The Professions and Society

Callings
Just as God called artisan Bezalel to his craft, He calls each one of us into a role in the world, into a vocation or profession. Some are called through obvious superior skills or through strong interests, that Father John Donohue, S.J. [1] calls “providential hints,” but others are placed more by circumstances, and skills are developed from necessity, to fulfill some pressing need. All of these are all calls to service. When the execution and development of a skill is seen as service, it has the most serious moral dimension. Our work provides a service to someone in the world, even though often we neither see nor know who benefits from this work. Samuel Florman, who has written extensively on the engineering profession, reflects on this dimension: "There are religious implications in technology- a little bit of cathedral in everything we build." [2]

Work and Creativity
Father Donohue emphasizes the creative aspect of human work:

Out of a block of wood the cabinetmaker fashions a chest… An idea in the worker’s mind has been realized in the objective order and nature has been humanized.[3]

Professional work provides us with an opportunity to participate in God’s creativity. Human creations, just as God's, have a reality of their own outside of their creator, but the created object carries in it the imprint of its creator as a projection of the mind that created it. Just as the divine creative act, the human creation always has an inherent element of generosity, since the creation can be used by others for their benefit. The individual puts a part of himself into the result of his work; it is a projection of his mind, of his ability. Some object or service was caused by his effort. This specific object or service would not exist if this effort had not been made. Once created, this object or service is part of reality; it has an existence of its own, and it provides a service to someone in the world, even though often we neither see nor know who benefits from it.

The Continuation of the Incarnation
Father Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, S.J., the Jesuit scientist and theologian, has written extensively on the relation between our work and our Christian vocation. He sees our work as the continuation of the Incarnation:

Every process of material growth in the universe is ultimately directed toward spirit, and every process of spiritual growth toward Christ. From this it follows that whether the work to which I am tied by the circumstances of the present moment be commonplace or sublime, tedious or enthralling, I have the happiness of being able to think that Christ is waiting to receive its fruit: and that fruit, we must remember, is not only the intention behind my action but also the tangible result of my work. If this hope is justified, the Christian must be active, and busily active, working as earnestly as the most convinced of those who work to build up the Earth, that Christ may continually be born more fully in the world around him.[4]

Writing to a friend that is trying to find moral value in his professional work, Father Teilhard answers:

Because your undertaking - which I take to be perfectly legitimate - is going well, a little more health is being spread in the human mass, and in consequence a little more liberty to act, to think and to love.[5]

Jesus went through his life helping and healing others, and he called for the building of a new world where we take care of each other. It is now our role to continue his work, and for most of us, the primary way in which we exercise our love for others is through our professional work.

Quality and Professionalism
A professional can do a mediocre job or he can do it to the fullest extent of his ability. To the extent that his work is perfect, the individual has made the fullest creation, has added the most to the collective human reality. This perfection is a measure of his love for others and his care. Through this perfected creation, the professional adds the most of himself to reality and to the life of the community. Philosopher Gerard Smith, S.J. reflects on the value of the dedicated work done by a researcher:

If he succeeds, he may advance the cure of cancer. Isn’t God interested in that, in building a better world? If He isn’t interested in that, the quality of the job you do, what in heaven’s name is He interested in? In saving your soul? But this is our salvation: to do as best we can whatever we think good to do.[6]

Samuel Florman dwells on quality work in the context of engineering:

The greatest threats to moral engineering are carelessness, sloppiness, laziness, and lack of concentration. An engineer may start as honest and high minded but become immoral by falling prey to one or more of these sins.[7]

Florman also states this positively: "The quest for excellence is a virtuous enterprise that needs no rationalizing ."[8]

Here is a summary of the call to Christian love in the professions:

• Our profession is a calling from God.

• Our professional work participates in God’s creativity.

• Our professional work is a major way to love our neighbor.

• The quality of our work is a measure of our love.

References:
[1] John W. Donohue, S.J., Work and Education (Chicago: Loyola University Press, 1959), 190.
[2] Samuel C. Florman, The Civilized Engineer (New York: St. Martin’s Press, 1987), 20.
[3] Donohue, Work and Education, 150.
[4] Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, “My Universe” in Science and Christ (New York: Harper and Row, 1968), 68.
[5] Pierre Teilhard de Chardin,Letters From a Traveler (New York: Harper and Row, 1962), 164.
[6] Gerard Smith, S.J.,“Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam” in A Trio of Talks (Milwaukee: Marquette University Press, 1971), 5.
[7] Florman, The Civilized Engineer, 104.