A Theology of Housework for the Unmotivated

Kimberly Andrich learns to find God in housework and other menial tasks and shares the insights she has gained.

Housework overwhelms me. I look around my house where twenty years and five kids worth of things have accumulated. I often joke that every place has a thing, but every thing does not have a place. 
 
Years of battling chronic fatigue and health issues, made worse by stress and overwhelm — including overwhelm about cleaning — has had its affect on the state of my house. And it’s not particularly pretty. 

Making the work meaningful

 
Recently, as I am in the process of recovering from my health issues, I am finding some increased motivation to clean. I find, for myself, if the work has some purpose beyond a temporarily clear counter, I am more likely to stick with it. I have been learning a few things about making the work meaningful. 
 
Jesus has taught us that the one thing necessary is to sit at His feet and learn from Him. However, work still needs to be done. Sometimes we need to be like Martha but without losing sight of Mary.  
 
God can work through our daily duties and reach us there. As is often said, He meets us at the kitchen sink. 

6 insights that help me persevere

Here are six things I have been reflecting on that have helped me to persevere in sweeping the floor and organizing the shoes:

Ora et labora.

For St. Thomas [Aquinas], practically speaking, there is no contradiction between contemplation and activity … Sacrifice, obedience, mortification are capable of bringing him back to the Father. Intense intellectual or manual work purifies the mind of preoccupations that make conscious union with God impossible” (Robert Cardinal Sarah, God or Nothing, 210)

Life needs to be a balance of work and prayer. We are both body and soul, and our lives consist of physical and mental activity as well as spiritual activity. Our God is creative and ordered, and work and prayer participate in both the creative and ordered aspects of God. As we strike this balance, prayer begins to permeate our work and give it depth so that work becomes a prayer and an offering to God. Thus, work can be infused with the “one thing necessary.”  
 
 

This is the will of God.

Often when I spy the laundry that remains unfolded in a basket, I roll my eyes. “Isn’t there something more important I could be doing right now?” Not necessarily, says Father Walter Ciszek. Father Ciszek had plans of being a missionary to the Soviets but was captured and brought to a work camp then put in isolation. He felt his days were wasted until God revealed to him that the circumstances and people he encountered each day were God’s will, no matter how monotonous, arduous, or routine. While we often try to look elsewhere for God’s will, it is in the things that are set before us, which we so easily overlook — housework included.  

Offering it up.

We can make an offering of our housework to God in an act of love, of obedience, and of mortification. For many of us, the monotonous task of washing the pots and pans can feel like a small but toilsome cross. However, just like any cross, we can offer this one to Christ and unite it to His cross so that He can use it for us and for others. We can give our yes to Him, remaining obedient to Him and to the vocation to which He has called us. Even washing a single dish does not need to be a wasted effort. 

Service to God and to others.

Our Lord does not so much look at the greatness of our actions, or even at their difficulty, as at the love with which we do them. (Story of a Soul)

Saint Thérèse has taught us to do small things with great love.Even the smallest task, when done with love for Christ and for those we serve, has great significance and bears great merit. Sorting through papers on the counter, when done with a spirit of love and of joyful generosity, is immensely pleasing to God and also lifts our spirits. 
 

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph did menial jobs too.

Mary was a housewife and served her family, doing household tasks and cooking. Joseph lived the normal life of a husband, father, and carpenter. Jesus lived a hidden life, helping and loving both his mother and father and eventually also becoming a carpenter and caring for His mother. By doing so, they sanctified family life and normal, everyday tasks, showing us that they also are filling us with holiness. 
 

This is God’s house too.

Our Lord lives among us. We want our homes to be clean and orderly not only for the sake of our families but also to give Him a welcoming environment in which to live with us. An orderly home is a gift to Him whom we invite to be a part of our daily lives. 

What helps you to stay motivated to do your housework? 

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Copyright 2024 Kimberly Andrich
Images: Canva