Work, professional prestige, is the lamp on which the light of Christ must shine. What apostolate could a mother carry out if she did not conscientiously take care of her home so that her husband and children would find a pleasant place to live? How could a student who did not study speak of God to his friends, a businessman who did not live the principles of the Church's social justice with his employees...? The whole life of the Lord makes us understand that without the diligence, industriousness and constancy of a good worker, the Christian life is reduced, at best, to desires, perhaps apparently pious, but sterile both in personal holiness and in the clear influence that we have to exert around us. Every Christian "must act in such a way that those who treat him perceive the bonus odor Christi (cf. 2 Cor 2:15), the good odor of Christ; he must act in such a way that, through the actions of the disciple, the face of the Master can be discovered". For this, the example in that which constitutes the backbone of every man, work, must come first (the sick, the handicapped, must be a light - and how he shines - by being a good patient, carrying his own burden with a supernatural sense). The Lord wants the pharmacist to be competent in the medicines she dispenses, and that when it is opportune she knows how to give human and supernatural advice that helps and encourages, and that the cab driver knows the streets of the big city well, that the driver of a public means of transportation does not mistreat the passengers with a bad way of driving....
From the beginning of their public life they know the Lord as the craftsman, the son of Mary. And at the hour of the miracles the crowd exclaims: "He did everything well, absolutely everything: the great wonders, and the small, everyday things, which dazzled no one, but which Christ performed with the fullness of the one who is perfectus Deus, perfectus homo (Quicumque Symbol), perfect God and perfect man. Jesus, who wanted to use in his teachings the most diverse trades, "looks with love at work, its various manifestations, seeing in each of them a particular aspect of man's likeness to God, Creator and Father".
To have professional prestige it is necessary to take care of the formation in one's own activity or trade, dedicating the necessary hours, setting goals to perfect it every day, even after finishing the studies or the period of apprenticeship proper to every job. On many occasions the academic results, for a student, will be a good index of his love for God and neighbor. Works are love.
As a logical consequence of this commitment and of the seriousness of his task, the Christian faithful will have among his colleagues the reputation of a good worker or a good student that is necessary for him to carry out a profound apostolate. Without even realizing it, he will be showing how the doctrine of Christ becomes a reality in the midst of the world, in an ordinary life. And this proves the correctness of St. Ambrose's comment: things seem less difficult to us when we see them realized in others. And everyone has the right to this good example.