Thrown under the bus by a fellow Catholic @ Work

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RCconvert7

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Recently I had one of those “seeing the face of God” kinds of experiences at a retreat. I was inspired to take some of that uplifting energy back to my workplace with me. I did this in form of a bulletin board of non-offensive quotes from saints peppered in among secular quotes and creating a little library in my office of books I find inspiring.

An employee who is out to get me (and a fellow Roman Catholic, no less), used these actions as a way to get me in trouble with our corporation and reported to my boss and Human Resources that I was forcing my religion on my employees and that she didn’t want to be converted to my religion… EVEN THOUGH SHE AND I ARE THE SAME RELIGION. I am so angry it hurts way down deep in my gut…

How can a sister do this to her brother? How does a hand attempt to cut out the shoulder of the mystical body of Christ? Who needs the Romans or the secular culture to crucify us when we have each other…
 
RCconvert7 said:
Recently I had one of those “seeing the face of God” kinds of experiences at a retreat. I was inspired to take some of that uplifting energy back to my workplace with me. I did this in form of a bulletin board of non-offensive quotes from saints peppered in among secular quotes and creating a little library in my office of books I find inspiring.

An employee who is out to get me (and a fellow Roman Catholic, no less), used these actions as a way to get me in trouble with our corporation and reported to my boss and Human Resources that I was forcing my religion on my employees and that she didn’t want to be converted to my religion… EVEN THOUGH SHE AND I ARE THE SAME RELIGION. I am so angry it hurts way down deep in my gut…

How can a sister do this to her brother? How does a hand attempt to cut out the shoulder of the mystical body of Christ? Who needs the Romans or the secular culture to crucify us when we have each other…
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Don’t be surprised to find Judas still doing evil within The Church.
 
There are many ways to spread the faith. The most important one is through our actions. Was it St. Francis who said “Evangelize always. If necessary, use words.” Maybe here words are not even necessary, just try (and I get the impression that you already do) to be what I call a “100 %-Catholic”. Not 110 %, not 99% - a 100 % Catholic, somebody who is always inspired by the faith. Of course nobody is perfect and personally I would be more than glad acting as a good Catholic 51% of the time, but I guess you know what I am getting at. In this case, forgiveness might be a big step forward. Assuming that you were forced to keep all faith-related things away from your workplace, nobody could force you to keep your Catholic attitude away.
And to answer your question how people can do that to each other, well, that is the world we live in. I’ll pray for you.
 
The Lord will be aware of her actions, on your part you need to remember to forgive as Jesus told Peter in Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ 22 Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.
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and remember not to judge her actions as the Lord will do that in time;
Therefore you have no excuse, whoever you are, when you judge others; for in passing judgement on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things.
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Show how your faith sustains you through the ups and downs of life. Forgive the transgression against you and remain strong in the faith that God will take care of you. This is a real opportunity to evangelize, and I will pray for you to be able to let the Holy Spirit give you the wisdom to know how to move forward.
 
Post them on the wall of your cubicle, inside, where you think no one will see them. Trust me, folks will see them.
 
RCconvert7 said:
An employee who is out to get me (and a fellow Roman Catholic, no less), used these actions as a way to get me in trouble with our corporation and reported to my boss and Human Resources that I was forcing my religion on my employees and that she didn’t want to be converted to my religion… EVEN THOUGH SHE AND I ARE THE SAME RELIGION. I am so angry it hurts way down deep in my gut…
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I can’t help with dealing with your fellow employee other than to agree that it’s a very sad situation. However, you might want to check into your rights as far as posting things in your workspace. I’m sure all employers are different, but in my workplace there are specific rights about your immediate workspace.

I shudder when I walk into a colleague’s office and see her abortion rights poster, but I’m sure she equally shudders when she walks into mine and sees my religious items. We’ve been told we can’t decorate public areas for Christmas (though “holiday” themes are OK) but if someone wants a creche on their desk that’s within their rights, even if the desk is visible from a public area.

