An Advent Thought: Move On at Work and Move On Spiritually
(Originally posted December 17, 2013)
When things don't work out, sometimes it's best to just move on.
Has this ever happened to you? You work on a significant piece of new business. Various pieces have to fall into place to seal the deal. But after much time and energy things just don't come together. If you've ever worked in sales, you probably know what I'm talking about.
When this happens, frustration sets in. And it might be hard to "let go." A number of years ago, I led a team that worked on a complex piece of business that just didn't come together. I had trouble letting go. Finally my boss said I had to just "move on." He was right, since there really was no point putting any more effort into this dead deal. And there was no sense dwelling on the past.
In our spiritual lives, we need to just "move on" sometimes. Perhaps the most important time for us to move on is when we've sinned. Of course, we need to confess our sins, with true contrition and firm purpose of amendment. But once we do that, we can't hold on to them. They've been forgiven. We must let them go and trust in the mercy of God.
Some of us forget this. While these days, too many of us don't believe in sin, and therefore don't think we commit any sins, there is still a remnant of faithful Catholics who understand sin and know that we are sinners. If we're not careful, we can dwell on that fact so intensely, we wind up neglecting, in a sense denying, the awesome power of God and His infinite mercy. In the 16th century, Abbot Blosius, O.S.B. wrote about this:
Then just move on.
When things don't work out, sometimes it's best to just move on.
Has this ever happened to you? You work on a significant piece of new business. Various pieces have to fall into place to seal the deal. But after much time and energy things just don't come together. If you've ever worked in sales, you probably know what I'm talking about.
When this happens, frustration sets in. And it might be hard to "let go." A number of years ago, I led a team that worked on a complex piece of business that just didn't come together. I had trouble letting go. Finally my boss said I had to just "move on." He was right, since there really was no point putting any more effort into this dead deal. And there was no sense dwelling on the past.
In our spiritual lives, we need to just "move on" sometimes. Perhaps the most important time for us to move on is when we've sinned. Of course, we need to confess our sins, with true contrition and firm purpose of amendment. But once we do that, we can't hold on to them. They've been forgiven. We must let them go and trust in the mercy of God.
Some of us forget this. While these days, too many of us don't believe in sin, and therefore don't think we commit any sins, there is still a remnant of faithful Catholics who understand sin and know that we are sinners. If we're not careful, we can dwell on that fact so intensely, we wind up neglecting, in a sense denying, the awesome power of God and His infinite mercy. In the 16th century, Abbot Blosius, O.S.B. wrote about this:
"Thy malice or thy infirmity cannot be so great as to surpass the mercy of God, which knows neither measure nor limit. God is omnipotent; He remits in one moment innumerable myriads of sins with the same facility as one single sin. He is most gracious; He is most willing to spare thee, to be propitious to thee; if thou wouldst humble thyself, if thou wilt abstain from sin, and amend they life. Therefore let not the memory of past sins disturb thee...Thou canst not put too much confidence in His goodness, if only thou dost not abuse it by sinning more easily."Pretty practical advice, I'd say. And in this holy season of Advent, when we prepare ourselves for the coming of the Divine Infant of Bethlehem, it behooves us to remember just why Our Lord, who is God, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, became a man like us, accepting the humility of birth in a stable, a life of work in the poor town of Nazareth, and a few years of public ministry leading not to His fame and fortune but to suffering and and ignominious death by crucifixion. In the words of Abbot Blosius:
"Oh! If thou knewest how ready is Christ our Lord to appease God the Father by His innocence, and to reconcile to Him His elect, who have sinned through human frailty, and resolve for the future to avoid sin! He is our advocate and pleads for us, that repenting of evil we may always obtain a most ready pardon.So take your sins to confession; be truly contrite for those sins; Accept the forgiveness of Christ Himself, who forgives through the person of the priest confessor; say your penance with a firm purpose of amendment, i.e., sincerely resolve not to sin again. (And if you do - or perhaps we should say when you do - just pick yourself up and go back to confession!)
Then just move on.
Divine Infant of Bethlehem,
come and take birth in our hearts.
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