There are three basic needs each man must satisfy for fulfillment, to achieve his potential. Freud identified two of these (though he is not the first nor is he alone) when he talked about love and work. Saint Benedict had a more complete picture with “ora et labora” or pray and work - all of which takes place in the presence of a community. Together, the three basic needs can be identified as the need for work, the need for love, and the need for God.
At the most basic level, man must work. He must provide for himself and his family. But this is more than mere drudgery. Man must subdue the world around him. It is true that a consequence of original sin was that “in toil you shall eat,” but God also commanded that we should “subdue the Earth.” Work is necessary for fulfillment as a human being. It is a duty given to each and every living person - to be productive, to work.
Work alone is insufficient for man’s fulfillment. Man must be connected to others. We are created as social beings. We need one another; to be a part of a community. We are not merely isolated individuals, we are members of a people. To be achieve our potential and be fulfilled, we must connect with the people around us. We must engage with others, affect them, be affected by them. It is with other people that we achieve our full potential - not away from them.
Man needs God. Without God, everything else is merely activity - there is no fulfillment; there is no potential. All activity becomes utterly pointless. The reason fo of our being on Earth is to know God, to love God, and to serve God. We must pray, we must worship, we must seek God. This is what we are created for - to deny this is to deny our potential. The only way you or I or anyone will ever be fulfilled is in reaching out to God.
Finally, these three elements must not be separated. Our need for God is not something that is done outside of our daily lives. All of our life, all that we do, all whom we meet and love are integrated into our relationship with God. We cannot find God while neglecting our work and our neighbor. Our work, our relationships, or entire lives must become a communion with the Almighty. If you want to find God your entire life, your work, your love must become a prayer, a sacrament.
