Lessons from the Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict to Get Your Work Day Started - Part 3
Continuing again with lessons from the Prologue to the Rule of St. Benedict, our holy Abbot explains why a true understanding and practice of our Catholic faith should be considered fundamentally and critically important by all of us, not just monks.
In our work lives, some of us will seek and be rewarded with the sort of job that compliments our natural endowments. For example, someone with great intellectual capacity might choose a career in Academia, or pursue a career in research. One who has a deep well of emotional stability might make an excellent manager, especially in a particularly challenging environment. Some may possess the natural musical endowment necessary to become a professional musician.
On the other hand, many, if not most of us, may not be perfectly matched with the type of work we do. That "dream job" still lies somewhere over the rainbow. And for some of us, no matter how hard and far we reach, it may remain forever beyond our grasp. Yet we can still apply ourselves as best we can to the work at hand. Nothing prevents us from pursuing excellence, even if we don't love our jobs. In fact, those of us slaving away at jobs that really aren't our cup of tea have a great opportunity to offer our efforts to Our Lord as a kind of sacrifice for the intentions of those we love, or for the souls in Purgatory. That's not to say you should stick with a job that makes you miserable, of course; although sometimes necessity may cause us to do so. If you can find work more suited to your temperament or natural skills, by all means pursue it. But no matter the level of enjoyment or "fulfillment" your work provides, you can put your heart and soul into doing the best job possible, can't you?
And even when you do have a job you love, there might be certain tasks you're required to perform that you'd rather not. I know police officers who basically love the job - except for the paperwork. And that paperwork, always a thorn in the side of the average cop, has become a real crown of thorns in a time when everything must be "super-documented." Come to think of it, not may of us really enjoy doing paperwork. But rather than grind your teeth and moan every time you've got to complete endless reports and forms, you could use this as an opportunity to not only offer up what typically ranges from discomfort to something approaching suffering, but you could also make the effort to produce really fine paperwork. Really, you can.
But whether your work is wonderful or just so-so, St. Benedict reminds us:
...The Lord also saith in the Gospel: He that heareth these my words and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock. The floods came and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded upon a rock. (Mat 7: 24-25)Let's apply this need for a solid foundation to our work lives. Just as an elite athlete, despite their natural skills, continually works to build and maintain solid fundamentals - a rock - upon which to augment his or her individual skills, so too we need to ensure a solid foundation in our own lives. God has given each of us, individually, specific strengths in differing measure: physical, intellectual, and emotional endowments that can and should serve as our "rock" upon which we sharpen the skills we need to perform at our highest level.
In our work lives, some of us will seek and be rewarded with the sort of job that compliments our natural endowments. For example, someone with great intellectual capacity might choose a career in Academia, or pursue a career in research. One who has a deep well of emotional stability might make an excellent manager, especially in a particularly challenging environment. Some may possess the natural musical endowment necessary to become a professional musician.
On the other hand, many, if not most of us, may not be perfectly matched with the type of work we do. That "dream job" still lies somewhere over the rainbow. And for some of us, no matter how hard and far we reach, it may remain forever beyond our grasp. Yet we can still apply ourselves as best we can to the work at hand. Nothing prevents us from pursuing excellence, even if we don't love our jobs. In fact, those of us slaving away at jobs that really aren't our cup of tea have a great opportunity to offer our efforts to Our Lord as a kind of sacrifice for the intentions of those we love, or for the souls in Purgatory. That's not to say you should stick with a job that makes you miserable, of course; although sometimes necessity may cause us to do so. If you can find work more suited to your temperament or natural skills, by all means pursue it. But no matter the level of enjoyment or "fulfillment" your work provides, you can put your heart and soul into doing the best job possible, can't you?
And even when you do have a job you love, there might be certain tasks you're required to perform that you'd rather not. I know police officers who basically love the job - except for the paperwork. And that paperwork, always a thorn in the side of the average cop, has become a real crown of thorns in a time when everything must be "super-documented." Come to think of it, not may of us really enjoy doing paperwork. But rather than grind your teeth and moan every time you've got to complete endless reports and forms, you could use this as an opportunity to not only offer up what typically ranges from discomfort to something approaching suffering, but you could also make the effort to produce really fine paperwork. Really, you can.
But whether your work is wonderful or just so-so, St. Benedict reminds us:
...the Lord daily expects us to make our life correspond with his holy admonitions. And the days of our life are lengthened and a respite allowed us for this very reason, that we may amend our evil ways.We conclude our review of the Prologue of the Rule of St. Benedict next time...
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