“Sentinels of the Invisible”: The Feminine Genius in the Workplace

“Thank you, women who work! You are present and active in every area of life-social, economic, cultural, artistic and political. In this way you make an indispensable contribution to the growth of a culture which unites reason and feeling, to a model of life ever open to the sense of ‘mystery,’ to the establishment of economic and political structures ever more worthy of humanity” (Pope St. John Paul II, “Letter to Women,” 1995).

For an Institution that is often accused of being anti-woman, the Catholic Church has a lot to say about the dignity and beauty of women. Perhaps no Catholic leader, at least in recent history, exemplified this respect for women more than a man — Pope John Paul II, also now often known as St. John Paul the Great.

From his “Letter to Women” to his “On the Dignity of Woman” to his great and famous devotion to Our Lady, one of the many wonderful legacies St. John Paul left us was his teaching on women.

“Standing Sentinel for God”

In one of his last public appearances, the 150th anniversary of Mary’s visit to St. Bernadette at Lourdes, St. John Paul visited Lourdes in 2004 and shared again his belief that Mary is a model for all of us, including for women. In fact, he said:

From this grotto I issue a special call to women. Appearing here, Mary entrusted her message to a young girl, as if to emphasize the special mission of women in our own time, tempted as it is by materialism and secularism: to be in today’s society a witness of those essential values which are seen only with the eyes of the heart. To you, women, falls the task of being sentinels of the Invisible!

“John Paul II felt that women had the special task of standing sentinel for God and the likeness of Himself that He infused in every human person,” writes Melissa Maleski in her new book “The Supreme Vocation of Women According to St. John Paul II.” She continues, “John Paul II believed that women were not just persons who stood watch over the invisible God but that they were soldiers who stood at the very passage between God and His likeness in mankind.”

As Catholic women in business, we have the unique opportunity to be sentinels of the invisible in the workplace. Working, as most of us do, in a secular environment, it falls to us to protect God’s likeness in our colleagues, our employees, our partners, and our customers. It falls to us to ensure that our business practices honor the dignity of the human person, to ensure that people are treated with the respect they are due as children of God, and to reflect God’s love to everyone we see. This, as St. John Paul said, is our task.

Diverse Gifts, One Call

This task doesn’t look the same for every woman. In fact, as every woman is unique, every woman’s way of living her vocation is unique. In fact, Maleski writes of the vastly different women in the Old Testament who use vastly different methods of “further[ing] God’s self-revelation to the world, in their own right” (emphasis hers). What they all have in common, she says, is their personal integrity and their devoted, active relationship with God. Each woman prays, leaving all her fears, sadness, and anger with God — and then trusts in Him for the rest.

“What we witness in these women is the operative harmony between the virtues of knowledge, understanding, wisdom, and counsel — gifts of the Holy Spirit,” Maleski writes. These gifts are ones that we have, and we are meant to use them at home, in our communities, and at work. But, as women, if we are to believe St. John Paul, we have a special call: to protect the vulnerable, to remind others that we are made in the image of a mighty and loving God, and to live with and demonstrate what Maleski calls “the audacity of feminine faith.”

Guardians of the Human Person

“The tendency of the female saints to advocate for personal dignity, integrity, and conformity to the person and message of Christ reinforces our understanding of womanhood as guardian of the person in Christ,” Maleski writes.

It is easy to understand how a mother is a guardian. But what about the woman in the workplace, whether or not she is a mother? How can a Catholic businesswoman be a guardian of the human person?

Maleski gives us the answer when she tells us of the female saints, “The works of mercy are their weapons.”

As women, then, we must use the works of mercy to stand as sentinels of God and His creation in the workplace. We can feed the hungry and give drink to the thirsty by listening to co-workers who are hungry for someone to hear them. We can shelter the homeless by sharing our lunch break with a lonely colleague. We can visit the sick by bringing a gift to a co-worker who just had a baby. We can give alms to the poor by organizing a company fundraiser for a local food pantry.

In short, we can bring Jesus to the workplace, even if He is not there overtly, by standing guard over His children there.

After all, as St. John Paul the Great said, “in giving themselves to others each day women fulfill their deepest vocations.”

Taryn Oesch DeLong, managing editor of Catholic Women in Business, is an editor and writer in Raleigh, North Carolina, where she lives with her husband and works in digital media. Passionate about supporting women in work, in life, and in health, she is assistant editor and contributing writer at FemCatholic and an almost-certified fertility awareness educator. When she’s not helping writers craft stories and writing her own nonfiction and fiction, you'll find Taryn reading Jane Austen and drinking a cup of Earl Grey tea, playing the flute or the piano, or volunteering. You can follow Taryn on Instagram and Twitter @tarynmdelong, on Facebook, or on her blog.