Keeping Ourselves Spiritually Grounded at Work in 2022

We're going to spend some time keeping ourselves spiritually grounded at work as 2022 moves along. A New Year typically brings new and perhaps especially demanding challenges at work. If so, it's important we get out of the starting gate cleanly and quickly. But we want to be sure our beginning of the year push doesn't minimize the spiritual life we've worked hard to incorporate into our work life. Staying spiritually grounded can and should keep its pride of place in our list of priorities.  

On my end, I've anticipated and already planned for this year's special challenges. They've already been incorporated into my daily routine. Since I significantly changed some of that routine this year, it's taking a little longer to settle into a daily pattern, but it's coming together now. I like the change.

Last week we noted that the New Year comes with a unique "freshness" and made a suggestion to take advantage of this:

We can take a fresh look at things. I like to do this anyway every once in a while. It prevents the grinding sameness that can make daily activity stale...

And that's basically what I did. Not that things were so stale. But I had items sitting on a list of my life's work that had gone unattended for too long. And given how quickly time passes, it was time to get them on the daily agenda. Either that or they would have slipped into the fog of a distant memory. It was a "now or never" thing. I'm glad I chose the now rather than the never.

What about you? Have you added anything new to your daily routine this year? Nothing wrong if you haven't. That was my pattern for a number of years now - until this year. I managed just fine sticking to what worked in the past. But if you do have some items you want to get to before you hang up your saddle, well, the freshness of the beginning of a New Year might be just the thing to give you a push.

So whether it's same old same old, a completely new job, or anything in between, we're likely full steam into the daily grind by now. And that's mostly a good thing. After all, for most of us, work takes up the better part of our waking hours. We want to use that time to the max by putting in our best efforts. How else can something good emerge from all those hours on the job?

What's "something good" on your end? Are you looking to get a leg up with your current employer, find a more interesting and/or lucrative job, start up a business? Maybe you've been trying to resist those insane and evil vaccine mandates along with a number of my friends and colleagues. What about supporting a family, prudently saving for the future, expanding your skill set to stay competitive in an ever-changing dynamic economy. For most of us, this all takes a lot of time and requires diligent hard work.

You can easily see how our spiritual life might seem a luxury we can't afford, especially if we're struggling to simply keep our head above water. But we all know - or should know by now - our spiritual life is far from a luxury. We simply can't afford to be without it.

And so we launch into 2022, with our challenges and initiatives making their demands on our time and attention. With that as background, we could use some instruction and encouragement to keep our spiritual life well-grounded. As is our practice in such serious matters, we look to one of our frequently visited spiritual writers, this time Father Joseph Schryvers. Since his death in 1945, Father's writings have kept their attraction to those who have retained the full understanding of their Catholic Faith in the face of the post-Vatican II Tsunami. This review of one of his best-known books will give us a flavor or what we can expect in the next few posts:

"The Gift of Oneself will be for many a fresh; new approach to spirituality - an appeal to generous souls to offer themselves to God as a gift that is at once fitting - since He has given us all we are and have - and complete; for we thereby hold back nothing for ourselves. And in return; Almighty God in a special way concerns Himself with the sanctification of our souls and the care of our temporal needs. Jesus will work wonders in a soul so given over to Him; for He is the best of all spiritual directors; and He knows exactly the place in the Mystical Body that a consecrated soul should occupy. This gift of oneself to God is easy; for all we have to do is love Him. In return for the gift of oneself; God responds by giving Himself. What more could we want or need? Those who read this book derive a great feeling of peace and security from it. The Gift of Oneself will be a surprise and a delight to those generous souls who are ready to embark upon a secure and rewarding spiritual life!"

Father understands how our temporal material life and our eternal spiritual life must be weaved together into one whole cloth. His comments will, I hope, prove especially salutary as we begin this new calendar year. 

More next time...