Again, I’m sure different employers have different rules, but perhaps you can still get comfort and inspiration from your quotes, even if another employee doesn’t like it.
 
One of my friends works in a very “cosmopolitan” organization … but she does what she can.

She leaves pro-life literature “casually” strewn / arrayed around her cubicle.

You do what you can.

Forget the “persecution” … that’s what it is. Seriously. One of my most favorite priests gave a weekday homily one day at Mass … and he gave examples … much like your example … and called them persecutions … works of Satan … works of the Devil.

Just eat it.

And go about your business.

Trust me. You can look back at the end of your life and be satisfied that you did your work … your work for Christ.

Look at it this way: you are on God’s payroll.

You are working for God.

The paycheck may be made out by XYZ Corp, but you are on God’s payroll.

And when that “paycheck company” ends its relationship with you, then there will be somebody else to write the checks.

Forget the corporate ladder.

Forget “getting ahead”.

Every day, say these words: “Lord, I am on your payroll. Make me the way YOU want me to be.”

One day I was working away in my cubicle and an exceptionally beautiful gorgeous woman came over … placed her lips right next to my ear … and whispered, “I know what you do on your lunch hour.” … * Then, she suddenly got distracted … and said “what a beautiful cross” … pinned to the inside of my cube was a Cross of San Damiano … so I reached over, unpinned the crucifix and handed it to her. She became hypnotized and glided away.

So, a few days later, I went back to the store where I had bought it and asked for another one and they said they didn’t have any more and couldn’t get any.

It was a little upsetting … anyway, soon thereafter was Palm Sunday. Mass was very crowded … and sitting next to me was a large family and to keep the kids occupied, they gave all of them some palms. One little girl began weaving her palms. Weave, weave, weave. At the conclusion of Mass, they left and I was standing there and looking down … the little girl had left her creation behind … it was a cross of palm … beautifully woven. The family did not come back for it … so I waited and waited. And finally I picked up the cross of palm and the next day took it to work and pinned it on the wall of my cubicle.*
 
RCconvert7 said:
Recently I had one of those “seeing the face of God” kinds of experiences at a retreat. I was inspired to take some of that uplifting energy back to my workplace with me. I did this in form of a bulletin board of non-offensive quotes from saints peppered in among secular quotes and creating a little library in my office of books I find inspiring.

An employee who is out to get me (and a fellow Roman Catholic, no less), used these actions as a way to get me in trouble with our corporation and reported to my boss and Human Resources that I was forcing my religion on my employees and that she didn’t want to be converted to my religion… EVEN THOUGH SHE AND I ARE THE SAME RELIGION. I am so angry it hurts way down deep in my gut…

How can a sister do this to her brother? How does a hand attempt to cut out the shoulder of the mystical body of Christ? Who needs the Romans or the secular culture to crucify us when we have each other…
Click to expand...
I am sorry to hear that happened to you.

Another thought–I found a new book recently called The Catholic Briefcase by Randy Hain about being Catholic at work. Maybe it will help you.
 
RCconvert7 said:
Recently I had one of those “seeing the face of God” kinds of experiences at a retreat. I was inspired to take some of that uplifting energy back to my workplace with me. I did this in form of a bulletin board of non-offensive quotes from saints peppered in among secular quotes and creating a little library in my office of books I find inspiring.

An employee who is out to get me (and a fellow Roman Catholic, no less), used these actions as a way to get me in trouble with our corporation and reported to my boss and Human Resources that I was forcing my religion on my employees and that she didn’t want to be converted to my religion… EVEN THOUGH SHE AND I ARE THE SAME RELIGION. I am so angry it hurts way down deep in my gut…

How can a sister do this to her brother? How does a hand attempt to cut out the shoulder of the mystical body of Christ? Who needs the Romans or the secular culture to crucify us when we have each other…
Click to expand...
I have worked in an office environment and I do know your pain. It happens, and is unpleasant. I am sorry you had that experience.

