Eric Meyer, 54, has worked in the pharmaceutical industry for more than 20 years. His first book, The Catholic Company Man, published this year by Wipf and Stock Publishers, is a compilation of personal stories from his business career coupled with quotes from Scripture and the Catechism of the Catholic Church which he says offer an “‘on ramp’ to deeper curiosity about our faith.”
Meyer grew up Catholic but took a deeper interest in his faith at age 40 when he began reading the Catechism. He currently lives in Moscow, ID, but he has relocated nine times during his career and still spends more than 100 days annually on the road.
What impressed you about your Catholic faith when you began studying the Catechism?
The most interesting thing to me was that I found all the answers there, whether the topic be economics and finance, sex and marriage, drug abuse, culture, international relations, or any number of other things.
Also, I noticed that on the topic of economics, the Church makes statements on things that I found very pragmatic. For example, it teaches about the principle of subsidiarity, that a community of a higher order should not interfere in the internal life and community of a lower order. If you have a problem, you solve it on the local level, and only move it up if you have to.
How do you find the time to balance family and maintain a spiritual life when you’re frequently on the road?
It is hard. I tell people in the corporate world that I have an order of priority: God, my wife, my children, and my work. It sounds like I put work last, but if I don’t have the first three things in order, I wouldn’t be able to work well.
Fortunately, for me, when I’m on the road, it isn’t difficult managing my family because my wife stays home and does it so well. She is the house CEO, so I don’t have to worry about the house while I’m gone.
One significant professional challenge is that it seems that all our big national meetings occur at the beginning of Lent. I have to manage attending meetings, attending Ash Wednesday services, and making sure to request meat-free meals.
What are some of your favorite stories from the book?
One is called “500 Beers and a Seminarian.” When I was young, I managed a theater company. We were in Australia, and I had a week off, so some friends and I rented a condo on the beach with the intention of drinking 500 beers in five days — something stupid you do when you’re young.
One morning that week, I took a jog and heard church bells. I thought, “I’d better go to Mass.” I ran over to the church, turned a corner, and ran into a seminarian my age in a cassock. I apologized and asked, “When is Mass?” He grabbed my arm and led me to a side chapel in which 12 seminarians were going to Sunday Mass.
There I was, sweating and hung over, and the Holy Spirit led me to 12 seminarians doing something serious and deliberate with their lives. The faith was real, and here were young people engaged in it. It started a reversion experience in my own life.
What are your tips for sharing your faith with co-workers on the job?
I’m no street-corner preacher, so my thing is to let people know I’m Catholic and have conversations flow from there. I might mention I’ve been to Sunday Mass, or people might see a crucifix on my desk or rosary in my pocket.
We need to take our faith to work and be proud of who we are. And, once we acknowledge that we are Catholic, it becomes a starting point for further conversation.