Weekend Wisdom - May 18th, 2025
Made to Worship, Made to Love
Since the election and initial announcement of Pope Leo XIV, I’ve shied away from much of these early weeks of media coverage. Our need for answers and to draw a box around this movement of the Holy Spirit make it much too easy to fill the quiet and the unknown with half-truths. However, as Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost stepped out onto the balcony at St. Peter’s, I was immediately moved by his selection of a papal name – Pope Leo XIV.
My theological and pastoral formation was marked by strong, authentic, faithful Catholic scholars and priests who understood not only the importance of the liturgy and ritual of Catholicism, but the relevance and reality of Catholic social teaching. In many ways “social teaching” has gotten a reputation as something with a particular political or activist bent to it, but Catholic social teaching is just that: while we live in the world, we do not live of the world. Our way of existing a social creatures is different than non-Catholics because of what the Gospel, the way of Jesus, demands of our hearts, minds and activities.
Pope Leo the XIII, our new pope’s namesake, was the father of modern catholic social teaching marked by his 1896 encyclical Rerum Novarum on the condition of the working class. Rerum Novarum sparked my love for Catholic evangelization and communications because there was so much rich theology and practical love in a document that wasn’t accessible to the common person it was written to benefit.
One of my favorite quotes from the encyclical reads, “But if the owners of property must be made secure, the workman, too, has property and possessions in which he must be protected; and first of all, there are his spiritual and mental interests. Life on earth, however good and desirable in itself, is not the final purpose for which man is created; it is only the way and the mans to that attainment of truth, and that practice of goodness in which the full life of the soul consists. It is the soul which is made after the image and likeness of God…” (Para. 32)
That brings me to my reflection point: God created work for us and not us for work. Work is a gift of God that we might have a meaningful purpose and impact on this earthly stage of our pilgrimage. However, the reason we were created is not for work. We are created for worship and love of God (and love of others). Worship and re-creation in the image of God are far more important than work, period. Mic drop…jaw drop…but how? Because I don’t rest well – do you? Most of my life, including “rest”, is still goal-oriented. Getting my hands in the dirt, completing loads of laundry, and cooking and eating dinner with my family is delightful and gives me a sense of peace, but they are still daily tasks.
Mass and worship, on the other hand, is God pouring His wisdom and sustenance out upon us. We aren’t asked to perform, but only to receive - every action we take during Mass is meant to enhance our experience of receiving God. We are invited to listen, to have our hearts and minds moved by God’s word, to praise, to let thanksgiving transform us: to touch Heaven.
Modern neuro-science confirms that thanksgiving and gratitude is a Biblical biohack (thanks to pastor and neuroscientist Joanna Hargreaves):
1. Gratitude activates the brain’s reward system by releasing the chemicals of dopamine and serotonin.
2. Gratitude reduces stress and anxiety by lowering cortisol – your brain cannot feel anxious and grateful at the same time due to separate neural pathways!
3. Gratitude literaly rewires our brain, strengthening neural pathways for healthy, holy thinking.
4. Gratitude improves physical health regulating blood pressure and the effects of stress on the cardiovascular system.
And here we are as Catholics, invited regularly to the ultimate act of thanksgiving, the sacrament of the Eucharist, to touch Heaven, our ultimate home.
If you’re following along with our 33 Day journey to Eucharistic glory, on day 15 of our 33 Day journey to Eucharistic glory, Matthew Kelly raises this same question of work, rest, play, and worship. He writes, “God is interested in the whole person, not just the spiritual aspect, and so, the Sabbath also creates the opportunity for your rest and restoration as a whole person…The Eucharist is the ultimate form of restoration, and it is best experienced in the context of the Sabbath rest. It is time we accepted this gift that God has been trying to give to humanity since the beginning of time.” (p. 75 – emphasis mine)
Link to encyclical Rerum Novarum: https://www.vatican.va/content/leo-xiii/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_l-xiii_enc_15051891_rerum-novarum.html
