Our Work and Our Spiritual Lives in Balance
We previously considered how we might have progressed in our spiritual lives as a result of faithfully practicing our Lenten discipline. And we've seen that the Easter Season provides fertile ground to help us grow a diligent, ongoing practice of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving now and throughout our lives.
Today, we'll firm up the connection between Lent and Easter. We'll see how that will help us to accept the good with the bad, and how we can apply this acceptance not only to our spiritual lives, but our daily work as well. We turn again to Fr. Bertrand Weaver, C.P. for assistance in seeking that balance:
"St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that they would be saved if they held fast the gospel, ‘as I preached it to you.’
Let's not let the simplicity of this first statement escape us, especially as we begin our daily work. Whatever the day holds, any of us can, must, hold fast the gospel. Most of us have heard and read Our Lord's words as far back as we can remember. We were taught of His hidden life in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph. We followed His public life beginning with the miracle of the wedding feast at Cana, culminating in His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. It's all there, a part of us. Let's be sure to carry it to work with us today. But despite our knowledge of the Gospel, St. Paul understood that sometimes we need to be reminded of all that we already know.
"He then went on to summarize it, as he had preached it to them: ‘For I delivered to you first of all, what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and after that to the Eleven. Then He was seen by more than five hundred brethren at one time. . . . And last of all … He was seen by me.’...
Notice the emphasis here on Christ's Passion and Resurrection? These are always irrevocably linked. During Lent, we ought not focus solely on the Passion. The Resurrection must remain within view. During the Easter Season, we don't forget the Passion - and all it implies for us in our daily lives: sacrifice, sorrow, suffering. Our crosses cannot be forgotten. Even when everything's hunky-dory in our lives, we should never be surprised when a new cross lands on our shoulders.
We can easily see how our spiritual lives and our work lives remain tied together. Over the years, I've had both light and darkness at work. I've held jobs that were more or less satisfying. Some were fun, others almost borderline torture. With experience and maturity we learn to take the good with the bad. The crosses that come with the bad, when accepted as opportunities to offer up our suffering - or at least our frustration - unite us with Christ's Passion. The rewards and sometimes even joy that comes with the good unite us with His Resurrection. Neither lasts forever. Both work in tandem.
Father Weaver's words here drive home the importance of always keeping all in balance. The Passion and the Resurrection will always be tied closely together:
"The Apostle could not have made it clearer that those to whom he had preached could not be saved unless they understood and accepted Christ as crucified, and as risen from the dead."
We must understand this and allow it to penetrate deeply into our hearts, our minds, and our souls.
"The Passion of Christ, without His Resurrection, would have availed us nothing. St. Paul makes this evident when he says: ‘and if Christ is not risen, vain is your faith, for you are still in your sins.’ Nothing could show better than these words how important for our understanding of the Faith, and our spiritual progress, is the association in our thinking of our Lord’s Death and Resurrection.”
Our work, like our spiritual lives, frequently mixes good and bad, happy and sad, rewards and frustrations. Keeping both in perspective helps steady us. We gain a firmer foothold and avoid being swayed, as some can be, towards total elation or deep depression. Without the balance of the Passion and the Resurrection, we run the risk of being spiritually "bi-polar."
Today, in the midst of this glorious Easter Season, we pray for the graces we need to pursue a properly balanced life.
Today, we'll firm up the connection between Lent and Easter. We'll see how that will help us to accept the good with the bad, and how we can apply this acceptance not only to our spiritual lives, but our daily work as well. We turn again to Fr. Bertrand Weaver, C.P. for assistance in seeking that balance:
"St. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that they would be saved if they held fast the gospel, ‘as I preached it to you.’
Let's not let the simplicity of this first statement escape us, especially as we begin our daily work. Whatever the day holds, any of us can, must, hold fast the gospel. Most of us have heard and read Our Lord's words as far back as we can remember. We were taught of His hidden life in Nazareth with Mary and Joseph. We followed His public life beginning with the miracle of the wedding feast at Cana, culminating in His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. It's all there, a part of us. Let's be sure to carry it to work with us today. But despite our knowledge of the Gospel, St. Paul understood that sometimes we need to be reminded of all that we already know.
"He then went on to summarize it, as he had preached it to them: ‘For I delivered to you first of all, what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day, according to the Scriptures, and that He appeared to Cephas, and after that to the Eleven. Then He was seen by more than five hundred brethren at one time. . . . And last of all … He was seen by me.’...
Notice the emphasis here on Christ's Passion and Resurrection? These are always irrevocably linked. During Lent, we ought not focus solely on the Passion. The Resurrection must remain within view. During the Easter Season, we don't forget the Passion - and all it implies for us in our daily lives: sacrifice, sorrow, suffering. Our crosses cannot be forgotten. Even when everything's hunky-dory in our lives, we should never be surprised when a new cross lands on our shoulders.
We can easily see how our spiritual lives and our work lives remain tied together. Over the years, I've had both light and darkness at work. I've held jobs that were more or less satisfying. Some were fun, others almost borderline torture. With experience and maturity we learn to take the good with the bad. The crosses that come with the bad, when accepted as opportunities to offer up our suffering - or at least our frustration - unite us with Christ's Passion. The rewards and sometimes even joy that comes with the good unite us with His Resurrection. Neither lasts forever. Both work in tandem.
Father Weaver's words here drive home the importance of always keeping all in balance. The Passion and the Resurrection will always be tied closely together:
"The Apostle could not have made it clearer that those to whom he had preached could not be saved unless they understood and accepted Christ as crucified, and as risen from the dead."
We must understand this and allow it to penetrate deeply into our hearts, our minds, and our souls.
"The Passion of Christ, without His Resurrection, would have availed us nothing. St. Paul makes this evident when he says: ‘and if Christ is not risen, vain is your faith, for you are still in your sins.’ Nothing could show better than these words how important for our understanding of the Faith, and our spiritual progress, is the association in our thinking of our Lord’s Death and Resurrection.”
Our work, like our spiritual lives, frequently mixes good and bad, happy and sad, rewards and frustrations. Keeping both in perspective helps steady us. We gain a firmer foothold and avoid being swayed, as some can be, towards total elation or deep depression. Without the balance of the Passion and the Resurrection, we run the risk of being spiritually "bi-polar."
Today, in the midst of this glorious Easter Season, we pray for the graces we need to pursue a properly balanced life.
Happy Easter!
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