A Way to Start the Day to Help Us Stay Spiritually Grounded at Work

Last time we discussed keeping our Interior Life "turned on" all day, even in the midst of our work. A vibrant Interior Life will help us stay spiritually grounded. Here's one way to "engage" and keep our Interior Life humming:

We check the "On" switch every morning by spending some time with our daily spiritual exercises. In my case, I prefer, and therefore make time for, the full palette of prayer, meditation, study, spiritual reading, beginning with my Morning Offering upon awakening. There's nothing sacrosanct about that. If your temperament or circumstances don't allow for sufficient time in the morning, at least make this critical intention known to Our Lord: that you love Him and will therefore work for His greater glory. You can be certain He hears You and will help you in every way to keep your word. Just do your part by attending to the business of the day fervently, polishing every task with an exactness that will shine and reflect your intention not only in God's eyes, but to the benefit of your boss, your customers, your clients, and your colleagues, etc. If you can, from time to time, think of God, say a few aspirations, all the better. But if the busyness of a particular day gets the better of your time and attention, don't sweat it. You've already placed your intention in His loving Hand. Your intention matters most.

Keeping God present in some conscious way throughout the day will add additional luster. This may be easier for some of us, harder for others. I'm in the harder camp. It's taken me years to even get close to keeping God present with me during the work day. I assure you, if could do it (as imperfect and spotty as it usually is), you can. Just try different approaches. Mine now includes mini-breaks to pray the Divine Office at various intervals. I find that provides a kind of base that keeps me somewhat steadily aware of and attentive to His Presence no matter what I've got on my plate. But, again, it took years for me to at least get this far. And I'm always trying to improve.

One thing that helped me improve was a sense of urgency. Keeping God present and accounted for at work is a must. I didn't always think that. Despite knowing that life is short in the light of eternity, procrastination always won out. The day would fly by and I'd note how I didn't give God a second thought. Somehow that was OK. There's always tomorrow. Besides, I was working hard  and producing excellent work. In addition, I had a perfectly legitimate list of things I aspired to not just for myself but for my family too. We all have our own list. And whatever it includes, if it's holding you back from beefing up your Interior Life, from keeping God by your side during the work day, consider these words of Father Joseph Schryvers: 

“Death speedily ends everything: greatness, riches, and pleasures all vanish like smoke. Christian soul! Bring death  before you as though in a few moments you were to meet it. Death is the passage from time to eternity, from the known to the unknown, from appearance to reality, from the transitory to the immutable. This passage you must cross over alone without help or assistance from any creature. No one can accompany you beyond the door of the tomb; the good and bad actions of your life alone will go with you. Your relatives and friends will shed a few tears, and say some prayers over your coffin, more concerned probably about their own trouble than about your eternal destiny. After some time their grief will subside, remembrance will fade as occupations distract them, and thought of the dear departed will soon be almost blotted out. As you have forgotten those who have preceded you into eternity, so will you be forgotten. Ah! In the face of death all is vanity except Jesus Christ. All friendships, even the most solid, even those of friends who have pledged eternal fidelity to each other are transient. All other friendships may break down, His will always remain."

As a Catholic, you should be familiar with the Four Last Things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, Hell. Holy Mother Church has traditionally recommended that we meditate on these from time to time. Father Schryvers has here provided a kind of starter kit for a meditation on death. And with that meditation comes a realization that "all is vanity except Jesus Christ." That's why keeping God's presence at work is a must. As such it must be a fundamental and necessary part of our work life. If we hope for eternal life with God - and who in their right mind doesn't - we'd be wise to get a jump start now. He must be with us now at all times. We can't wait for death to be in His Presence. At that point, we come before Him at our Particular Judgment, that inevitable, awesome, even dreadful moment when we stand face to face with Jesus Christ who awaits our assessment of all we have done - good and bad - during our life on earth.

We'll have more on Judgment next time. For now, the message should be clear. Begin the day with an intention to keep God close at hand. Proceed with our daily labor with God close at hand. Never let Him go. In those moments when our attention is focused solely on the task at hand - and this will likely be most of the time during the work day - our intention to perform our duties in His Presence will serve to keep us exactly there: in His Presence. And when we have the chance - even better every time we have the chance - we should acknowledge that Presence, even if it is simply to say, within our hearts, if not with our lips, simple aspirations like, "Jesus I love You," My God and my All," or, most simply, the Holy Name, sufficient in itself to capture our faith, our hope, and our love: "Jesus."

Can you see how these simple measures can serve to help us stay spiritually grounded at work?