What Happens If We Can't Consistently Achieve the Peace and Stability We Seek to Bolster Our Interior Life at Work? - 2

So now it's on to a consideration of distraction and dryness in our spiritual life. Both of these, along with desolation, can throw us off track as we try to build up a strong Interior Life.

Distraction may be the most common threat. Just think of times your mind wanders at Mass. When you say the rosary, are your thoughts totally focused on the task at hand? If you try to meditate either alone or before the Blessed Sacrament, how often do your thoughts stray from a focus on Our Lord to - well, just about anything else?

Distraction is all too common. The key to dealing with it is not to beat yourself up when it happens. It happens. St. Therese of Lisieux mentions distraction in her writings. She more or less laughs at herself. And she knows that her loving Father wouldn't be offended at such shenanigans. 

We simply must learn to take distraction in stride. Not that we just go with the flow. Of course, we try to re-focus our attention. But when that attention inevitably strays, just try laughing at yourself and remembering that God, our Father, see his little children struggle with this all the time - with no evil intent behind it. And leave it at that.

As for dryness, that's when we "get nothing" from our spiritual exercises. Whether prayer, meditation, receiving the sacraments, we get no "good feelings" from any of our pious practices. We might have in the past. In fact, it's common that upon launching our efforts to grow closer to God, we feel good almost all the time - until we don't. In my reading over the years, I've learned that dryness, unpleasant as it might be, can be taken as a good sign. If we didn't care about making progress in our spiritual life, dryness wouldn't be an issue. It's an issue because we seek to grow more holy, to grow closer to God. So that alone should make our dislike of dryness a good sign.

I've also read that Our Lord allows us to experience dryness so that we don't try to become holy simply for the good feelings that were once produced. He wants us to want Him, not the good feelings; so He allows them to fade or completely disappear. 

The subjects of distractions and dryness take up a lot of space in good spiritual books. Those who try to encourage us in pursuing our spiritual life know that distraction and dryness can easily discourage us and, in extreme cases, lead to desolation. So they try to dissect and explain when we can expect to help us face either challenge. You'd do well to bone up on your knowledge and understanding here if you're serious about making progress in your spiritual life.

Here's something from a solid spiritual writer,  Abbot John Chapman, O.S.B. (1865-1933), we might find helpful right now:

“We must not think that distraction, dryness, desolation, is merely a state of trial which we pass through on our way to perfection. Perfection in this world is not a calm union with God, unless God so wishes. Our Lord suffered temptation and desolation to show us that they are not incompatible with perfection, but are perfection. Progress will mean becoming more and more indifferent as to what state we are in. We ought to care less and less about our own souls, except about that higher part in which we ought to live united to God. We must not worry about perfection; simply be what God enables us to be at this moment. When we realize that God is not only in every external event, but in every internal event – I mean in every involuntary feeling we have – we realize that, at every moment of our life, we are in touch with God, and His hand is on us. We have only to be carried in His arms. Our one care must be not to jump out of them and try to walk alone.”

A prime example of the temptation and desolation suffered by Our Lord would be the Agony in the Garden. Read the Gospels carefully - especially St. Luke's - if you haven't realized just how Our Lord suffered in the Garden. Can we expect anything less in our own lives?

Abbot Chapman here tries to encourage us to develop an "indifference" to distraction, dryness, discouragement, even desolation. He knows all too well that we'll never advance in our spiritual life if we allow these to derail us.

Let's face it, we likely can't consistently achieve the peace and stability we seek to bolster our Interior Life either at work or in general. It's just not in the cards that we remain free of distraction, dryness, discouragement, even desolation, hence the recommendation to be indifferent when these four "D's" pay a visit. 

It's so important that we understand this if we understand the importance of building and maintaining a strong Interior Life. And, as we've seen, our Interior Life will be the source and foundation of an active life - which includes our work - that strives for what is holy rather than what merely satisfies our desire for money, success, power, or sense pleasure. 

An active life stuck in the mud of the world, the allurements of the flesh, and the wily temptations of the devil serves mammon, not God. St. If we're not careful, even our prayers and charitable works can be dragged down unless supported by a serious Interior Life. As Chapter 6 of St. Matthew's Gospel teaches us:

Therefore when thou dost an almsdeed, sound not a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honoured by men. Amen I say to you, they have received their reward. But when thou dost alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth.  That thy alms may be in secret, and thy Father who seeth in secret will repay thee. And when ye pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites, that love to stand and pray in the synagogues and corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men: Amen I say to you, they have received their reward.

A strong Interior Life provides the light we need to both understand and live according to that light. Given our fallen human nature, it will be our primary means to pursue our active life without the stain of self-interest.

Our work life, which takes, for most of us, the majority of our active hours, will be sanctified by a strong Interior Life. All the effort we put into our work should not surpass that effort we need to put into our Interior Life. 

Even though we'll likely not be in a state of perfect peace and stability, our Interior Life will increase these if we're persistent day to day. Over time, we'll find that the ups and downs, even the crises we face at work simply won't be that big a deal. And for all the effort we put into our work, wouldn't we want it to "count" as yet one more means of sanctifying our souls. This we can achieve, along with peace and stability, if we work hard at building and maintaining a strong Interior Life.