The Church has some
definite teachings on work and what it means.
For example, in the Catechism,
the following statements can be found:
2427
Human work proceeds directly from persons created in the image of God and
called to prolong the work of creation by subduing the earth, both with and for
one another. Hence work is a duty: “If anyone will not work, let him not eat.”
Work honors the Creator’s gifts and the talents received from him. It can also
be redemptive. By enduring the hardship of work in union with Jesus, the
carpenter of Nazareth and the one crucified on Calvary, man collaborates in a
certain fashion with the Son of God in his redemptive work. He shows himself to
be a disciple of Christ by carrying the cross, daily, in the work he is called
to accomplish. Work can be a means of sanctification and a way of animating
earthly realities with the Spirit of Christ. (307, 378, 531)
2428
In work, the person exercises and fulfills in part the potential inscribed in
his nature. The primordial value of labor stems from man himself, its author
and its beneficiary. Work is for man, not man for work. (2834, 2185) Everyone
should be able to draw from work the means of providing for his life and that
of his family, and of serving the human community.
Yikes! Work is given us by God; we are to be
creators in the image of God a duty.
Work is a “primordial value.” It
honors God. If all that is true, then
why am I leaving a perfectly good job?
Is it wrong to retire?
Well, here’s a case
where monastic practice, as outlined in the Rule
of St. Benedict, can help people understand what is going on here and what
the Church means by “work.”.
First, notice that
the Catechism doesn’t discuss having
a job or earning a wage, it refers to work.
Next, remember that Benedictine monks live by the motto ora et labora ¸ prayer and work. But
obviously, a monk isn’t out there in the job market earning a wage. What’s going on?
St Benedict was quite
definite in his requirement that his monks should work, that they needed to
work in order to be good monks. He was
wise enough to see that no one could spend all day, every day, doing nothing
but praying. Things would fall apart in the
monastery in very short order. Therefore,
Benedictines spend their day with certain well-defined times for prayer
interspersed with periods of “work,” they have an horarium, or daily schedule.
A monk “works”
by going to the kitchen to make fruitcakes for sale at Christmas. Or he may write books, like Thomas Merton, or
study or do hard manual labor on the monastery farm or spend time doing
janitorial duties around the monastery. He
might also cook meals for the other monks or tend the monastery gift shop, or
he might be a professor in the college run by his monastery. He might even be engaged in making a very good
beer.
My wife and I’ve
given this a lot of thought to this to apply it to the routine we’ll follow after
retirement. We’ll develop an horarium that fits our needs. We’ll set the alarm and rise at the same time
every day, schedule times for doing house work, cooking meals, working around
the yard, much as would be done in a monastery (we won’t bake fruitcakes,
though). During work times I might spend
time doing volunteer activities or even working some part-time. I also hope to use “work” times to study, to
write for this blog, and to do more outdoor photography. It all fits and all qualifies as “work;” the
creative use of the talents God has given me.
And, our schedule
will include specified times for praying the Divine Office and doing lectio.
Ora et labora.
In case this sounds
like we might become enslaved to our plan, fear not, we’re not setting up a hard and fast
rule. True to St. Benedict’s intent, we
fully intend to adapt this schedule as circumstances dictate. If something comes up that causes us to have
to move things around during the day, so be it.
If we feel like taking a day trip up to the mountains, we’ll do it. Moderation in all things.
I’m constantly amazed
that a monk who lived in the 6th century was so wise and could
develop a way of life that can be of great benefit to people today. Many retirees would find greater joy and
fulfillment in doing something like this because it would prevent them falling
into the trap of just sitting on the couch all day watching Oprah, or whatever. They might come to see that retirement isn’t
really about quitting work or about never again doing something that is
productive and useful. Retirement is
really about finding different ways “work”, while having the luxury of doing it
to their own schedule.
So, it’s not wrong to
retire; I may be ending one type of
work, but I’ll be doing another. I look
on it as just changing jobs.
