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Do not take alarm at the mention of work; the word may have a harsh sound, but the thing itself is not so harsh and bitter as it may appear at first sight. You must not as is too often the case, immediately connect with it the idea of toil, fatigue, and degradation which pertains to a slavish occupation. For everything must, in fact, be won by work, everything which does not grow of itself, like fruit on a tree.
Work is one of the first duties of a young girl. Scarcely has the winter’s snow disappeared from the sunny fields at the approach of spring when a charming, gold-colored flower makes its appearance—I mean the daffodil. I have chosen it from among its brethren and sisters, the fair children of spring and I have called it industry’s flower because it hastens to blossom as soon as possible. I wish to place it before your eyes, Christian maiden, as an emblem of industry, that virtue which should find a place in the garland which decks your youthful brow.
In what light ought work to be viewed? Man, as the image of God, in a way takes part in His creative activity. Do not misunderstand me, for of course I do not mean that he can make something out of nothing; but he has power to impart to substances various forms, and by the light of his understanding to arrive at a continually increased comprehension of higher things. Now all this is achieved by means of exertion, labor, work. Work is of a twofold nature, either mental or physical. Both are indispensable to the well-being of human society they may be termed soul and body. Direct your attention as present to the latter, namely, physical labor. It was at home in days of old under the roof of the holy house at Nazareth.
Whom do we see at work there? None other than Jesus Christ Himself, the incarnate Son of God, together with His foster-father, St. Joseph, and His Virgin Mother, Mary. How great and exalted a thing must work therefore be!
But men have not always been accustomed to view it in this aspect. The ancient heathen, on the contrary, despised bodily labor. The so-called freeman considered it a degradation to employ himself in manual labor; even the most enlightened of the Greeks and Romans expressed, in no measured terms, the supreme contempt they felt for all work of this nature.
We find this dislike and contempt of work prevailing everywhere throughout heathendom. The North American Indians hate work and leave it to women, as did also the Teutonic races. But as manual work must be done, if men are to live and be fed, the expedient of slavery was resorted to. Matters were carried so far that men came to regard laborers of both sexes as a separate order of beings, infinitely below the rest of their fellow creatures, and scarcely above the level of the lower animals. They were considered to be mere animated machines, which their owners were free to treat in whatever fashion they might see fit. They were bought and sold like any other goods and chattels; they were thrown aside, that is, they were killed, when they were found to be no longer of any use. It was even seriously doubted whether slaves possessed a soul like other men. Such was the opinion entertained by the heathen concerning work and workmen.
Then Jesus Christ appeared, the God-Man and Our Redeemer. He did not choose for His foster-father one of the Roman emperors, a member of the senate, or a sage. No, He chose a man whose whole life was spent in hard labor, a carpenter, an artisan; and next to the temple of God the workshop was the place where He liked best to be. What dignity this fact confers upon labor! The greatest dignity which He could bestow upon a man He bestowed upon St. Joseph, the carpenter of Nazareth. “My ways are not your ways,” embodies a truth which the Son of God proclaims to the whole world from His very cradle.
He Himself, the incarnate Son of God, worked in St. Joseph’s shop until He was thirty years of age. Mary, His blessed Mother, was no fashionable lady caring only for society and amusements, for dress and novels. We see her, in the peaceful house of Nazareth, industriously pursuing the ordinary avocations of a poor artisan’s wife. From that day forth how different is the aspect of work when viewed by the light of the Catholic faith, by the light of the workshop at Nazareth, where the God-Man, Jesus Christ, diligently helped His foster-father, and handled the saw, axe, and plane.
Keep your gaze constantly fixed upon that workshop and thence learn to be faithful and assiduous in your work, and to regard it as honorable. Whether it be easy or difficult, servile or otherwise, consider it to be a precious remembrance, a priceless relic of the house at Nazareth. Within those walls was work also exalted and sanctified; there did it receive that patent of nobility, which, if you only know how to appreciate it aright, will win for you the favor of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
To this end lay to heart the description of the industry befitting a woman which Solomon gives in the book of Proverbs, and which he recommends to all. He says: “She hath sought wool and flax, and hath wrought by the counsel of her hands. She is like the merchant’s ship, she bringeth her bread from afar. She hath risen in the night and given a prey to her household and victuals to her maidens. She hath considered a field and bought it; with the fruits of her hands she hath planted a vineyard. She hath girded her loins with strength, and hath strengthened her arm. She hath tasted and seen that her traffic is good; her lamp shall not be put out in the night. She hath put out her hand to strong things, and her fingers have taken hold of the spindle. She hath looked well to the paths of her house, and hath not eaten her bread idle.” How admirably is here set forth the value and worth which woman’s work possesses in the sight of both God and men.
You may perhaps during your school days have learned all sorts of fine things—foreign languages, delicate embroidery, drawing, music, etc.; these are all very well, and may prove of service to you. Your best and truest vocation, however, the vocation intended for you by God, is to occupy yourself in the house. Honor these domestic duties and attend to them industriously.
Formerly, even more than now, the household was considered as essentially woman’s sphere, and those who would not devote themselves to domestic avocations were looked upon askance. In the sorrows and trials of your daily life of labor recall these lines:
If thy life seems dark and dreary,
And thy daily toil unblest,
Pray to Him Who bids the weary
Go to Him and be at rest.