St Benedict and The Instruments of Good Works - 2

Continuing...

(44)  To fear the day of judgment.

(45)  To be in dread of hell.

(46)  To desire eternal life with all spiritual longing.

(47)  To keep death before one's eyes daily.

(48)  To keep a constant watch over the actions of our life.

(49)  To hold as certain that God sees us everywhere.

(50)  To dash at once against Christ the evil thoughts which rise in one's heart.

(51)  And to disclose them to our spiritual father.

(52)  To guard one's tongue against bad and wicked speech.

(53)  Not to love much speaking.

(54)  Not to speak useless words and such as provoke laughter.

(55)  Not to love much or boisterous laughter.

(56)  To listen willingly to holy reading.

(57)  To apply one's self often to prayer.

(58)  To confess one's past sins to God daily in prayer with sighs and tears, and to amend them for the future.

(59)  Not to fulfil the desires of the flesh.

(60)  To hate one's own will.

(61)  To obey the commands of the Abbot in all things, even though he himself (which Heaven forbid) act other-wise, mindful of that precept of the Lord: “What they say, do ye; what they do, do ye not.”

While it's not the sort of thing you might think to focus on at work, the first four strike me right now:

• To fear the day of judgment
• To be in dread of hell
• To desire eternal life with all spiritual longing
• To keep death before one's eyes daily

Remember Holy Mother Church's traditional advice to meditate on "the Four Last Things": death, judgment, heaven, hell. I have a good book on this by Regis Martin which I read during a vacation a few years back, but I must say I don't really spend much time taking HMC's advice here - and I really should.

So should we spend our work days meditating on the Four Last Things? That's not the point here. The point would be 1) not to get wrapped up in our work such that we start thinking either it's more important than our prayer; 2) make sure you take time during your work days (before, during, after) for prayer, reading, meditation, Holy Mass whenever possible, examination of conscience, etc. (as long as these bring us closer to God) 3) our work - besides putting food on the table - should be performed such that it helps us along the road to eternal life. All the rest - money, satisfaction, promotions, success, etc. - comes second. 

Suggestion: if you have a few quiet moments to yourself at lunch to, take a stab at thinking about the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell. If you're like me, my guess is those moments will be better spent than whatever ever other thoughts might just pop into your head.

Don't forget the Four Last Things!