Stuff Going on While We're Busy at Work Today
Will you be really busy at work today? I know I will. I know it because that's just how my days flow, day in and day out. Monday starts the train rolling; on and on we go until the week's work is done.
If you're organized, you've got your task list; your work flow springs from that. You cross off an item and you're on to the next.
And if you've got your own business like I do, even when a little space opens up, for whatever reason, something always fills it in.
The end result of all this: We're almost buried in work during the week. As Catholics, it's all we can do to keep ourselves recollected during the work day. It's a challenge to keep front and center the fact that we work for the greater glory of God. Sure, it's important to do our work the best we can, to meet and even exceed our goals and objectives. But we do that because, in doing that, we give glory to God. Not to us - to God.
If you can get through each busy day and end your week performing at your highest level, keeping your spiritual life alive and engaged with your labor, that's a pretty good week, isn't it?
Considering all this, it's no surprise that some of us might miss important events that happen out there in the big wide world. I'm not talking about the typical news items that the media slings at us. Most of that stuff isn't worth knowing, never mind following. A quick example:
A friend asked if I was "following" the Jeffrey Epstein story. He was and concluded that "the rich and powerful" were steeped in depravity. OK, maybe not all, but a good chunk of them. They were cavorting with underage boys and girls, enabling the horror of worldwide human trafficking, etc., etc. I didn't disagree. But I don't really need to "follow" the Epstein story to know that sex with children is sinful and depraved. And it should come as no surprise that a certain percentage of people with money and power who get used to having their way, getting whatever they want, will be front and center in this sort of depravity.
I did mention this to him. What I should have mentioned - and didn't - was that if I "followed" this sort of stuff to the extent he does, I'd have no time for prayer, reading Scripture and good spiritual works, getting to Mass during the week when possible, etc. This dear friend, born Catholic, hasn't really practiced his faith in, well, as long as I've known him. So I blew a chance to put something out there that might have given him occasion to stop and think. Then again, maybe he'd have just ignored me. I don't know. In any case, it would have been worth a shot, if only I had thought of it.
This same friend follows politics like a blood hound. He's actually quite knowledgeable about what's happening not only in Washington, but locally. And he understands not only how politics works, but the nitty-gritty of government. Want to know how many Appellate Court nominations the Republicans have out there that haven't been confirmed, you only have to ask. You'll find out there's lots. So why aren't they confirmed? It's some combination of Democrats stone-walling as best they can, and Republicans being too lazy or incompetent to ram the nominations through - which pretty much is their job. (I think I got that right.)
Frankly, I don't have time to follow news stories or politics to any extent. That "no time" exists because I'm engaged with my work, and when not engaged with work I've got what I consider to be more important things (typically related to my spiritual life and my physical well-being) or more interesting and enriching activities for my mind, body, and soul lined up for myself each day: exercise, playing music, reading good books (in addition to my spiritual reading), occsasionally watching some sports or a British detective series. (I do like those!)
But there are some events swirling "out there" that - no matter our proclivities when it comes to news or politics or sports - I think we Catholic men should be paying attention to now. We'll look at some of these next time.
If you're organized, you've got your task list; your work flow springs from that. You cross off an item and you're on to the next.
And if you've got your own business like I do, even when a little space opens up, for whatever reason, something always fills it in.
The end result of all this: We're almost buried in work during the week. As Catholics, it's all we can do to keep ourselves recollected during the work day. It's a challenge to keep front and center the fact that we work for the greater glory of God. Sure, it's important to do our work the best we can, to meet and even exceed our goals and objectives. But we do that because, in doing that, we give glory to God. Not to us - to God.
If you can get through each busy day and end your week performing at your highest level, keeping your spiritual life alive and engaged with your labor, that's a pretty good week, isn't it?
Considering all this, it's no surprise that some of us might miss important events that happen out there in the big wide world. I'm not talking about the typical news items that the media slings at us. Most of that stuff isn't worth knowing, never mind following. A quick example:
A friend asked if I was "following" the Jeffrey Epstein story. He was and concluded that "the rich and powerful" were steeped in depravity. OK, maybe not all, but a good chunk of them. They were cavorting with underage boys and girls, enabling the horror of worldwide human trafficking, etc., etc. I didn't disagree. But I don't really need to "follow" the Epstein story to know that sex with children is sinful and depraved. And it should come as no surprise that a certain percentage of people with money and power who get used to having their way, getting whatever they want, will be front and center in this sort of depravity.
I did mention this to him. What I should have mentioned - and didn't - was that if I "followed" this sort of stuff to the extent he does, I'd have no time for prayer, reading Scripture and good spiritual works, getting to Mass during the week when possible, etc. This dear friend, born Catholic, hasn't really practiced his faith in, well, as long as I've known him. So I blew a chance to put something out there that might have given him occasion to stop and think. Then again, maybe he'd have just ignored me. I don't know. In any case, it would have been worth a shot, if only I had thought of it.
This same friend follows politics like a blood hound. He's actually quite knowledgeable about what's happening not only in Washington, but locally. And he understands not only how politics works, but the nitty-gritty of government. Want to know how many Appellate Court nominations the Republicans have out there that haven't been confirmed, you only have to ask. You'll find out there's lots. So why aren't they confirmed? It's some combination of Democrats stone-walling as best they can, and Republicans being too lazy or incompetent to ram the nominations through - which pretty much is their job. (I think I got that right.)
Frankly, I don't have time to follow news stories or politics to any extent. That "no time" exists because I'm engaged with my work, and when not engaged with work I've got what I consider to be more important things (typically related to my spiritual life and my physical well-being) or more interesting and enriching activities for my mind, body, and soul lined up for myself each day: exercise, playing music, reading good books (in addition to my spiritual reading), occsasionally watching some sports or a British detective series. (I do like those!)
But there are some events swirling "out there" that - no matter our proclivities when it comes to news or politics or sports - I think we Catholic men should be paying attention to now. We'll look at some of these next time.
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