The Work of Our Hands

March 1, 2026

A new Into the Breach video series explores the dignity of work and its pivotal relationship to faith, family and leisure

By George Matysek Jr.

March 1, 2026

A blacksmith hammers a piece of heated metal. — simonkr / Getty Images

A construction worker lays brick. A teacher grades papers. A CEO sets company goals. From cornfields to courthouses to corporate towers, millions of men devote much of their lives to labor.

At the dawn of creation, God set a rhythm of work and rest, marking both as sacred. Work orders the day, forms character, and invites man to participate in the Lord’s creative plan.

Yet many men today have lost sight of this deeper purpose. Too often, work has become either an idol or a burden — a standard of worth or something to escape. Artificial intelligence now threatens to automate human labor itself, putting the value and significance of work at risk. Meanwhile, more and more men are ill at ease, filling their free hours with endless scrolling, video games or other digital escapes.

To help men confront this crisis, the Knights of Columbus has produced Into the Breach: The Dignity of Work, a new five-episode video series that reclaims a distinctly Catholic vision of man’s mission in the world. Following the model of the original Into the Breach series released in 2020 and Into the Breach: Mission of the Family, which followed in 2023, this new installment examines modern misconceptions about work — including the reduction of identity to productivity, the devaluation of physical labor and the lure of workaholism. It shows that true fulfillment emerges when work is integrated with faith, humility, rest and leisure.

Each video, approximately 12-14 minutes in length, focuses on a different aspect of the experience of work and features experts in evangelization and catechesis, many of whom are Knights of Columbus. At the heart of each episode, a Catholic man shares how his faith helped him ground his work in his relationship with God, family and friends, and the created world.

The series is accompanied by a study guide available through the Order’s Catholic Information Service, making it an ideal resource for Cor, the Knights’ discipleship initiative focused on prayer, formation and fraternity.

“This exciting new series,” said Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly, “will help Catholic men understand God’s mission for them on earth — how work brings men closer to God and builds virtue, and how work strengthens family life and improves society.”

The reflections presented below draw from both the video series and extended interviews with those featured.

EPISODE 1: GOD’S MISSION FOR MAN

Jesse Straight’s work begins before many people wake.

On Whiffletree Farm, operated by his family in Warrenton, Virginia, the father of eight guides chickens to fresh pasture, tends hens, checks pigs, and sets up animal fencing. Each year, Straight and his wife, Liz, raise about 16,000 meat birds, hundreds of pigs and several head of cattle. They also keep 3,000 egg-laying hens at a time.

“It involves hard work, but overall, it is beautiful,” said Straight, a Catholic convert and member of Herman J. Veger Council 5561 in Warrenton. “In my mind, work is collaborating with God’s creation to take care of each other and to steward the things of this world. I want everything we do to be done in charity — from how we care for the land and animals to how I approach employees, interns, customers or vendors.”

Farming is just one of many forms of work, yet manual labor represents a kind of paradigm, according to D.C. Schindler, professor of metaphysics and anthropology at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family in Washington, D.C.

“In manual labor, we come into direct contact with creation, and we transform it and augment its goodness through our manual intervention,” explained Schindler, a member of Potomac Council 433. “But that gets expressed in analogous ways in many other fields. For example, when you write computer code, you’re transforming it and making it useful in new ways.”

Luke Bourgault.jpg — Luke Bourgault, a battalion chief with CAL FIRE and a member of Santa Lucia Council 3648 in Atascadero, Calif., stands outside Los Robles Fire Station 98. (Photo by Slav Zatoka)

Work has played a fundamental role in human fulfillment throughout history.

“God gave work to man before the fall (of Adam and Eve) because it’s essential for us to be happy,” said Kent Lasnoski, president of San Damiano College for the Trades in Springfield, Illinois, and a member of the Knights since 2017. “After the fall, it’s our vocation to try to reorder the world back to be in accord with God’s will.”

But Lasnoski cautioned against idolizing work and the trap of workaholism.

“There is a risk that man will find too much of his identity in labor, which is not the highest point of his vocation,” he said. “To find our identity exclusively in work is to misorder the goods God has given us.”

Jared Zimmerer, content marketing director and Great Books adjunct professor at Benedictine College in Atchison, Kansas, agrees.

“We live in this kind of major hustle culture right now, where I don’t sleep, I only work,” said Zimmerer, a member of St. Francis of Assisi Council 7099 in Grapevine, Texas. “I always think about memento mori (“remember death”). In the end, is it going to matter that you’re a billionaire? Probably not.”

Ultimately, work bears real fruit when performed in relationship to God.

“If one feels trapped in a cycle of stress and overwork, it’s important to stop and look at our lives in the big picture,” said Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie, a Catholic radiologist, writer and speaker based in Miami. “The measure of our success is not in our productivity, but in how well we allow God to transform us.”

EPISODE 2: WORK AND HOLINESS

David Michael Phelps, president of Harmel Academy of the Trades in Grand Rapids, Michigan, likes to ask his students what happens when a mason builds a “lousy” wall. Inevitably, the students respond that the mason has built a lousy wall.

