A New Man at Work
Lent is over. We're celebrating Easter now. No more of those Lenten sacrificies and mortifications. It's time to rejoice.
But it's not time to go back. The purpose of Lenten sacrifice and mortification isn't just a kind of spiritual diet where you lose some weight and then put it back on after you stop dieting. The purpose is change - a profound change for Christ and the imitation of Him, vs. the wordly life we typically lead.
For us Catholic men at work, it's not just "business as usual" this Easter Monday. Something should have changed. We arrive ready to go, but not in the same way. If not, we're not getting the point of either Lent or Easter.
Christ rose to complete the work of His passion and death on the cross. The suffering was a means not an end. The end was salvation for all and the opportunity for an eternal life of joy and happiness with Him. The key is with Him.
Now He is with us forever. He should be right here in the office, in the car, in the train. He should be right there with us as we apply ourselves to our work - a part of everything we do. And everything we do should be for Him, for His greater glory, not our own.
The money we earn, the praise or rewards we receive for a job well done, the advancement we may earn because of our efforts, all are for Him now. We know that His sacrifice, and the great hope of the Resurrection from the dead point us in the right direction - toward Him, toward Heaven.
Now is not the time to slack off our prayer and work. It's the time to transform ourselves from the self-centered, self-important men we were and, as St Paul said, put on Christ. The old man died on the cross on Good Friday, with Him. The new man just showed up at work. Work like a new man.
But it's not time to go back. The purpose of Lenten sacrifice and mortification isn't just a kind of spiritual diet where you lose some weight and then put it back on after you stop dieting. The purpose is change - a profound change for Christ and the imitation of Him, vs. the wordly life we typically lead.
For us Catholic men at work, it's not just "business as usual" this Easter Monday. Something should have changed. We arrive ready to go, but not in the same way. If not, we're not getting the point of either Lent or Easter.
Christ rose to complete the work of His passion and death on the cross. The suffering was a means not an end. The end was salvation for all and the opportunity for an eternal life of joy and happiness with Him. The key is with Him.
Now He is with us forever. He should be right here in the office, in the car, in the train. He should be right there with us as we apply ourselves to our work - a part of everything we do. And everything we do should be for Him, for His greater glory, not our own.
The money we earn, the praise or rewards we receive for a job well done, the advancement we may earn because of our efforts, all are for Him now. We know that His sacrifice, and the great hope of the Resurrection from the dead point us in the right direction - toward Him, toward Heaven.
Now is not the time to slack off our prayer and work. It's the time to transform ourselves from the self-centered, self-important men we were and, as St Paul said, put on Christ. The old man died on the cross on Good Friday, with Him. The new man just showed up at work. Work like a new man.
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