The Interior Life and Excessive Work
In Working Your Way into Heaven, Cardinal Wyszynski makes special reference to the "special asceticism of our daily work" in the chapter entitled "The Interior Life and Excessive Work." Our author notes that our will working in cooperation with God's grace is an "interior activity." How does this inner activity function in our work?
"...inner activity has its own laws in relation to external work, and one cannot afford to lose sight of these laws."
Wyszynski provides insight into how this inner activity effects our exterior work by offering four "laws."
The first of these laws: "Interior life is the basis of exterior life."
"...we ought to have in our work a consciousness of God's sovereignty over every sort of work: of the fact that God is the beginning and end of every action, and therefore also of external actions.
We ought to have Christ's redemptive work before our eyes, that activity that raises our external acts (even those that are purely temporal) to a spiritual level and gives them a higher character and value."
Quick comment: Recall our many posts regarding the interior life of the soul. This was always recognized as an integral part of an authentic spiritual life and was once widely taught as such. The fact that it's been ignored in the aftermath of Vatican II should by no means dissuade us from building our interior life.
The second law: "Works of the spirit must come before other works."
Cardinal Wyszynski directs this law to those of us who have a sense of "mission" in our work. Much of my own work, for example, typically involves helping people get their finances right. There's a sense of mission about this. A friend of mine works for a rehabilitation hospital that helps people get better. He too works with a sense of mission. If your work helps others in some palpable way, take care to ground your efforts in your interior life; do not allow your worthy and commendable efforts to overshadow the primacy of your spiritual life. To do so would be to operate under an illusion.
"...this illusion, when we show great zeal over our everyday work, losing consciousness that the 'works of the spirit' ought to take precedence over the other means of action available to us."
To emphasize the critical importance of this point, reference is made to physical labor, which can appear somehow separate and apart from our spiritual life. Wrong!
"...in all our work, even our physical work, the Holy Spirit must reign, who will stimulate us to action and give to our work a new force and meaning."
Whether or not our work consists of physical labor, we can, and frequently do, face situations where we can be overwhelmed by either the sheer quantity of work, or by the effort required to complete certain tasks. In such circumastances where we have "too much on our plate," it's time to open the doors to our interior life and draw our spiritual life front and center.
The third law: "Work's external fruits depend on interior life."
"Any neglect in our interior life because of too much work is reflected in the quality of our work, for the lack of personal virtue becomes visible in it, and this lack can bring all our acts to nothing. The most attractive ideas will not help then; if the link between the interior life and the active life disappears..."
If, on the other hand, we stay grounded throughout the work day, no matter how busy you get, no matter how difficult the work, we can meet any challenge that comes our way. A strong interior life keeps us always in God's Holy Presence. Our work will reflect this.
The fourth law: "Active work does not excuse neglect of the interior life."
Looking over the course of my work life, this fourth law incites both sorrow and hope. The sorrow springs from all the time spent busy, busy, busy but bereft of any sense of God's presence. The hope? The past is over and done. In the present moment I can - and will - ground my work today in my interior life.
"Active work demands even more watchfulness and concentration on the interior life...it is vital to rearrange one's occupation in such a way that it is never necessary to drop prayer."
By organizing our work properly, we can so arrange our days to allow for at least brief pauses, little moments, when we can recollect ourselves and place ourselves in the Presence of Almighty God. It takes effort, but as we develop our interior life, the effort comes more naturally, more consistently.
With a strong interior life, even the most difficult excessive work can be done well, for the glory of God. Let us pray for the grace to be able to strengthen our interior life.
"...inner activity has its own laws in relation to external work, and one cannot afford to lose sight of these laws."
Wyszynski provides insight into how this inner activity effects our exterior work by offering four "laws."
The first of these laws: "Interior life is the basis of exterior life."
"...we ought to have in our work a consciousness of God's sovereignty over every sort of work: of the fact that God is the beginning and end of every action, and therefore also of external actions.
We ought to have Christ's redemptive work before our eyes, that activity that raises our external acts (even those that are purely temporal) to a spiritual level and gives them a higher character and value."
Quick comment: Recall our many posts regarding the interior life of the soul. This was always recognized as an integral part of an authentic spiritual life and was once widely taught as such. The fact that it's been ignored in the aftermath of Vatican II should by no means dissuade us from building our interior life.
The second law: "Works of the spirit must come before other works."
Cardinal Wyszynski directs this law to those of us who have a sense of "mission" in our work. Much of my own work, for example, typically involves helping people get their finances right. There's a sense of mission about this. A friend of mine works for a rehabilitation hospital that helps people get better. He too works with a sense of mission. If your work helps others in some palpable way, take care to ground your efforts in your interior life; do not allow your worthy and commendable efforts to overshadow the primacy of your spiritual life. To do so would be to operate under an illusion.
"...this illusion, when we show great zeal over our everyday work, losing consciousness that the 'works of the spirit' ought to take precedence over the other means of action available to us."
To emphasize the critical importance of this point, reference is made to physical labor, which can appear somehow separate and apart from our spiritual life. Wrong!
"...in all our work, even our physical work, the Holy Spirit must reign, who will stimulate us to action and give to our work a new force and meaning."
Whether or not our work consists of physical labor, we can, and frequently do, face situations where we can be overwhelmed by either the sheer quantity of work, or by the effort required to complete certain tasks. In such circumastances where we have "too much on our plate," it's time to open the doors to our interior life and draw our spiritual life front and center.
The third law: "Work's external fruits depend on interior life."
"Any neglect in our interior life because of too much work is reflected in the quality of our work, for the lack of personal virtue becomes visible in it, and this lack can bring all our acts to nothing. The most attractive ideas will not help then; if the link between the interior life and the active life disappears..."
If, on the other hand, we stay grounded throughout the work day, no matter how busy you get, no matter how difficult the work, we can meet any challenge that comes our way. A strong interior life keeps us always in God's Holy Presence. Our work will reflect this.
The fourth law: "Active work does not excuse neglect of the interior life."
Looking over the course of my work life, this fourth law incites both sorrow and hope. The sorrow springs from all the time spent busy, busy, busy but bereft of any sense of God's presence. The hope? The past is over and done. In the present moment I can - and will - ground my work today in my interior life.
"Active work demands even more watchfulness and concentration on the interior life...it is vital to rearrange one's occupation in such a way that it is never necessary to drop prayer."
By organizing our work properly, we can so arrange our days to allow for at least brief pauses, little moments, when we can recollect ourselves and place ourselves in the Presence of Almighty God. It takes effort, but as we develop our interior life, the effort comes more naturally, more consistently.
With a strong interior life, even the most difficult excessive work can be done well, for the glory of God. Let us pray for the grace to be able to strengthen our interior life.
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