Saints with a strong work ethic

[musdir26]

Our current buzz-phrase in our house is "strong work ethic." I would like to see my kids (one in particular) take more pride in their work by doing their best, focusing, checking for completeness, neatness, accuracy, etc. I thought maybe reading some stories of saints who had a strong work ethic might be a source of inspiration. So far I have come up with St. John Paul the Great for his secret studies in the priesthood and St. Rose of Lima for teaching herself to read. Any other saints in particular that come to mind?

[howiecram]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

https://www.littleflower.org/therese/reflections/st-therese-and-her-little-way/

ST. Therese of Lisieux

[pickandgrin]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

I must confess that when I saw your title, "Saints with a strong work ethic," I immediately thought of all you homeschooling parents! ❤️

[Bonnie]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

One that springs to mind is St. John Vianney, who struggled with completing his studies and especially in learning Latin. But, despite having to endure the terror of the French Revolution and the turmoil of Napoleonic times, he persevered in acquiring the knowledge he needed to be a priest and to serve people. I think it would also be worthwhile to read about St. Anthony of Padua, a Doctor of the Church, who came to be renowned for his love of learning and profound knowledge of Scripture, even very difficult and abstruse passages. And I concur with reading about St. Therese de Lisieux, who overcame so much in her young life.

Bonnie

[KF2000]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

Great question!
The suggestion I was going to offer was to get a good book that lets you read a "saint a day," because then every day you get a small dose of that inspiration to work hard. I often pick up something interesting from whoever is profiled for the day, and then use that as a very small lesson for my kids. The books we use are "Saints for Young Readers for Every Day." It's a two-volume set, and was published by Pauline Books.

https://www.amazon.com/Saints-Young-Readers-Every-Vol/dp/0819869678/ref=pd_sim_14_1?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0819869678&pd_rd_r=095db5ca-d94f-11e8-8b2a-43f93729c796&pd_rd_w=4bdIm&pd_rd_wg=vduCm&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=M0MB817SN3JQPCQ14PY7&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=M0MB817SN3JQPCQ14PY7

https://www.amazon.com/Saints-Young-Readers-Every-Vol-dp-B01FKTOPVU/dp/B01FKTOPVU/ref=mt_mass_market_paperback?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=

I say that I WAS going to offer that suggestion because during lunch just now I asked my kids if they had any specific favorites I could mention as examples. The reaction I got was that they find fault with most of the daily saints because they are usually all priests and/or religious, which gets a bit old after a while (no offense to our saintly brethren!). Their lives can seem so distant from what our kids face. So they said one of their favorites was St. John Paul the Great, because one of his goals was to draw more attention to "ordinary" people (their word, not mine!) who became saints. I would add another reason I admire him was because of his untiring effort to get out and be among his flock, even after age and infirmity could have given him reason to cut back. And his scholarly activities (writing, speaking, preaching) kept pace with his traveling as well, leaving us such a rich heritage of wisdom. Much of what he tried to complete were things important popes before him (like Leo XIII) saw as great needs in the Church, and he worked tirelessly to follow through on meeting those needs.

But I still think you can't go wrong having a saint-a-day! Aside from the books we use, another great source for that is the website: catholicculture.org. Or by giving them the Ignatius Press biographies of saints. Sometimes they can find one with whom they really connect and that can be inspiring for them.

HTHs,
AMDG,
Sarah
(who has decided we need an updated lives of the saints for all the "ordinary" folks who have made it. Anyone have a recommendation for that?)

[Michael]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

(who has decided we need an updated lives of the saints for all the "ordinary" folks who have made it. Anyone have a recommendation for that?)

I don't know of any book on this topic, but your request reminded me of one of the most unique (yes, I know that's an oxymoron) churches I've ever visited. It was in a small Kentucky town, at a Catholic church where a friend of mine was married. The church was called "All Saints" but the focus was on saints from 1900 to present. It was really cool to see saints who've been photographed and who are dressed in somewhat modern clothing!

[KF2000]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

I don't know of any book on this topic, but your request reminded me of one of the most unique (yes, I know that's an oxymoron) churches I've ever visited. It was in a small Kentucky town, at a Catholic church where a friend of mine was married. The church was called "All Saints" but the focus was on saints from 1900 to present. It was really cool to see saints who've been photographed and who are dressed in somewhat modern clothing!

There was a St John’s church in Virginia that we visited for a wedding that had a similar emphasis. They recently remodeled the church to return it to a more beautiful, traditional architecture, and they established side altars all along the interior walls, for which they chose modern-era saints. It was really cool!

AMDG,
Sarah

[Hahcook]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

https://mcgrath.nd.edu/resources/?utm_campaign=Content%20Offers%20Fall%202017-2018&utm_source=hs_automation&utm_medium=email&utm_content=66990833&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8FYSGPantE5kGFL8nBhmKcT2wiBmXxg93SPZ9kF5FhRs08IxQOuOkfd8IjeBBDYl_GUIaETa7ch3PN4q7EprS2BqSWxQ&_hsmi=66990833

This is a recent discovery. There are several resources listed but if you go down further, they have a ‘teaching the saints’ workbook that you can download for free. They give one-page write-ups of a great variety of saints..some are familiar and some are less familiar to our family.

[Mom2mthj]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

My kids loved Once Upon a Time Saints by Ethel Pochocki

https://www.amazon.com/Once-upon-Saints-Ethel-Pochocki/dp/1883937159/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1540591312&sr=8-1&keywords=once+upon+a+time+saints&dpID=61gHsX1OxJL&preST=_SX258_BO1,204,203,200_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

[DiannaKennedy]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

I don't know of any book on this topic, but your request reminded me of one of the most unique (yes, I know that's an oxymoron) churches I've ever visited. It was in a small Kentucky town, at a Catholic church where a friend of mine was married. The church was called "All Saints" but the focus was on saints from 1900 to present. It was really cool to see saints who've been photographed and who are dressed in somewhat modern clothing!

All Saints in Taylorsville?

[DiannaKennedy]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

Some who stand out for me ......

St Martin de Porres —— perseverance and hard work in the face of social and racial prejudice, with a hefty side dish of poverty. If you have younger children, there’s a picture book called Rose in the Desert that is lovely.

St Zita —- patroness of domestic workers.

And St Gianna, of course. 😍 As a momma who works in the health care field, she’s a special model for me.

[Michael]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

All Saints in Taylorsville?

No, I've never been to that church. This was one in a different part of the state, not near Louisville.

[Anita]

Re: Saints with a strong work ethic

St Joseph of Cupertino was/is the patron Saint of our homeschool. His personality is so complex but his perseverance, success and sanctity were so wonderful, we prayed to him quite often for help on tests and difficult assignments. Definitely worth looking in to.