Turning Today's Work Into Gold
Today we're going to turn our work into gold. The gold isn't what we're paid for our labor. For that we get U.S. dollars.
To turn our work into gold doesn't require any special skills. Anyone can do it. What it does require, however is right intention, or will.
Sometimes, in order to apply that right intention, we've got to step back. We can't allow the day's work to overwhelm that right intention. We need to direct our efforts in the right way, no matter how busy things get at work.
It all starts with knowing the purpose of life: love. But not just any love.
“The sole purpose of life is to love Jesus passionately. From henceforth, Christian soul, you must act like the miser. You must have no other thought, no other desire, than to amass a huge fortune of Love, not so much for yourself, as for Jesus, Who lives in your heart. There rises before you a mountain of gold; your actions, your desires, your affections, your thoughts, your least movements, can be transformed into the purest gold of Charity – you have only to touch them by the magic of your good will…St. Gerard Majella wrote the following sentence on a strip of paper: ‘I have only this short life in which to sanctify myself; if I allow it to slip by unprofitably, it is lost forever.’ And he left his home and devoted himself entirely to God. Remind yourself, that the time for amassing these treasures of Charity is limited, and that you do not know how soon it may end for you. If St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. John Berchmans, St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. Lucy, St. Agnes, had deferred, to a later period of their lives, the work of their sanctification, they would not be in the enjoyment of such great glory in Heaven today.
"You must furthermore consider that the quantity and quality of this gold of Divine Charity, amassed during life, will be and will continue exactly the same during eternity. Love in Heaven is not substantially different from love on earth, but the love you have in Heaven is not meritorious love that can add additional luster to your crown of glory, and your love in Heaven will not rise far above the love you bear to God on earth. What a loss to God and to you, if, by your own fault, you love Him less through endless ages! St. Therese animated herself by this thought: ‘That others should surpass me in glory in Heaven does not matter to me; but how could I endure that anyone should love You, Jesus, more than I?’ Very well, you little soul; make up your mind that you will not be surpassed in love, even by the Seraphic Therese.” (Fr. Joseph Schryvers, C.SS.R.)
See the urgency here? Time is short. No matter what's pressing you at work today, remember this. Remember the purpose of your life as you begin the day. Recall it during the day. At the end of the day, when you examine your conscience, consider how much of your thoughts, words, and deeds you were able to transform into gold.
We should be wise stewards of all that God gives to us in this life. As a wise steward, we should prudent with the money we're paid for our day's labor. So too we should be prudent in turning today's work into gold. The money we're paid should serve us well during our short stay on this earth. The gold will serve us for eternity.
To turn our work into gold doesn't require any special skills. Anyone can do it. What it does require, however is right intention, or will.
Sometimes, in order to apply that right intention, we've got to step back. We can't allow the day's work to overwhelm that right intention. We need to direct our efforts in the right way, no matter how busy things get at work.
It all starts with knowing the purpose of life: love. But not just any love.
“The sole purpose of life is to love Jesus passionately. From henceforth, Christian soul, you must act like the miser. You must have no other thought, no other desire, than to amass a huge fortune of Love, not so much for yourself, as for Jesus, Who lives in your heart. There rises before you a mountain of gold; your actions, your desires, your affections, your thoughts, your least movements, can be transformed into the purest gold of Charity – you have only to touch them by the magic of your good will…St. Gerard Majella wrote the following sentence on a strip of paper: ‘I have only this short life in which to sanctify myself; if I allow it to slip by unprofitably, it is lost forever.’ And he left his home and devoted himself entirely to God. Remind yourself, that the time for amassing these treasures of Charity is limited, and that you do not know how soon it may end for you. If St. Aloysius Gonzaga, St. John Berchmans, St. Stanislaus Kostka, St. Lucy, St. Agnes, had deferred, to a later period of their lives, the work of their sanctification, they would not be in the enjoyment of such great glory in Heaven today.
"You must furthermore consider that the quantity and quality of this gold of Divine Charity, amassed during life, will be and will continue exactly the same during eternity. Love in Heaven is not substantially different from love on earth, but the love you have in Heaven is not meritorious love that can add additional luster to your crown of glory, and your love in Heaven will not rise far above the love you bear to God on earth. What a loss to God and to you, if, by your own fault, you love Him less through endless ages! St. Therese animated herself by this thought: ‘That others should surpass me in glory in Heaven does not matter to me; but how could I endure that anyone should love You, Jesus, more than I?’ Very well, you little soul; make up your mind that you will not be surpassed in love, even by the Seraphic Therese.” (Fr. Joseph Schryvers, C.SS.R.)
See the urgency here? Time is short. No matter what's pressing you at work today, remember this. Remember the purpose of your life as you begin the day. Recall it during the day. At the end of the day, when you examine your conscience, consider how much of your thoughts, words, and deeds you were able to transform into gold.
We should be wise stewards of all that God gives to us in this life. As a wise steward, we should prudent with the money we're paid for our day's labor. So too we should be prudent in turning today's work into gold. The money we're paid should serve us well during our short stay on this earth. The gold will serve us for eternity.
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