But you can come out the winner. You were blindsided just as Jesus was in his passion.
He did it for you and said nothing in reprisal. Now is your chance to tell him how sorry you are that he had to feel that pain for you. Then offer it to Jesus as a gift to be used for good as he used his pain for good. To please him more, offer it for the person who did it to you with love.

Just a thought that will move his heart.
 
Thank you for all this uplifting support and prayer. The individual in question is most definitely a troubled soul.

Some of the options presented are not open to me due to the fact that I am in a position of leadership. I am, in fact, this person’s direct superior. I will definitely check out “The Catholic Briefcase.” I don’t have a cubicle, and my office is not really a personal space.

Monte’s suggestion is a good one, and I actually did something quite similar, hiding a couple choice ones behind the monitor at my workstation, where i could see them, and where they are visible when you sit down, but where they are unobtuse and only my assistants would be able to see them regularly.

The strange thing about all this is that I am not, by nature, an evangelizer. I’m not one who feels like the whole world needs to be Catholic, nor even Christian. I am (Catholic), and I’m extremely content in my relationship to Jesus and Mary. I LOVE to talk about religion and actually struggle with “small talk” because I feel like talking about things that don’t matter are a waste of breath and life and time when we could be talking about the Divine. But I’m not a “converter.” I’m just as happy to listen to others talk about their own spiritual lives, and if people are interested, I’m more than willing to tell them the virtues of the Catholic Faith… But I don’t get angry if they don’t want to join our team and ( no offense to any great souls here) I don’t have the mind or the stomach for Apologetics. I just LOVE GOD and I LOVE how HAPPY He makes me. And I do love to share that JOY…

Which is why this role of “persecuted” feels so strange to me.
 
RCconvert7, to be fair, being in a leadership role, you should have known better. I can’t say I agree with what your coworker did, especially to a fellow Catholic, but there aren’t many/any corporate environments I can think of where a display of your faith like this wouldn’t be forbidden or challenged.

I know that my employer certainly wouldn’t allow such a thing from a Christian manager (Muslims and a few others are allowed to do such things, but that’s another matter entirely). My whole team got a warning to be considerate of others’ beliefs before Christmas a couple years ago, while I got an individual talking to for mentioning in front of a Muslim coworker that I was sending out my Christmas cards. I even quit posting anything religious on Facebook after a coworker received a warning for doing the same (shortly after that, HR released guidelines stating that, aside from illegal content or “hate speech,” coworkers couldn’t get in trouble for any non-work related content they post on social networking sites, which put both of us slightly at ease).

I’m not a very overt evangelizer myself, especially at work, but I don’t hide my faith at work (at least to the degree I feel comfortable). I try to let it come through via my actions and attitudes, and if someone asks me a specific question I have no problem answering, but I always try to stop short of anything that could be deemed crossing the line.
 
Respond with love to this person. Perhaps your corporate policy does say something about religious materials though? I don’t go around posting religious stuff at work or talking too much about it, although when for our Christmas luncheon, the person who usually says grace was away, they all came to me “because you have experience with this kind of thing”. Sometimes your actions do more than posting posters.
 
tolstoy said:
Were your actions contrary to company policy?
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I don’t really know, honestly. Most of what I was charged with didn’t actually happen. I DID post some inspirational saying from Saints, but tried to find the most “inspirational” and least “religious” ones I could find. The rest was stuff I perceived to be small talk. I’m paranoid describing the situation in too much detail here, as this is a public forum and too much detail could expose anonymity. Discussion of a common acquaintance who happened to be a Priest turned into me asking too many questions about religion… I WAS more open about religion with this person, but only because I assumed it was “safe” due to the fact that said person IS CATHOLIC.
RCconvert7, to be fair, being in a leadership role, you should have known better. I can’t say I agree with what your coworker did, especially to a fellow Catholic, but there aren’t many/any corporate environments I can think of where a display of your faith like this wouldn’t be forbidden or challenged.
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Here’s the thing, Gordon… I DO know better. I let my guard down and talked about religion because I KNEW this person was Catholic. As I said, I’m NOT an evangelist by nature, and it was not my intention at all to make anyone uncomfortable. This person used this against me. The mistake I made wasn’t discussing religion in a secular, corporate context, it was discussing religion with a person I knew to be distrustful and deceitful, because I thought I could reach a ground of understanding with this person by relating to our common faith. This was then used as the very weapon to continue attacking me.
 
