For better or worse, work is a fact of life for most of us. Here William Droel hopes to help us see our work as more than a job or a salary. He looks to the writings of Pope John Paul II for guidance and inspiration and finds it abundantly. John Paul II was a worker even from his young adult years and throughout his life he gave considerable thought to the meaning of work from a Christian perspective. His philosophy of work builds on the innate longings, aspirations, and virtues of the clerk at the counter, the typist at the computer, the producer in the control room, the nurse on the floor, and the executive in the meeting room. Drawing on excerpts from the Pope s talks, statements, and poems and on his complete encyclical On Human Work (Laborem Exercens), Droel offers commentary and questions for reflection and discussion throughout and invites us to look at our work as a contribution to the world, a source of personal satisfaction, and above all as a vocation.William Droel