Starting Fresh Again at Work
After 40 days of Lent and 50 days of the Easter Season, culminating with Pentecost, we're now in that time known in our modern "Novus Ordo" calendar as "Ordinary Time." And so we might see this new time of our Liturgical Year as a beginning of sorts.
I've always liked beginnings. There's something fresh about them. It's like waking up each day, in those early moments, before the world sinks its teeth into you. You get a few minutes to pray, recollect yourself, thank God for the fresh new day, the chance to know, love, and serve Him anew. It's kind of a mini "new lease on life" every morning. Thus a beginning can be a fresh start.
In that light, let's seize the opportunity to carry over that fresh start to work today. One way to do this might be to begin with a prayer to the patron saint or saints of our work. (If you don't have a patron saint for your work, or haven't yet designated one, or just don't know about this patron saint thing, click HERE and HERE for some explanation and ideas.) I've got two: St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Joan of Arc. Here's a little prayer I say - when I remember - to these great saints before I begin my work:
"St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Joan of Arc, pray for us. By your intercession, may I work this day for the greater glory of God, the welfare of my family, the benefit of my clients, and the common good."
Short and sweet. Notice the prayer includes an intention. That intention helps to re-focus my mind on my work in a particular way. It's got nothing to do with making money, advancing my career, building my business. It's not concerned with finishing a project with a looming deadline, dealing with a problem that I haven't yet figured out how to solve, etc. It strips everything down to the essential, most important aspects of my work.
If I'm not working for the greater glory of God, what does all the rest matter? Making money only really matters in the context of providing for my family. And isn't the whole point of my business to serve others, to apply my brains and brawn in ways that benefit others? Finally, the flip side, so to speak, of working for God's greater glory should be the "common good." To understand what we mean here, recall the two great commandments:
So what's your intention as you begin your work day? Something like this? Something different? Think it through for yourself. Just don't get sidetracked by the stuff that's waiting for you when today's work begins. You can deal with all that in due time throughout the course of the day.
With that, we've got our fresh start for this new cycle of "Ordinary Time" in the Liturgical Year. And we've taken that fresh start and applied it to our work today. In fact, we could do this every day now that I think about it. Don't you find the idea that every morning brings a fresh, new day appealing? I do.
Now, tie that idea in with a sense of gratitude and we've got something really special - and it's not dependent on whether you love your job, or whether things are going particularly well right now. That fresh start won't be squelched by some thorny problem that awaits your arrival at work today. Our fresh start stands, straight and strong, on its own.
With that, let's get down to work!
I've always liked beginnings. There's something fresh about them. It's like waking up each day, in those early moments, before the world sinks its teeth into you. You get a few minutes to pray, recollect yourself, thank God for the fresh new day, the chance to know, love, and serve Him anew. It's kind of a mini "new lease on life" every morning. Thus a beginning can be a fresh start.
In that light, let's seize the opportunity to carry over that fresh start to work today. One way to do this might be to begin with a prayer to the patron saint or saints of our work. (If you don't have a patron saint for your work, or haven't yet designated one, or just don't know about this patron saint thing, click HERE and HERE for some explanation and ideas.) I've got two: St. Ignatius Loyola and St. Joan of Arc. Here's a little prayer I say - when I remember - to these great saints before I begin my work:
"St. Ignatius of Loyola and St. Joan of Arc, pray for us. By your intercession, may I work this day for the greater glory of God, the welfare of my family, the benefit of my clients, and the common good."
Short and sweet. Notice the prayer includes an intention. That intention helps to re-focus my mind on my work in a particular way. It's got nothing to do with making money, advancing my career, building my business. It's not concerned with finishing a project with a looming deadline, dealing with a problem that I haven't yet figured out how to solve, etc. It strips everything down to the essential, most important aspects of my work.
If I'm not working for the greater glory of God, what does all the rest matter? Making money only really matters in the context of providing for my family. And isn't the whole point of my business to serve others, to apply my brains and brawn in ways that benefit others? Finally, the flip side, so to speak, of working for God's greater glory should be the "common good." To understand what we mean here, recall the two great commandments:
- Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with thy whole heart, and with thy whole soul, and with thy whole mind, and with thy whole strength;
- Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
So what's your intention as you begin your work day? Something like this? Something different? Think it through for yourself. Just don't get sidetracked by the stuff that's waiting for you when today's work begins. You can deal with all that in due time throughout the course of the day.
With that, we've got our fresh start for this new cycle of "Ordinary Time" in the Liturgical Year. And we've taken that fresh start and applied it to our work today. In fact, we could do this every day now that I think about it. Don't you find the idea that every morning brings a fresh, new day appealing? I do.
Now, tie that idea in with a sense of gratitude and we've got something really special - and it's not dependent on whether you love your job, or whether things are going particularly well right now. That fresh start won't be squelched by some thorny problem that awaits your arrival at work today. Our fresh start stands, straight and strong, on its own.
With that, let's get down to work!
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