The Scottish Queen (and Saint) Who Left a Legacy of Using Influence for Good
“Many people mistake our work for our vocation. Our vocation is the love of Jesus” (St. Mother Teresa).
Saint Margaret’s story of royalty isn’t like the story of most other monarchs. The daughter of a princess, she fled her home country as a girl; was shipwrecked with her family in a foreign country where she won the heart of a king; and left a legacy of refining a king and culture, exhibiting endless works of charity, and founding churches and abbeys. Part “The King and I,” part “Swiss Family Robinson,” this girl didn’t just walk the royal walk. She rolled up her sleeves and got her hands dirty.
She is said to have been totally genuine, totally devout, and totally devoted to God. She read the Bible to her husband and was the catalyst that helped him become a virtuous king, paving the way for the Catholic faith in Scotland. She oversaw her household and her children’s schooling. Though she was in the world — involved with the affairs of her family and her country — she remained remarkably not of the world. She fasted often. Only after she personally fed the orphans and the poor would she eat. And she was known to wash the feet of beggars on her way home.
Saint Margaret of Scotland was a wife, a mother, a Catholic, and a leader, and her legacy holds as much meaning to us today as it did when she was alive in the 11th century.
Inviting Our Faith to Permeate Our Lives
Being women on fire for our Catholic faith, and not just allowing it but inviting it into our professional lives, means, at minimum, that we risk popularity and advancement. We could isolate our faith to a private corner of our lives, not to be spoken about or put into action, just as we could keep our hands clean and donate money to someone else doing the hard, unglamorous acts of service. But could popularity and even career advancement be concessions we’re willing to make, and a personal and active investment in the lives of the less fortunate be an effort we’re ready to take to be true to our faith, purpose, and to ourselves?
We’re all aware of the attacks on and scrutiny of the Catholic faith-driven personal life of Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the new Supreme Court justice. She is a devout Catholic wife, mother, and professional. At one point in the Supreme Court confirmation hearings, Missouri Senator Josh Hawley pointed out that many of the accusations directed at this woman are around her Catholic beliefs and her faith, not her expertise, her profession, and her record.
He stated, “When you tell somebody that they’re too Catholic to be on the bench, when you tell them they’re going to be a Catholic judge — not an American judge — that’s bigotry.” There are times when Judge Amy Coney Barrett is being treated as if she’s Catholic versus American — and as if they’re conflicting things. This questionable examination of her faith life in regards to her career is significant. As women, it’s important to us. As Catholic women in business, it’s an even bigger deal.
The alternative to compartmentalizing our faith is inviting it to permeate our entire being, and Saint Margaret of Scotland is a shining example of how to do so. Here are a few Saint Margaret-inspired ways you can live out your faith at work.
Taking Initiative to Grow in Faith and Influence the Same in Others
1. Daily Scripture Reading
Catholic priest and dynamic speaker Father Larry Richards is known for the phrase, “No Bible, no breakfast! No Bible, no bed.” His scripture desk calendar is a great way to keep on track.
2. Daily Meditation on Faith and Works
This yearbook of prayers and meditations from St. Teresa of Calcutta is my all-time favorite.
3. Sharing the Faith
Invite family members to read and pray with you, or start a prayer group with friends or other Catholic women.
Active Investment in the Poor: Volunteering
When’s the last time you volunteered? There is more than one way to weave service into your life:
Look for church or community groups performing acts of service
Offer your time and expertise to local nonprofits, like crisis pregnancy centers, soup kitchens, or food banks.
Use company-offered volunteer time off, or present this program to your employer with a request to implement it.
Making the Decision to be Catholic First and Foremost
When asked about the driving mission behind Catholic Women in Business, founders Emma Moran and Elise Crawford Gallagher commented that they desired to build a community to support Catholic women who felt called to work in business: “How do we integrate faith and virtue into our business, as well as faith in our family?” Moran reflected that the dignity of work and the call to labor is inherently good, and we must remember to bring prayer into our goal-setting and to unite our will with God’s.
This community called Catholic Women in Business exists to “serve as a resource and community for women to grow professionally and spiritually alongside other women.” We believe that being dynamically Catholic and professionally expert go hand-in-hand with each other and offer us a rich foundation. Let’s pray for each other as we strive to be authentic and virtuous Catholic businesswomen (and, for many of us, wives and mothers, too) like Queen Saint Margaret of Scotland.
Laura Pugliano is marketing and content strategist at the digital solutions provider Candoris and an alumna of Franciscan University of Steubenville. Along with her husband, she’s working to launch a brand and bottle the olive oil that her Italian in-laws produce in Southern Italy, where she and her family spend summers in the sea, sun, and olive groves. Join Laura on Twitter and Instagram.