At Work on Thursday During the Octave of Easter
Last time we were calling on our Blessed Mother to help us stay "in touch" with the fact that it's the Octave of Easter. We call on her because despite the importance of this most blessed week of the year, it's not always easy to go about our work and remain aware of the profound holiness of these Octave days.
Now, if we lived in the Middle Ages, this wouldn't be such an issue. Back in the day, Christians openly shared a society and culture - what we might today call a "community" - known as Christendom. The Church, with the Pope at its head, was recognized as the supreme authority in all matters religious and - at least theoretically - secular. One effect of this "system" was an open recognition of the Liturgical Calendar of the Church. Some little bits of this venerable system remain in European countries, where "Easter Monday" is still observed as a holiday. I don't know if we'd all be off from work during the Easter Octave if Christendom still existed, but we'd likely all be sharing in the spirit of this holy time in a much more open manner.
Of course that was then and this is now. As we noted last time, our observation of the Easter Octave these days takes a more silent form. Our thoroughly secular world gives no "official" recognition to the Liturgical Calendar. In the Middle Ages, we'd be off on Holy Days of Obligation, and for some days after. Whole towns celebrated publicly. Feasting accompanied the respite from work. These days, our most recent officially declared holidays were Martin Luther King Day and President's Day. Instead of a great shared public celebration, we get a "three-day weekend." Our kids are off for "Spring Break" which usually takes no regard for Easter. Even the superficial recognition given to the two greatest Christian feast days of the year - Christmas and Easter - have been chewed up and spit out. So just as it's up to each one of us to "keep Christ in Christmas," the same holds for Easter. At work, this can prove to be a challenge as the day grinds on without the slightest nod to the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The reason we asked Our Lady's help was based on how she had to go about her daily life with only a silent recognition of the occurrence of the Incarnation, a world-changing event shared pretty much between her, the angel Gabriel, and the Holy Spirit. It would take many years for the rest of the world to recognize what it all meant.
Now, on this Easter Thursday, let's go to her again. If you've got a good relationship with Mary, this may be easy for you to do even in the midst of a busy day at work. If you're still working on establishing a more "personal" relationship with your Blessed Mother, just start with those words words of the angel Gabriel which comprise the first part of our great prayer to Mary:
You might imagine these simple words touch her heart each and every time we say them. Yes, I realize that many times we say them in a kind of inattentive, offhanded manner, especially if we tend to race through our prayers in an obligatory way to jam them into our busy day. But forget that for now. Just say those simple words with a serious yet loving intention, no matter how busy you are at work today. Maybe you can even manage to get through the rest of the prayer without being distracted too much:
Simple yet profound words, aren't they? If you have developed the habit of saying the rosary daily, perhaps you say them often. But here and now, let's just focus on the these few words. Let's do our best to say them without rushing, and with some reasonable degree of attention. Yes, that can be especially hard when we're at work, where there's so much demand on our time and
attention. But even if you can't manage to put your full time and attention into each word in the midst of your busy day, they lose none of their power.
So if you can manage it, try calling on you Mother today. In fact, let's all ask her to help us stay grounded in the spirit of the Octave of Easter as we go about out business. Just a simple Hail Mary will do the trick here, I think.
Now, if we lived in the Middle Ages, this wouldn't be such an issue. Back in the day, Christians openly shared a society and culture - what we might today call a "community" - known as Christendom. The Church, with the Pope at its head, was recognized as the supreme authority in all matters religious and - at least theoretically - secular. One effect of this "system" was an open recognition of the Liturgical Calendar of the Church. Some little bits of this venerable system remain in European countries, where "Easter Monday" is still observed as a holiday. I don't know if we'd all be off from work during the Easter Octave if Christendom still existed, but we'd likely all be sharing in the spirit of this holy time in a much more open manner.
Of course that was then and this is now. As we noted last time, our observation of the Easter Octave these days takes a more silent form. Our thoroughly secular world gives no "official" recognition to the Liturgical Calendar. In the Middle Ages, we'd be off on Holy Days of Obligation, and for some days after. Whole towns celebrated publicly. Feasting accompanied the respite from work. These days, our most recent officially declared holidays were Martin Luther King Day and President's Day. Instead of a great shared public celebration, we get a "three-day weekend." Our kids are off for "Spring Break" which usually takes no regard for Easter. Even the superficial recognition given to the two greatest Christian feast days of the year - Christmas and Easter - have been chewed up and spit out. So just as it's up to each one of us to "keep Christ in Christmas," the same holds for Easter. At work, this can prove to be a challenge as the day grinds on without the slightest nod to the Resurrection of Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
The reason we asked Our Lady's help was based on how she had to go about her daily life with only a silent recognition of the occurrence of the Incarnation, a world-changing event shared pretty much between her, the angel Gabriel, and the Holy Spirit. It would take many years for the rest of the world to recognize what it all meant.
Now, on this Easter Thursday, let's go to her again. If you've got a good relationship with Mary, this may be easy for you to do even in the midst of a busy day at work. If you're still working on establishing a more "personal" relationship with your Blessed Mother, just start with those words words of the angel Gabriel which comprise the first part of our great prayer to Mary:
Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
You might imagine these simple words touch her heart each and every time we say them. Yes, I realize that many times we say them in a kind of inattentive, offhanded manner, especially if we tend to race through our prayers in an obligatory way to jam them into our busy day. But forget that for now. Just say those simple words with a serious yet loving intention, no matter how busy you are at work today. Maybe you can even manage to get through the rest of the prayer without being distracted too much:
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen
So if you can manage it, try calling on you Mother today. In fact, let's all ask her to help us stay grounded in the spirit of the Octave of Easter as we go about out business. Just a simple Hail Mary will do the trick here, I think.
Happy Easter!
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