“All human activity, including business, can be an exercise in mercy, which is partaking in God’s love for mankind … Enterprises exist to serve” (Pope Francis, Nov. 17, 2016, to the Participants in the International Conference of the Christian Union of the Business Executives).
In a recent post on Facebook, a friend expressed hurt, confusion, and near despair. “I could use a hug,” she wrote. As a new small business owner who serves the Church, she had been advised to volunteer her time rather than restructure her business to make a profit and be sustainable in the long term. Her adviser wanted to ensure that she did not become greedy, operating under the false assumption that a business that serves the Church and earns a profit is a near occasion of sin.
Does this advice sound like an abuse of “Catholic guilt” to you? It certainly does to me. I think the counter-argument lies in Pope Francis’ enlightening observation: Business can be an exercise of mercy and, potentially, a means of entering deeper and participating more fully in the life of God.
A Life of Beatitude
Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount provides us with a roadmap to living a Christian life—i.e., imitating Christ in the world (“imitatio Christi”). It is here that Jesus says, “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:6). To be merciful, St. Thomas Aquinas tells us, “is like saying that [a person] is sorrowful at heart (miserum cor), that is, he is afflicted with sorrow by the misery of another as though it were his own. Hence it follows that he endeavors to dispel the misery of the other person as if it were his own; and this is the effect of mercy” (Summa Theologiae, I. q. 21, a. 3). He continues:
“Mercy takes precedence over other virtues, for it belongs to mercy to be bountiful to others, and what is more, to succour others in their wants, which pertains chiefly to one who stands above. Hence mercy is accounted as being proper to God: and therein his omnipotence is revealed to the highest degree” (Summa Theologiae, II-II, q. 30, a.4).
Throughout Sacred Scripture, we witness the mercy of God, from his compassion for Adam and Eve as he clothed them with animal skin (Genesis 3:21; also see Against Heresies, 3.23.5), to his parting of the sea in the great exodus of the Hebrews (Exodus 14:21), to the Incarnation, Crucifixion, and Resurrection of Christ for the salvation of humankind (John 3:16, Philippians 2:7-11).
A Work of Mercy
The Church has outlined for us seven spiritual and seven corporal works of mercy. The spiritual works of mercy are counseling the doubtful, instructing the ignorant, comforting the sorrowful, forgiving injuries, bearing wrongs patiently, and praying for others (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2447). The corporal works of mercy are feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead (CCC 2447). Jesus tells us that when we perform the acts of mercy, we are, in fact, serving him: “Whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40).
Throughout our days, we encounter opportunities to demonstrate mercy to others, from training a new team member to the care we take when serving our customers with our products or services. If we did not have a profitable and sustainable business model, we would be unable to hire team members and continue to offer our products or services. We would be unable to grow our business and continue to promote the common good. Cash flow is a tool that enables us to accomplish our mission. In his address to Christian business executives, Pope Francis is clear: “Money must serve, not rule. Money is only a technical instrument of intermediation of comparison of values and rights, or the fulfilment of duties and saving.”
Ministers of Mercy
St. Paul tells us that the love of money is the root of all evil (1 Timothy 6:10). Love of money, which is driven by the three perennial temptations of power, prestige, and possessions, draws us and others away from God and turns us in on ourselves (known in theology as “incurvatus in se”). In this sad state, we are not serving the common good but our pathetic ego. However, for an enterprise of mercy, it is never about greed; it is about mission. And, as baptized Catholics, our mission is to serve and reconcile all things to love by administering the healing balm of mercy (Colossians 1:20).
So, then, the question becomes: How do we work to reconcile all things to Love in business? How do we become ministers of mercy in business? In the first instance, by putting on the mind of Christ (Philippians 2:5-6) and ordering our business in such a way that it becomes a vehicle of God’s merciful love in the world, always recognizing and reverencing the dignity of the human person (“imago Dei”; see Genesis 1:27). As business owners, we not only must compensate our workers at a full living wage (CCC 2409) but also appreciate the creativity and human character of our workers (Rerum Novarum, 20) providing them with the space necessary to use their gifts for the glory of God (Laborem Exercens, 25).
It is, therefore, incumbent upon us to develop profitable and sustainable business models that promote human flourishing, beginning with the individual and extending throughout our community. It is a tall order, to be sure, and much easier said than done. But, therein lies the vocation. By taking these steps, we can transform a business from an entity that exists for itself, that exists for the sake of profit for profit’s sake (Rerum Novarum, 42), into an organization that exists for the sake of others. Called to be ministers of mercy, we are afforded the unique opportunity to struggle with the “principalities and powers” of this world (Ephesians 6:12) by developing a business that embraces and shares in the struggles of our community and the people who work alongside us. Our business and our engagement in it become a means for all involved to put on the mind of Christ. As a result, our production draws us ever deeper into the life of the God, who first produced us in Love.
Your sister in Christ,
A previous version of this post was first published on 10-28-21 at Catholic Women in Business.
Vanessa Crescio is an accountant with Lipic’s Engagement in Saint Louis, MO. She holds an MBA from the University of Notre Dame and an MTS from Newman University. She is interested in thinking through co-responsibility in the Church and developing leadership programs to form Catholics to serve the Church with not only their knowledge, skills, and abilities but with the servant heart of Christ.
Very well said and well put. I agree, helping others by providing them a salary for their family or themselves is an act of charity. Obviously, it can be abused like any other act but to give up one’s business under the assumption it can lead to sin does not make the act itself bad. Keep up the great work guys!
Thank you and Tony for the standard bearers
you endeavor to encourage other to be.