Lisa Hendey
I’ve been thinking a lot this week about the diversity of our Church, about how her different people make up an amazing part of her complexity and her beauty. This week, I’ve found myself chatting with a young former marine turned security guard in Alabama, a front desk clerk at a Manhattan boutique hotel and an African cab driver in New Jersey. Diverse in their ideas and politics, the one thing that they had in common was that they all shared my love for the Catholic faith. Another thing that they had in common was the pride they took in their work. Without saying a word, they testified to the tweet Pope Francis sent us this week: “Work is so important for human dignity, for building up a family, for peace!” Our work is a witness to what we believe. When we use the gifts God gave us to create, to build up and to serve–regardless of the context–we testify to the dignity of our Creator and his creations. These interactions and Pope Francis’ tweet remind me to pay attention to both my own work and to the dignity of those performing work on my behalf. Today, as we go about our busyness, let us stop and notice those who perform work that is challenging, tedious, dangerous or even unnoticed. Let’s offer a prayer for all workers, and for work for all.
I’m grateful to my friend John Clem, O.F.S. for this week’s Sweet Tweets:
- Papal Tweet: “Work is so important for human dignity, for building up a family, for peace!” (Pope Francis Nov. 11th)
- Catholic Web Services launches indiegogo campaign for Greater Good Technology – helping the homeless and poor with tech (non-profit ministry of CWS) ow.ly/E7ctS
- Pope Francis blasts ‘pagan’ Christians as ‘enemies of the cross’ :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) ow.ly/DZfjH
- Gay marriage bans in four states upheld, Supreme Court review likely (USA Today) ow.ly/DZegQ
- Boys, Porn and Education: What Can Be Done? – Crisis Magazine ow.ly/DZgbp
- Pope Francis recalls the decisive role of John Paul II in the fall of the Berlin Wall (Rome Reports) ow.ly/E3kSh
- Museum of the Bible: It’s a combination of scholarly research and a Disney theme park coming to DC (Rome Reports) ow.ly/E3mrm
- St. Francis Manuscripts Headed to U.S., in First Trip Out of Italy in 700 Years (NYTimes.com) ow.ly/E3qrj
- Why Catholics Oppose the Death Penalty (Billy Kangas – Patheos) ow.ly/E3t1d
- Dorothy Day: The Both/And Servant | (Brandon Vogt – Word On Fire) ow.ly/E3Lcs
- 33mary: 33 Day Catholic Advent Devotional (Dr. Taylor Marshall) ow.ly/E4ub5
- Veteran’s Day Special: Spirituality and the Soldier – Busted Halo ow.ly/E5b66
- Veterans’ Day 2014: Honoring America’s Partners | Franciscan Action Network ow.ly/E7UD5
- Philadelphia officially opens World Meeting of Families registration | National Catholic Reporter ow.ly/E5mar
- iPadre Podcast: Interview with John Robinson, Choir Director for Boys of St. Paul Choir School ow.ly/E5K5y
- From Atheist Philosopher to Coptic Desert Monk – The Last Anchorite [Video] – Brandon Vogt ow.ly/E728q
- CNS STORY: Pope sets up new body to speed handling of sex abuse appeals ow.ly/E7vjp
- U.S. bishops honor mother diocese – the Archdiocese of Baltimore – 225th Anniv. (CNS) ow.ly/E7VNB
- Congrats on Election of Bishop Coyne to Communications Chair (one of the most tech-savvy bishops) | America Magazine ow.ly/E9SyT
- Archbishop Kurtz’s first year at helm of USCCB (CNS) ow.ly/Ee0ut
- Abide, a New Prayer App That Wants to Connect You With God – Aleteia ow.ly/E8O2d
- Peace and Good! a day-by-day meditation based on early Franciscan sources (Fr. Patrick McClosky, OFM) ow.ly/E9Phn
- Prayers for peace needed: Russian troops enter Ukraine (BBC) ow.ly/Ea6Nw
- When puppets meet refugees, healing begins for children | Crux ow.ly/Ea80L
- Redefinition of marriage poses ‘complex challenges,’ says archbishop | American Catholic ow.ly/E9QxR
- And Death is Gain…A Reflection on the Christian View of Death « Archdiocese of Washington ow.ly/EcsqA
- Your Parish isn’t a Welcoming Place – (Domenico Bettinelli – Bettnet.com) ow.ly/EaDoK
- Thanksgiving 2014 (Fr. Jason Welle, OFM – Holy Land Franciscans) ow.ly/E5dIP
- WickedNot – not all stepmothers are wicked (new charity & support) ow.ly/E8074
- Chef-Turned-Jesuit’s Faith Served at the Table – (Loyola Press – Arts & Faith) ow.ly/Ebd0p
- US Bishops publish online version of the Catechism of the Catholic Church (Rome Reports) ow.ly/Ee1jW CCC ow.
ly/Ee1ra - Beatification cause opened for Brazil’s ‘Surfer Angel’ :: Catholic News Agency (CNA) ow.ly/Ec2Q0
- Pilgrimage to celebrate the 500th anniversary of St. Teresa of Avila’s birth unveiled (Rome Reports) ow.ly/EcsGB
- In public restroom remodel, Vatican is adding showers for the neighborhood’s homeless. (Catholic News Service) ow.ly/i/7zdQM
- Is Gaudí Getting Closer to Sainthood? | Blog of the Courtier ow.ly/EdrE4
- Mispronounced – a humourous look at the dialectical challenge of St. Louis Catholics ow.ly/Ee2x5
- 5 Rare Photos from Pope Francis’ Childhood | ChurchPOP ow.ly/EaC1s
- 10 Things NOT to Say to a Convert – (Abbey Johnson – Epic Pew) ow.ly/E87FU
- Richard Silver takes vertical photos of ceilings in Vatican and Italian churches | Daily Mail Online ow.ly/Ecueu
- God’s Cosmos: A Singing Comet?: Eerie Sound Detected Coming From Rosetta’s Comet | IFLScience ow.ly/EfqeX
John Clem, O.F.S is the Director and Media Minister at Catholic Web Services (http://catholicws.com/). John is a professed member of the Secular Franciscan Order, and loves to share his talents in faith, technology, and journalism in service to the church. John also writes a blog entitled Call To Holiness (http://www.calltoholiness.
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