Let's Freshen Up The Easter Season at Work

We slowly distance from Easter Sunday. But the Easter Season remains in full force. To fully observe and benefit from the special graces that may come to us in this holy Season, it may help if we freshen things up, especially during our working hours.

My own regular routines already include special prayers and reading that remind me of the glory of this Easter Season. But once the work day begins, too much time passes where I virtually forget what a special time this should be. That's especially true when my work load increases, or deadlines loom near. All my efforts focus on the tasks at hand to accomplish my work objectives. The Glorious Body of the Risen Lord, so visible and present during Easter Sunday, begins to fade a bit. He's there, of course. But I can easily neglect to acknowledge Him. It's an issue I deal with throughout the year. But during this special Easter Season, it's one that needs special attention. 

Perhaps even more so this year: Our C-Virus Mess persists and has now kicked into a new gear. Business may have improved for some of us, but will this persist? So much of what looks better has become so because of government so-called "stimulus" packages, beginning with the Trump administration, now ramped up exponentially under the current regime. Between government spending and central bank (Fed) money injections, trillions of newly minted US dollars have flooded the financial markets and - to a lesser degree - the economy. Such artificial stimulus is purported to be a kind of fire starter. Once the logs catch, the flames and heat will feed on each other. The economy will roar like the fireplace of a 19th century great house. At least that's the theory. Whether it becomes reality, we have to wait and see. Count me a doubting Thomas at this point.

But whatever ensues in the coming months, the Resurrection of Jesus Christ remains our great source of hope. The Easter Season may not bring an economic boom, but it will bring a spiritual boom for each of us if we attend to it. 

So here's a little fire starter to fan those (perhaps) dying embers of our original Easter enthusiasm:

 “Thy Victory is complete, O my Jesus, for Thou hast triumphed over the powers of Death and Hell. How greatly do I rejoice for the glory Thou hast attained, and I celebrate with gladness this high Festival. But, I beseech Thee, deign to finish in me the work of Thy grace, by making me become more fully a partaker in the glorious Life Thou didst begin in this Mystery. Grant that seeing Thee rise, I may rise also, to a more fervent and saintly life, - to a life of fidelity and love.” (Father De Brandt)

Father De Brandt's words urge us to refresh our recollection of the Resurrection. But more to the point, he reminds us that the infinite shower of graces that flow from Easter make us partakers in Our Lord's Resurrection. And this should become manifest itself in our lives. We rise with Jesus. How do we rise with Jesus? We strive for a fervent and saintly life. And that striving cannot be held separate from our work day. Our work must now become "Easter Work."

Admittedly, I'm skeptical when I consider striving for a fervent and saintly life - especially the saintly part. (I'm talking strictly about myself here.) But then I have to remind myself that my thoughts here are misconstrued. Saints aren't all "angels." What I mean is that many saints struggled with faults throughout their lives. For example, St. Philip Neri struggled with a tendency to impatience and even anger. Yet he is one of our greatest saints. I must remember that part of his sainthood can be located in that very struggle. 

So what should we be doing to strive for a fervent and saintly life today at work? In a sense, this entire blog concerns itself with this. We're always trying to find ways to incorporate our spiritual life into our work, and our work into our spiritual life. But for now, let's narrow our focus to something which I suspect most of us could use a good dose or two of on a regular basis: charity.

Why pick charity? Well, St. Paul clearly, ardently, and famously told us that without charity much of the good we strive to do won't be worth very much. And he carefully tries to describe exactly what he means by charity. It's worth reviewing. It will provide a a wide spectrum with which we can both critique our daily efforts at work. 

We'll do that next time...