Published in the bulletin of Holy Ghost Catholic Church in Knoxville, TN, on the Soleminity of the Most Holy Trinity.

My dear Parishioners,
Peace! There are fourteen (14) “In Brief” articles in the Catechism of the Catholic Church addressing the Seventh Commandment of the Decalogue, ‘You shall not steal.’ The following is a reflection on CCC 2460.
Work has a primordial value. In the beginning, when God created the heavens and the Earth, part of the good creation included human work: “fill the Earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1:28). The good God, in whose image we have been made, Himself worked for six days in creation (cf. Genesis 1:27; 2:2). Since the Fall or Original Sin, the ineffectuality of our work has been seen as a punishment for sin (cf. Genesis 3:17–18). But honest work, per se, is not a punishment at all. It is one way we manifest our being in the image of God. Sloth or laziness is a sin, a sort of anti-work.
While it may seem obvious, the author of work is the human person. Contrary to the opinions of some, you actually do what you do. My late father worked in the banking industry. My mother both worked at home raising us kids and founded and ran a business selling cards and stationary, invitations and the like. To tell these people “you didn’t do that” is an offense of the highest order.
The fruits of our labors have there destination in the human person. We work not only in order to mirror God in whose image we are made, but also in order to provide the wherewithal which we require for our daily living. It is also from the fruits of our labors that we are able do share with the needy poor and to be generous. When the crime of theft occurs, breaking the Seventh Commandment ‘You shall not steal,’ that which has been stolen more often than not has been the fruit of our labors.
Our work allows us to participate in the work of creation. While none of us create ex nihilo as God did in the beginning and continues with the creation of each new human soul, we each play our role for good or ill.
When we unite our work to Christ it can be redemptive. The trick is, how do we unite our work to Christ? If our work is not honest work it cannot be united to Christ. We are not to be narco-traffickers, ponzi schemers, pimps or prostitutes… Doctors and lawyers are not the only honest or noble professionals. Grocery stock boys and checkout clerks, mechanics, painters and the like all are able to unite their honest work to Christ. This is done primarily through our daily offering such as “All that I do today dear Lord, I offer up to You.” Our labors are also united to Christ through our tithe. When we actually give ten percent (10%) of our income to God every hour of labor is thereby blessed and our honest labors are then done in Christ.
God bless you!
Father John Arthur Orr