Overriding the C-Virus Mess With a Simple and Dutiful Approach to Our Work Today

Last time we read some words from Sister Lucy of Fatima. They told us how a simple and dutiful approach to our work could be sufficient to foster an appropriate penitential spirit at work during Lent. We don't need extraordinary acts, or, as she puts it, severe austerities. 

We also saw how looking back or looking forward too much can prove too distracting, or even derail us from getting our work done well and on time. Being present works best most of the time.

So as we pursue our duties simply, careful to fulfill our duties diligently, we may or may not need to "inject" special prayers or mortification into our work flow. When I'm not super-pressed, I do insert some prayers and I do more consciously pick out a mortification here and there. When I'm swamped, especially if I'm meeting an urgent deadline, I pretty much stick to the work.

Sister Lucy's words have helped me to understand that sticking to the work, done in the right spirit, can suffice to keep some Lenten discipline as we work. 

As we saw last time, if we manage to look back and look forward in a moderate, disciplined manner, doing so can provide important benefits to our work. But these days, another "visitor" has stuck its nose under the tent to potentially disrupt our work day: our C-Virus Mess.

We've talked about this Mess many times over the last year. Unfortunately, with almost a year under our belts, things haven't improved all that much. Oh, we hear about things getting better. But, depending on what part of the country you live in, this may not be at all true.

There are parts of the country that suffered less impact, of course. But much of the country - especially the big metro areas - have been slammed. If you live in the New York Metro area you know what I'm talking about. 

During the first few week of the lockdowns, many of us walked - if we walked about at all - on pins and needles. We heard that the virus was everywhere. We could even trek it into our homes if we had walked outside. 

That craziness has passed. But folks still distance and wear masks. Most don't commute to jobs - if they have one. Government largess - unemployment, rent and mortgage moratoriums, etc. - keeps a lot of us afloat. These government programs will now be extended. Some of us will get yet another round of cash.

As for our work, especially if we work for or run a small business - a great Tsunami has swamped and in some cases destroyed what some of us spent years building. The numbers continue to be dismal. As someone who runs a small business, I'm grateful not to be counted among the casualties - so far. But my antennae remain raised and switched on 24/7. 

Just talking about all this provides a good example of how the Mess can impinge on our work day. Even if we've developed a good emotional balance, we may find ourselves challenged by the latest talk about mutations in the virus that could cause more clamping down on business activity. It's only natural to wonder whether some new round of dysfunctional imposed lock-down will shred our business, even to the point of extinction. The hope is we're past the worst of it, but we really have no certain way of knowing.

Nevertheless, we've got to override all this. This morning, for example, a glance at my daily task list tells me there's much to do. To the extent any anxiety has crept in, or will creep in due to the latest "news" about the pandemic, it's got to be controlled, even eliminated. The only way I know to manage that is to trust in God, to continually seek His grace. It's something I work on constantly. 

Does anxiety and distraction magically disappear when I say/pray "I trust in Thee, Lord"? Actually, sometimes it does. Most times, however, require repetition, persistence. The alternative would be to allow the "forces" of the pandemic Mess to take over. And that's not an option.

Having then placed all my trust in God, it's time to return to my work. Even if all the distraction hasn't been erased, the effort to trust bears fruit. 

A simple approach to my work helps. I literally keep my nose to the grindstone to achieve simplicity. What does the task require? How many steps are involved in getting it done? What's the next step? With that next step in hand, you get to work. Then the next, then the next. Task finished. Next.

The simple (following each step) combines with the dutiful. The dutiful consists of your intention to trust in God and just forge ahead. You need to have this intention. Without it, you're open to all sorts of distractions, delay, etc. Intention isn't complicated and it's not hard to express. Say it out loud if it helps. "I trust in You. With that, I'm going to get this (step) done now." Something like that. 

Even with some underlying (and annoying) distraction, you can get a lot done this way. And you can show Our Lord that you really do trust in Him, no matter how you happen to feel on any given day. Your intention accomplishes this. Your feelings don't matter.

The C-Virus Mess hasn't dissipated yet. Will it soon. Who knows. As long as it lingers, it's going to horn in on our work if we let it. If we let it, it's going to disrupt our Lenten discipline that we're trying to build into our work day. Don't let it. Trust in God.

And if it all goes away soon (much to my surprise), all the better. Either way, let's stick to a simply and dutiful approach to our work today.

We adore Thee O Christ and we bless Thee. Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world.