RCconvert7 said:
Here’s the thing, Gordon… I DO know better. I let my guard down and talked about religion because I KNEW this person was Catholic. As I said, I’m NOT an evangelist by nature, and it was not my intention at all to make anyone uncomfortable. This person used this against me. The mistake I made wasn’t discussing religion in a secular, corporate context, it was discussing religion with a person I knew to be distrustful and deceitful, because I thought I could reach a ground of understanding with this person by relating to our common faith. This was then used as the very weapon to continue attacking me.
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Around 13-14 years ago, with the team I was on at the time, we had a regular activity that fell on the same night during the fourth week of every month. In order for us to get it done in a smooth, timely manner, it required the entire team to work, virtually no exceptions. One who never attended was a lady who always had church services that night. At a non-work sponsored dinner with a couple other coworkers, I asked what sort of church she attended (she wasn’t present) since I was Catholic and had no idea which denomination held services at that time. I got in trouble for asking an inappropriate question and for being insensitive toward her. Ever since then, religion and faith are almost entirely off limits for me when it comes to work. I don’t want to give someone an opportunity or excuse to attack me over it. I have one coworker who’s a devout Catholic and we’ll sometimes talk about faith-based issues relating to our kids, but only on the phone when nobody else around, and only if she broaches the topic. Otherwise I try to remain as ignorant and apathetic about my coworkers’ religious practices as I can.
 
I’m sorry about your experience. That’s awful! Gotta’ love political correctness (sarcasm)
 
Monte_RCMS said:
One of my friends works in a very “cosmopolitan” organization … but she does what she can.

She leaves pro-life literature “casually” strewn / arrayed around her cubicle.

You do what you can.

Forget the “persecution” … that’s what it is. Seriously. One of my most favorite priests gave a weekday homily one day at Mass … and he gave examples … much like your example … and called them persecutions … works of Satan … works of the Devil.

Just eat it.

And go about your business.

Trust me. You can look back at the end of your life and be satisfied that you did your work … your work for Christ.

Look at it this way: you are on God’s payroll.

You are working for God.

The paycheck may be made out by XYZ Corp, but you are on God’s payroll.

And when that “paycheck company” ends its relationship with you, then there will be somebody else to write the checks.

Forget the corporate ladder.

Forget “getting ahead”.

Every day, say these words: “Lord, I am on your payroll. Make me the way YOU want me to be.”

One day I was working away in my cubicle and an exceptionally beautiful gorgeous woman came over … placed her lips right next to my ear … and whispered, “I know what you do on your lunch hour.” … * Then, she suddenly got distracted … and said “what a beautiful cross” … pinned to the inside of my cube was a Cross of San Damiano … so I reached over, unpinned the crucifix and handed it to her. She became hypnotized and glided away.

So, a few days later, I went back to the store where I had bought it and asked for another one and they said they didn’t have any more and couldn’t get any.

It was a little upsetting … anyway, soon thereafter was Palm Sunday. Mass was very crowded … and sitting next to me was a large family and to keep the kids occupied, they gave all of them some palms. One little girl began weaving her palms. Weave, weave, weave. At the conclusion of Mass, they left and I was standing there and looking down … the little girl had left her creation behind … it was a cross of palm … beautifully woven. The family did not come back for it … so I waited and waited. And finally I picked up the cross of palm and the next day took it to work and pinned it on the wall of my cubicle.*

A heart felt thank you! from God 👍
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