“And I say, ‘No, you’re wrong,’” said Phelps, a member of Sacred Heart of Jesus Council 13641 in Grand Rapids. “‘He built a lousy mason.’”

Deacon Patrick Toole is pictured at the headquarters of the Diocese of Bridgeport, where he serves as chancellor. A member of St. Catherine of Siena Council 5806 in Trumbull, Conn., Toole previously worked as global chief information officer for IBM. (Photo by Paul Haring)

The point is that our actions make us who we are. While work helps order the world, it also orders the worker.

“Work has the character of a habitual activity,” Kent Lasnoski explained. “We do the same thing over and over in our work, and so it forms habits. Well, what’s a virtue except a good habit?”

He added, “If our work is disordered, if our work is not in accord with the true good of humanity, it will form vices in us.”

Forming virtue in the workplace isn’t always easy, acknowledged Mark Matthews, a VFX (visual effects) expert who has worked for DreamWorks Animation. Noting that temptations and challenges abound — some men make work their identity, while others must deal with dishonest employers — he urged Catholic men to live their faith openly, even if workplaces discourage explicit discussions about faith.

“Don’t diminish who you are; don’t diminish your faith,” said Matthews, who joined the Knights in 2022. “If people ask, ‘What’d you do on the weekend?’ Would you say, ‘Oh, I went to an event’? Or would you say, ‘I went to church’? It’s OK to say, ‘Yeah, I went to church.’”

For Stephen Minnis, president of Benedictine College and a member of St. Benedict’s College Council 4708, living out the ancient Benedictine mottos — ora et labora (“pray and work”) and ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus (“that in all things God may be glorified”) — can have a profound impact.

“For example, before I give a talk or go into a meeting, or just about anything, I say, ‘Come, Holy Spirit,’ or, ‘Hail Mary, pray for me,’” Minnis said. “If you believe in ora et labora, then your prayer is your work, and your work is your prayer — everything you do is for the glorification of God.”

The ultimate model of this unity is Jesus himself, who showed that even his work as a carpenter was redemptive. In this way, Phelps noted, the working man par excellence is Christ.

“Human work is about the restoration and participation of the restoration of all things in Jesus Christ,” Phelps affirmed. “The hero is Jesus Christ. He’s the worker. We are his apprentices.”

EPISODE 3: WORK LIFE AND FAMILY LIFE

While many consider work a personal endeavor, Dr. Grazie Pozo Christie believes it also shapes and supports the family.

“This is sometimes hard to remember in our individualistic culture, which often places personal ambition, especially in the professional sphere, at the highest level,” she said. “Becoming selfishly attached to our own professional interests can have terrible consequences for our family.”

For Mike Sweeney, a former Major League Baseball All-Star and a member of the Knights of Columbus since 2014, decisions about work are guided by clear priorities: God first, then his wife and children, then his work.

“When rightly ordered, your work is not in a tug of war with your family,” Sweeney said. “Whenever your work is destroying your family, hit the pause button and figure out if that’s what you’re called to do.”

Katie Prejean McGrady, a Catholic radio host and author who is also a working mother, echoed these sentiments.

“Work — a job — is not just this thing happening over there. An integrated person recognizes that work affects my home, and my home affects my work,” McGrady explained. “So one needs to discern deeply: Is this making me happy? Is this bringing peace? Is this glorifying God? Those three things have to swim around in our heads as we discern the work that we’re doing.”

Children are clearly affected by the rhythms of work and the jobs of their parents and other family members. Naturally, they first develop the virtues of work at home, explained Tim Gray, president of the Augustine Institute in Florissant, Missouri, and a longtime member of the Knights.

“Through simple tasks such as taking out the garbage or mowing the lawn, they begin to understand responsibility and belonging,” Gray said. “Whatever they do, they’re learning that I have to contribute and that I get to contribute — I get to be part of that work.”

Family life, Christie added, cannot flourish through individual effort alone. “Everyone has to flourish together,” she said.

Scripture offers just such a model for integrated life. In the Gospel of Matthew, before St. Joseph is identified as a carpenter, he is described as a “just man” (1:19), noted Benjamin Akers, associate professor of theology at the Augustine Institute.

“God chose Joseph to teach Jesus what the model of a man would look like — how to love God, how to love Mary as mother, how to give a good day’s work, how to pray, how to live virtue,” he said. “And Joseph wants to teach us, as well, to be just men, so that we can bring the dignity of the human person to every and any activity we do.”

EPISODE 4: WORK AND THE WORLD

For 21 straight days last January, Luke Bourgault, a battalion chief with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE), fought fires in up to 100-mph winds as three major blazes destroyed tens of thousands of homes across Los Angeles County. The work was relentless and emotionally draining — but sustained by teamwork at every level.

“I can’t do my job without the dozens of people who support what I do — who keep the lights on at the fire station, who keep our emergency vehicles running,” said Bourgault, a member of Santa Lucia Council 3648 in Atascadero, California. “Everyone is a piece of this puzzle, and the point of what we’re doing here in this world is to do what Jesus would do — impact our communities in a positive way, bring light to people’s day.”

