Spiritual Professionalism

By David H. Lukenbill in Catholic Eye, a daily look at politics, public policy, and culture, from one Catholic's eyes


One of the greatest moments in my life was when I became a Catholic and a most significant step towards that communion was learning of the work of Josemaria Escriva, the founder of Opus Dei, who is now St. Josemaria Escriva.

It was from the writing about Opus Dei, initially Uncommon Faith, which tells of the early development of Opus Dei, which then led me to his writings, and I acquired the Centennial Edition, a collection of all of his published work in nine volumes.

I also acquired the original multi-volume edition of the Catholic Bible, seven volumes for the Old Testament and 12 for the New Testament, which is the best modern translation and commentary I have found, and a project initiated by St. Josemaria and completed by the faculty of the University of Navarra.

This grounding in the precepts of the approach to work and faith—they are forever joined—has been the greatest blessing to me, and with liturgy and contemplation, propels me toward the ever developing work of perfecting my service.

An excellent new book, Virtuous Leadership: An Agenda for Personal Excellence, by Alexandre Havard, Director of the European Center for Leadership Development, addresses this in a focused way, informed deeply by the work of St. Josemaria, and opens his introduction thus:

“Leadership is only superficially about what we imagine. Hearing the word, one thinks of heads of state or government moving nations to action, captains of industry bringing products to market that change our lives, generals leading armies into battle. One supposes it to be an amalgam of ambition, charisma, cunning, know-how, access to money, and a gift for being in the right place at the right time.

“These are talents and qualities and resources leaders can use to advantage, but none of them constitutes the essence of leadership.

“Leadership is about character.

“No, leadership is character.

“There are those who think one must be born to lead—that some have a knack for it and some do not, that leadership is largely a matter of temperament combined with experience. Not everyone can be a Roosevelt or a de Gaulle or a Churchill, they think.

“Nothing could be further from the truth. Leadership is not reserved to an elite. It is the vocation not of the few but the many.” (p. xiii, italics in the original)