Christ Came To Sanctify Our Everyday Routine

The Lord's main goal while He lived on Earth among us was to save us from our sins by taking the punishment we should have gotten onto Himself and to establish the Church. While He called Peter, James, and John to leave their jobs as fishermen behind, this does not mean that honest, everyday work is not pleasing to Him. Quite the contrary! When He lived with Mary and St. Joseph, He most likely did chores and helped St. Joseph with his carpentry work. Chores, and every honest job and career path are very pleasing to Him. Accounting, janitorial work, nursing, medicine, teaching, performing arts, civil service, politics, etc.-all of these jobs and career fields are very meaningful to others and to the Holy Trinity.

I also want to acknowledge that when the Lord calls people to serve Him and further His Kingdom by becoming a catechist, an apologist, a priest, a missionary, a consecrated virgin or a consecrated religious, it's an honor.

However, He doesn't call everyone to become a monk, a nun, a priest, or a religious sister. Such vocations are not for everyone.

Also, don't do chores or your job with a grumpy and negative attitude. Do chores and your job with a smile and a positive, kind, and generous attitude.

Yes, a lot of us are deceived into thinking that if we won the lottery, we wouldn't have to work to pay the bills and put food on our tables anymore. We could just retire and spend the rest of our days eating an entire tub of ice cream while binge-watching Netflix.

But that's not a good use of our time and talents. The Lord makes it very clear that we could lose an eternity with Him for not making good use of our time and talents and for not caring for the least among us.

Besides, work isn't just for paying our bills and putting food on our tables. It's also a way for us to expand God's Kingdom.

Am I saying we can't relax and have fun at all? Of course not! We all need time to relax, play, and have fun. The Good Lord knows that because He's all-knowing and He designed us that way. God is perfectly fine with us having some leisure and recreation time---in moderation. You have no idea how much and how often I emphasize the "in moderation" bit.

You can do meaningful work for God's Kingdom that also pays your bills and puts food on your table. It doesn't have to be one or the other.

And for those who think that ordinary acts are inferior compared to prayer, yes, that's technically true.

However, St. Therese of Lisieux invented the Little Way for a reason. And part of the Little Way is doing small, ordinary things with great love. So when she folded napkins, she did it with great love, as if Jesus Himself was coming to dine with her.

When someone makes Catholic YouTube videos and posts them, assume they're doing it with great love, as if Jesus Himself were to watch them, instead of saying prayer is more valuable.

I'm not saying prayer isn't important. I'm saying that people put time and effort into ordinary tasks and it's not charitable to act like their efforts and the fruits of their efforts are worthless. It's not charitable to act like they're wasting their time on ordinary tasks and they could be using that time to pray for several hours instead. And it's not respectful to others who are benefiting from their time and efforts.