That shared responsibility extends far beyond emergency response.

Father Dominic Couturier.jpg — Father Dominic Couturier is pictured at Harmel Academy of the Trades in Grand Rapids, Mich., where he teaches welding. He also serves as pastor of Our Lady of Consolation Catholic Parish and chaplain of Bishop Richter Council 7761 in Rockford. (Photo by Kyle Monk)

“There’s no job too small or insignificant, because all the small things add up to great things,” said Tim Gray. “If I don’t do my job well and I’m sloppy and it’s bad, it has an impact on others, and that impact can snowball.”

The moral weight behind such responsibility is rooted in Scripture, said Jared Zimmerer.

Christ’s parable of the talents shows that while people are entrusted with different levels of abilities, all are accountable for how they use them.

“It’s a loss to the world whenever someone doesn’t use his talents,” Zimmerer said. “All of us are called to go out and be the light of Christ in the world by providing our talents.”

That call also demands just structures for work itself. D.C. Schindler emphasized that workers deserve good labor conditions and fair wages.

“We need to recall that work is for man, not man for work, and that means that work needs to preserve a certain dignity,” he said. “The Church used to talk about a family wage — understood as enough to sustain a family. I think those considerations have largely been forgotten and need to be recalled.”

As artificial intelligence reshapes the workplace, safeguarding that dignity has become urgent — a major theme of Pope Leo XIV’s early pontificate.

“Pope Leo wants us to recognize that this is going to present brand-new challenges to the Church,” Schindler said. “It gives us hope that the Church will invite us to reflect anew on the nature of work and to rediscover its original meaning and vocation in a new way.”

EPISODE 5: PUTTING WORK IN ITS PLACE

Deacon Patrick Toole, a member of St. Catherine of Siena Council 5806 in Trumbull, Connecticut, never believed in “banking” vacation days for some distant future. Even while serving as IBM’s global chief information officer and general manager of technical support services, he unplugged from work to spend time with his family. At 40, he also signed up for cello lessons — and though he admitted he’s not very good, playing calms his mind and brings him joy.

Deacon Toole, now chancellor and secretary of the curia for the Diocese of Bridgeport, notes that in rest, as in work, we are to imitate Jesus. “People were constantly coming to him, asking him to heal, to do this or that,” he said. “And what did he do? He would go off and pray. So, if our Savior needed time to rest, who am I to think I’ve got a better idea?”

A primary purpose of work is to provide time and resources for leisure — such as family time, worship, and cultural activities — yet many men struggle to find balance.

Andrew Abela, founding dean of the Busch School of Business at The Catholic University of America, said men often drift between two extremes: constant busyness or sloth, both forms of acedia.

“According to St. Thomas Aquinas, acedia is a sin or a vice because it’s directly opposed to the virtue of charity,” explained Abela, a member of Padre Pio Council 10754 in Great Falls, Virginia. “It’s basically a reluctance or a denial to do the good that God is calling us to do; more generally, it’s an unwillingness to put in the effort to do the things we could or should be doing.”

Modern technology and constant connectivity can erode genuine rest while facilitating acedia.

“The reality is that now we don’t have our own time,” said Michael Hanby, professor of religion and philosophy of science at the Pontifical John Paul II Institute. “We are always connected. We are always available.”

A member of St. Jerome Council 5564 in Hyattsville, Maryland, Hanby challenges men to resist the “gravitational pull” of devices: “If you find yourself permanently distracted — craving distraction — put it away, do something else. Find ways, even for short bits of time, to be undistracted.”

Supreme Knight Patrick Kelly noted that it’s no coincidence that male friendship is declining as genuine leisure becomes scarce.

“Men are experiencing isolation and loneliness in record numbers,” he said. “It’s important to remember that strengthening your friendships and building up a sense of brotherhood require making time for leisure.”

And for men unsure where to begin, Father Dominic Couturier, a welding instructor at Harmel Academy of the Trades in Grand Rapids, Michigan, pointed to Christ’s own need for fraternal support.

“When Jesus Christ couldn’t carry the cross anymore, Simon of Cyrene came to help him,” said Father Couturier, chaplain of Bishop Richter Council 7761 in Rockford. “That’s why we men also need fraternity and brotherhood to help us on this journey. We can’t do this alone — we have to do it together.”

*****

GEORGE MATYSEK JR. is managing editor of the Catholic Review, the official news outlet of the Archdiocese of Baltimore. A member of the Knights of Columbus since 2021, he lives in Baltimore with his wife and their six children.

Archbishop William Lori blesses survivors of human trafficking.

The Work of Our Hands

EPISODE 1: GOD’S MISSION FOR MAN

EPISODE 2: WORK AND HOLINESS

EPISODE 3: WORK LIFE AND FAMILY LIFE

EPISODE 4: WORK AND THE WORLD

EPISODE 5: PUTTING WORK IN ITS PLACE

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