I was deeply affected by the issue on living a "divided life" or the disjoint between how we act in church during Sundays and how we act for the remainder of the week as I, for one, am guilty on certain instances on this. Sometimes, we "forget" how we are supposed to act in our daily lives as we have been taught in the church on Sundays, but there are times, when we are aware, yet we continue acting against our faith. The greatest challenge of modern Catholics is how to bridge the gap between our faith and our personal and professional lives. In line with this, Dr. Michael Naughton, Chair in Catholic Social Thought and Director of John A. Ryan Institute for Catholic Social Thought poses three big questions as follows:
What am I working for?
What am I resting in?
What am I living for?
Firstly, work for me is still a career as I am still driven by psychological rewards in working. I enjoy recognition that comes with doing a great job and the learning that comes with working. I am still motivated (and controlled) by how I am rated annually.
Next, leisure for me is utility. I believe that in order to be more productive, I need to rest and get away from the routine of work on a regular basis. For me, this prevents burn outs and dissatisfaction.
Lastly, for integration, I am at the achievements level - meaning, the things I do and work for are still centered on professional growth and advancement.
To be able to progress to the next level - that is, work as vocation, leisure as contemplation and integration as integrity, I have to imbue in me the habits of praying and reflection on the things I do and plan to do in my career and personal life. I must try to prioritize what I think God wants me to do, what I think is the right thing to do and what I think is the best thing to do. It also includes alignment to the idea that we work primarily to serve people other than our direct circle of concern. Being a public servant, this is crucial as the way I work translates on how I am willing to serve our countrymen. We have to contemplate the quality of service we provide to others and what kind of motivation drives us to do so.