PODCAST | Working for God
In this podcast, Fr. Javier del Castillo shares a reflection on working for God, inspired by the homily given by Saint Josemaria on February 6, 1960. Fr. Javier poses three important questions for us to consider as we approach work each day:
Do we work for Christ?
We see in the beginning passages of Scripture that God gave man and woman the vocation to work – to till the garden. We are each called to put our talents at the service of God. Work itself is not to be seen as the end, but rather, to be seen as the means to pray, sacrifice, and give glory to God.
Do we work in Christ?
Christ, the source of love, spent his hidden years working. He spent this time working out of love for his heavenly Father as well as out of love for each one of us. By his example, Christ shows that we are called to sanctify the task at hand through the grace given to us by God. If we work out of love, we will see the fruit of our labor in heaven. As we work closely with God, we are slowly transformed and begin to reflect the love of Christ to others.
Do we work through Christ?
As we are transformed by the love of Christ, our daily actions slowly move away from being a choice of habit to being a choice of free will. Working through Christ creates in us the awareness for whom we are working as well as the reason behind our work.
The homily “Working for God” is published by Scepter Publishers in the book “Friends of God”.
Rev. Javier del Castillo
Fr. Javier del Castillo is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and currently serves as President of the St. Josemaria Institute. He earned a degree in electronic engineering and moved to Rome to complete his ecclesiastical studies, where he was ordained a priest in 2005 and earned a doctorate in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in 2007. He worked as a chaplain in high schools in the Washington, D.C. and Chicago areas for several years, offering spiritual accompaniment to students, parents, and teachers. From 2015 on, he served as the vicar of Opus Dei in the midwest; he was appointed regional vicar of the United States in 2022. He became vicar of the United States and Canada in 2024, following the restructuring of the regions, until his appointment as Vicar General in April 2025.
