocation: how our Lord has entrusted us with the mission of attracting other souls to sanctity, encouraging them to get close to him, to feel united to the Church, to extend the kingdom of God to all hearts. Jesus wants to see us dedicated, faithful, responsive. He wants us to love him. It is his desire that we be holy, very much his own. (Christ is passing by, 10-11)"

~ From the Opus Dei daily message for December 12, 2012

One of the hardest aspects of homemaking is sometimes the mundane(ity) (not a word, but it should be) of our tasks.  The world tends to despise the homemaker because they do not understand her.  They also do not understand the concept of sanctifying your work, which is, I believe one of the saving graces of the homemaker.  Perhaps in a larger sense, mopping my floors and washing my dishes isn't That important, but it all depends on the manner and attitude of how I mop and wash.  In the reverse, not mopping and not washing can become a sin if I am just being lazy and selfish. When performing my duties I need to remind myself Why I am doing them. Each of these tasks is part of the larger work of creating a home for the glory of God and the service of others.