By: Tori Manuel
In a world where the phrase “Thank God It’s Friday” reigns supreme, a local innovative and revolutionary radio show seeks to flip the status quo. For many of us, the promise of a relaxing weekend is what motivates us through the average workweek with high spirits. Although, instead of looking forward to only two days out of the week that always fly by, what if we could achieve that same level of excitement and motivation every day?
Luckily, “Thank God For Monday” is helping countless listeners achieve that exact goal.
Following a life-long admiration for radio media, Brother Gregory Cellini, OSF, Director of the Office of Mission, Ministry, and Interfaith Dialogue here at St. Francis College, and the founder and host of the “Thank God For Monday” radio show, would come to realize that there was something missing, a topic left uncovered in the vast media form.
“I’m listening to the radio and I’m hearing sports talk, but I’m also hearing Christian talk, political talk… and we had all these different kinds of subjects that were on the radio, but nothing on the workplace”, Brother Greg recalled. This sparked the one-of-a-kind concept that, as of 2024, would go on to inspire listeners for seventeen years. Following the show’s creation in 2006 came a pivotal event that would not only shift the financial world indefinitely, but also the lives of countless everyday people.
“The crash of 2008 occurred, people were losing jobs and homes, and so the workplace became much more of a theme and a concern in people’s lives, and what the show was offering was now able to talk to many more people… there were many more people who demanded knowing more about professional satisfaction.”
“Thank God For Monday” could not have come at a better time, aiding those left vulnerable by financial stress in their pursuit of alleviating the burden and reclaiming a part of themselves in the process. However, these struggles are not exclusive to a period in time.
Integrating Values & The Franciscan Perspective
Nowadays, it becomes far too easy to lose ourselves in the pursuit of a career that fails to reflect our character in its entirety. A successful career is not always a fulfilling one, and Brother Greg further expands on this message in his book titled “Transform Yourself - Transform the World: A Franciscan View of Career."
“What I came to learn the hard way, is that career is really all about contribution. It’s not about personal success,” Brother Greg highlighted. “What am I doing to better the world? What am I doing to serve the other?”
Brother Greg also acknowledged his own personal journey navigating initial career dissatisfaction before arriving at a current fulfilling state.
“When I was in big pharma my value system was all about money, cars, titles, fame… these disordered loves that - thank God – from which the most part I’ve been able to detach,” he expressed. “My value system has changed radically and now I’m in a place where I can really live, in St. Francis College and with the Franciscan Brothers of Brooklyn, I can really live my values, live my mission and maximize my contribution.”
The mission that we choose to envision looks different for all of us, however, being in an uplifting environment that constantly brings us closer to that goal is arguably a universal ideal. The “big company world” has a habit of suppressing our more sustaining values, and it's up to us to not lose sight of them. In doing so, we can learn to greet each new day with a much more positive mind state.
“My dream is that every person walking the Earth will get up on Monday morning, and they’ll love their job so much that they’ll say, ‘I Thank God for Monday’, that it’s time to start another week of work,” Brother Greg added, in light of his inspiration for the radio show’s title.
On the road to defining and achieving personal satisfaction, Brother Greg regularly invites inspiring guest speakers to broaden both the listeners’ world perspectives, as well as his own. Across the episodes, there is a vast number of diverse experiences to learn from, with some sharing an important theme.
“We need to treat everyone in a Franciscan way”, Brother Greg reflected. “Not because it may come back to bite you in the fanny if you don’t, but because it’s the right thing to do. It’s what God wants us to do. But, indeed when you don’t, it can be very costly.”
Embracing Growth
This lesson, along with countless others that “Thank God For Monday” has to share, are timeless and can be learned by anyone at any age. It is never too late to pursue professional, and general life satisfaction.
To embark on your own journey, episodes of “Thank God For Monday” air weekly every Saturday morning at 8:30 am EST on WSOU 89.5 FM and www.wsou.net. You can also search “Thank God for Monday” on Spotify or Apple Podcasts to access episodes after they air. Additionally, listeners can tune in to TGFM on SFC Radio's Soundcloud, on Spotify under "SFC Radio Presents" and Apple Podcast SFC Radio.
To all the students interested in the show’s mission, Brother Greg shared some final wise words.
“When you can clearly define and articulate your life purpose - why you’re here - everything else just blossoms from there”, Brother Greg expressed. “It helps you make career decisions and personal decisions, and galvanizes you to take action.”
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