Those who put up with the difficulties faced at work in union with Jesus Christ cooperate, in a certain sense, with the Son of God in His work of redemption and show they are disciples of Christ bearing his cross, every day, in the activity they are called to do. In this perspective, work can be considered a means of sanctification (a path to holiness) and an enlivening of earthly realities (making our work more interesting and satisfying) with the Spirit of Christ.
Understood this way, work is an expression of man’s full humanity, in his historical condition (a nice way to say the sinful nature of humanity) and his eschatological orientation (our ultimate spiritual direction or end).
Man’s free and responsible action reveals his intimate relationship with the Creator and his creative power. At the same time, it is a daily aid in combating the disfigurement of sin, even when it is by the sweat of his brow that man earns his bread.
#263 – Compendium of the Social Doctrine of the Church
