On "Standing Out" at Work
Some people enjoy "standing out" at work. They like being the center of attention. Typically, the sales department leads the way here. Rankings, recognition, awards all come with the territory. But other areas can develop various ways to to acknowledge a job well done too.
That portion of my working life spent in sales usually found me a bit of a misfit. Earning commissions and bonuses was a lot more satisfying than any recognition that might accompany it. Frankly, I preferred succeeding "silently" without all the hoop-la. Money in the form of bonuses and/or commissions helped support my family. Awards didn't. Then again, when some of my colleagues reveled in the spotlight, I wished them the best. It just wasn't for me.
Today's Station of the Cross will help put all this in perspective.
As you might remember, to help sustain our Lenten discipline at work, we continue our journey with Our Lord during Lent, posting the Stations of the Cross, one at a time, using St. Alphonsus Liguori as our guide. (Click HERE for a complete pdf of St. Alphonsus's version of the Stations of the Cross.)
Station 11: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
St. Alphonsus writes:
Consider how Jesus, after being thrown on the Cross extended His hands, and offered to His Eternal Father the sacrifice of His death for our salvation. These barbarians fastened Him with nails, and then, raising the Cross, allowed Him to die with anguish on this infamous gibbet.
My Jesus! loaded with contempt, nail my heart to Thy feet, that it may ever remain there, to love Thee, and never quit Thee again. I love Thee more than myself; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Relating this to our work day:
Our Lord stood out throughout his entire public life. But He did so not to bolster His ego, enjoy the accolades, or receive any reward or any kind. He did so out of love. He gave all of His time and energy to leave us an example how to live such that we could enjoy eternal happiness. But as we contemplate Jesus being nailed to the Cross, then raised up for all to witness, we find another example: how to die. And that example applies not just to our physical death. Our Lord's complete self-giving, put on display for all to see, shows us how to handle our everyday struggles and disappointments. It shows us how to take up every cross that comes to us throughout our lives. As we watch Him there on the Cross, we learn the importance of dying to self by giving up our desires to bolster our ego, desire accolades - even when deserving - or seek the "rewards" offered by the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Nailed to His Cross, Our Lord's appearance gives us a vivid image to which we Catholics have turned for centuries to keep our hearts and minds focused on what's really important: eternal happiness. As we gaze on that image in a special way during these final days of Lent, we pray for the grace to overcome our attachments to the things of this world.
At work today, no matter how busy we may be, we might consider a glance or two at the crucifix attached to the rosaries we carry with us. In that moment or two of simple reflection, we can learn a valuable lesson about our appearance and how to really stand out at work. It has little to do with how we appear to others, and everything to do with how we appear to Him.
We conclude today's thoughts with the simple, moving exhortation with which St. Alphonsus Liguori approaches each Station of the Cross:
That portion of my working life spent in sales usually found me a bit of a misfit. Earning commissions and bonuses was a lot more satisfying than any recognition that might accompany it. Frankly, I preferred succeeding "silently" without all the hoop-la. Money in the form of bonuses and/or commissions helped support my family. Awards didn't. Then again, when some of my colleagues reveled in the spotlight, I wished them the best. It just wasn't for me.
Today's Station of the Cross will help put all this in perspective.
As you might remember, to help sustain our Lenten discipline at work, we continue our journey with Our Lord during Lent, posting the Stations of the Cross, one at a time, using St. Alphonsus Liguori as our guide. (Click HERE for a complete pdf of St. Alphonsus's version of the Stations of the Cross.)
Station 11: Jesus is Nailed to the Cross
St. Alphonsus writes:
Consider how Jesus, after being thrown on the Cross extended His hands, and offered to His Eternal Father the sacrifice of His death for our salvation. These barbarians fastened Him with nails, and then, raising the Cross, allowed Him to die with anguish on this infamous gibbet.
My Jesus! loaded with contempt, nail my heart to Thy feet, that it may ever remain there, to love Thee, and never quit Thee again. I love Thee more than myself; I repent of having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Relating this to our work day:
Our Lord stood out throughout his entire public life. But He did so not to bolster His ego, enjoy the accolades, or receive any reward or any kind. He did so out of love. He gave all of His time and energy to leave us an example how to live such that we could enjoy eternal happiness. But as we contemplate Jesus being nailed to the Cross, then raised up for all to witness, we find another example: how to die. And that example applies not just to our physical death. Our Lord's complete self-giving, put on display for all to see, shows us how to handle our everyday struggles and disappointments. It shows us how to take up every cross that comes to us throughout our lives. As we watch Him there on the Cross, we learn the importance of dying to self by giving up our desires to bolster our ego, desire accolades - even when deserving - or seek the "rewards" offered by the world, the flesh, and the devil.
Nailed to His Cross, Our Lord's appearance gives us a vivid image to which we Catholics have turned for centuries to keep our hearts and minds focused on what's really important: eternal happiness. As we gaze on that image in a special way during these final days of Lent, we pray for the grace to overcome our attachments to the things of this world.
At work today, no matter how busy we may be, we might consider a glance or two at the crucifix attached to the rosaries we carry with us. In that moment or two of simple reflection, we can learn a valuable lesson about our appearance and how to really stand out at work. It has little to do with how we appear to others, and everything to do with how we appear to Him.
We conclude today's thoughts with the simple, moving exhortation with which St. Alphonsus Liguori approaches each Station of the Cross:
We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee.
Because by Thy holy Cross, Thou has redeemed the world.
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