Senator Ronan Mullen
I was honoured to speak at a ‘Catholic Careers Summit’ for young people recently in Dublin’s Larkhill-Whitehall parish. This event brought young adult Catholics together to think about their careers in the context of their faith. What would be the challenges for living their faith while practising their chosen profession? And what opportunities might their work offer to bring themselves and others closer to God.
It is always a privilege to meet and speak with people a generation or two younger than yourself and to offer any help you can as they make their way in the world.
People entering public life can see their work as serving the needs of fellow men and women. What they do needs to make sense to people of different-faiths-and-none who believe (1) that good is better than evil and (2) that the common good is something we should all be aiming for.
Thrive
In case there’s someone close to you whom you want to survive and thrive in the middle of the world, I reproduce here some of the ideas that came up at the summit.
- Ask yourself the questions: ‘Why am I here? Why I am alive?’ Thinking about the mystery of our existence helps us get away from the herd mentality and open ourselves to the idea that we are made for something special. The world is a mystery. Faith offers an answer rooted in the awesome dignity we enjoy as children of a loving God.
That realisation is a mission and a mandate to honour the human dignity of all whom we encounter–in everything we do. It’s pretty obvious also that we each have a different set of gifts and talents to those of other people. Putting our particular combination at the service of others is the best and happiest way to live.
We don’t have to be paralysed by any depressed sense that things were great in that far-off time when most people went to church and respected basic morality”
- If not us, who? If not now, when? The only people whom we can change is ourselves. The only time we have is now. These ideas are liberating. We don’t have to over-think about how good or bad things were in society in the past. We don’t have to be paralysed by any depressed sense that things were great in that far-off time when most people went to church and respected basic morality.
Nor must we be crippled by shame over the actions of others who failed to give Christian leadership or did wrong things. All we have is now. What is the Lord calling us to do now – in these days, in the world we live in, with the people we find ourselves among?
Remember
- Remember Mother Teresa’s dictum: “We are not called to be successful, but faithful.” This is not an excuse for mediocrity or for not taking responsibility. We must try to excel. But we work best when we see ourselves as instruments. As Bishop Robert Barron puts it, it is not about the play I am writing, producing or starring in, but about finding my place in the theodrama– the play that God has written and is producing.
Thinking about it this way, isn’t it egotism in us to expect to see the full results of our efforts? So let’s till that garden in front of us, and stop worrying about the state of the fields that may seem beyond our reach.
Who will effect positive change, if not people inspired by love of neighbour and fellow human beings?”
- Be ‘people for others’. As Bishop Barron puts it, To be holy is to do the will of God; to do the will of God is to love, and to love is to will the good of others. “See how the Christians love one another,” recorded Tertullian of the wonder of pagan Romans at the ethos of Christians who lifted up the poor and cared for the weak. As our world lurches into new forms of the old barbarism (think cruel wars, abortion and euthanasia presented as compassion, selfish drug use, the commodification of children, violent and ugly political rhetoric), who will model the alternative way to live, if not Christians? And who will effect positive change, if not people inspired by love of neighbour and fellow human beings?
Network
- ‘Network, Network, Network’. I will be eternally grateful to Mary Kenny for offering this simple advice to me around 25 years ago. We were chatting about how to put the best foot forward for what you believe in. And she spoke those vital words. Now we all have different levels of reserve and not everyone is an extrovert with an overwhelming desire to expand their network of friends or live on LinkedIn.
But if you have Christ in your life you have won the lottery. And it’s for sharing, not keeping to yourself. Love is the one thing that, the more you give it away, the more you accumulate. And showing that love to other people through all your activity touches the most surprising of hearts. And you become more effective. Relate to others out of sincere concern for them. That’s good ethics. But that leads to high-quality relationships and better results. So it is good politics too.
Think of prayer and spiritual reflection as going for a tank of petrol or diesel. You fill up and then you drive. You don’t have to tell people you have fuel in your car”
- Let’s not over-spiritualise. It’s paradoxical, but the best way to work for God is not to go on about God all the time. Think of prayer and spiritual reflection as going for a tank of petrol or diesel. You fill up and then you drive. You don’t have to tell people you have fuel in your car. They’ll know where you’ve come from as you do your daily work, campaigns and projects.