Sanctification of work

That was a security guard who wanted to sanctify his work. He was working in the port of Cebu were there lots of Petty crime in the area. Crimes such as stealing, robbery and even drug trafficking. He knew it was going to be a tough job . Thought long and hard. How can I help these people How can I make my job holy. He asked his friends to gather the ex convicts that he knew.

These efforts generated a group of almost sixty ex-cons that I gathered in one of the storage areas. The first words I spoke caused some misgivings: "I want to help you and hear your complaints." I suppose the scene must have been a bit curious. The presence of some of my staff —because they were policemen— did not give much confidence, but in the end they began to speak: «We don't have a job», «No one helps us because we have been in prison», «We have to feed the family», "We don't have training"... I had made a commitment to them, so after listening to them I started looking for solutions. 

I spoke with shipping line entrepreneurs, heads of port management departments, friends and many others who got in my way. In general, they did not trust that my initiative would work, but they let me do it. They couldn't get out of their astonishment: employ those who stole from them! In a short time I got help in the form of jobs – street sweepers, loaders' assistants… – and a brilliant idea that I stole from a television series: the ex-convicts were going to be Port watchers. They were going to help me guard and protect the port and the passengers.

The changes that took place were incredible. Since they knew about the thieves, no one bothered the passengers anymore and they started to line up the riot of taxis, porters, buses, jeepneys and trycicles (a well-known popular means of public transportation in the Philippines). In a short time we substantially gained in order, which was already a great advance. But my weekends were gone. Every Saturday and Sunday I was in the port with my new friends, doing activities that I will now tell you about. 

At one of our Sunday meetings – which have now become human formation classes and gatherings – I asked them if they would like to receive religious formation. The answer was unanimous: they did not know anything about God and, yes, they were interested. So I started with classes on Catholic doctrine with the collaboration of others from the Work