Experts from different spheres have called this a time of “polycrisis.” As Pope Francis and others have explained, it is daunting enough that we face existential challenges from environmental degradation, technological dehumanization, geopolitical and ideological rigidities, as well as social and economic injustice. What polycrisis recognizes is that these forces do not exist in isolation, but instead interact and amplify one another. Facing this tsunami of problems, which are compounded by abuses of power and corruption, it is understandable that our time is also characterized by exhaustion, division, and despair. Paradoxically, these conditions of the dark night which we are suffering as humanity are the very conditions for the seeds of faith to sprout and bear fruit.
Reflecting on the calling of the first disciples in Luke’s Gospel (5:1-11), we will examine how the presence and teachings of Jesus elicit generosity and abundance from exhaustion. In that transformation, the entrepreneur-fishermen Jesus encounters begin to also form a whole different level of sacramental community. That this calling and conversion occurred in the workplace is very significant for us, showing that God’s grace works where we work!
Speaker: John Dalla Costa
Topic: Casting the Nets: Living Faith at Work
Date/Time: Thursday, 30 October 2025, 1-2 PM EST
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/join (Meeting ID: 9173535387 & Passcode: 9173535387) or Dial-in Number: +16469313860 followed by 9173535387# for access code. (No need to put in participant number, just press # again when asked.)
Speaker Bio: John Dalla Costa is an author, ethicist and theologian. With a background in interfaith dialogue, he has recently been working with various groups at the Vatican on several projects, including: to extend the lessons of synodality to corporate and organizational governance; to formulate ethics for a.i.; to apply Catholic Social Teaching to finance and investment; and to use the moral authority of the Church to remedy disfiguring policies against immigrants and refugees. John has also taught ethics and social responsibility to undergraduates, MBA students, and in Executive Education programs at the Schulich School for Business at York University (Toronto, Canada). Now on the faculty of the Centre for Carmelite Spirituality (CACS), John is responsible for the “Becoming Prophets” on-line course—forming Catholics and Christians to live in-full the prayerful role of participating in Christ’s prophetic mission. A Canadian, John and his wife—author Lucinda Vardey—now live in Italy, close to where St. Francis of Assisi received his stigmata.
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