Remembering Our Particular Judgment Helps Us Stay Spiritually Grounded at Work

We continue to find ways to keep us spiritually grounded at work. Last time we saw how meditating on the Four Last Things - specifically Death - helps to keep us spiritually grounded. We concluded with the desire to keep God with us at all time, even during our work day. When death comes - as it will for all of us - we want to be prepared for what follows next. From our last post:

He must be with us now at all times. We don't wait to acknowledge Him after death, as 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.

Our spiritual guide, Father Joseph Schryvers, expands now on the importance and impact of our Particular Judgment. We'll see how this can motivate us to prioritize our spiritual life throughout the work day:

“Judgment follows death. The Judge shows Himself to the soul and the latter sees, as in a luminous picture, its whole life – the bright sides and the dark, its virtues and its vices; and these are minutely detailed in the clear light of eternity. The soul pronounces its own judgment and realizes that its judgment is just. Oh! That first meeting face to face with Christ! That first encounter of the Eye of the Almighty! Shall this first look be one of benevolence or one of reproach; a look of reprobation or one of salvation? A smile from a friend and brother, or a lightning-flash of malediction? O Jesus! I scarcely dare think of it. What ought I not be prepared to do in order to insure that at such an awful moment Your first look on me may be one of welcome! If we could only remember that we must render an account of everything! If we could only realize that on this decisive moment our eternity depends; and that moment depends on this present one! … What is this world, with its approbation or its smiles or its disapproval, in comparison with the overwhelmingly serious issue of our judgment? What will the praises or contempt, the honors or the persecutions of men matter to me at that moment? Vanity, nothingness, ephemeral wisps of vanished mist!”

For most of us, work takes up much of our time in this life. We want - or should want - to always produce our best work day in and day out. While this can lead to recognition, promotion, advancement, more money, a better job, etc., we want more. The "more" is to incorporate our spiritual life into every aspect of our work. Doing so will "super-naturalize" our efforts, helping us to gain merit as we work our way towards eternal life in Heaven.

Imagine every work day being suffused with the supernatural. Now imagine your particular judgment, and the accounting you will present to Our Lord. Can you see His smile when he reviews all those hours you spent at work keeping Him close to you? It's a simple way to think of "super-naturalizing" our work, of incorporating the spiritual life into our work life. We simply desire Jesus to be with us, to keep Him Present at all times. 

Meditating on our particular Judgment will help us to keep our focus on Him even during our busiest days. It will help us to put Him first, above all else. And, yes, it's possible to take a few moments, even during the work day, to remember your Particular Judgment. I'd say "to meditate" on it, but to some of us it might sound too difficult or to take up too much time. It's not and it won't. But maybe just saying "remember" will be more encouraging. It can be as short a a few seconds. 

As Father Schryvers tells it: "What is this world, with its approbation or its smiles or its disapproval, in comparison with the overwhelmingly serious issue of our judgment? What will the praises or contempt, the honors or the persecutions of men matter to me at that moment? Vanity, nothingness, ephemeral wisps of vanished mist!”

That pretty much puts it all in its proper context.

Father has more to say about this. As we continue with his insights and advice in our next posts, we'll build a wider and deeper foundation for staying spiritually grounded at work. For today, let's get on with our work, steadied on the foundation we've built so far, recollected in the knowledge that our particular Judgment will go a lot better - when the time comes - if God's Presence graces and blesses all our efforts for the rest of this work day.