New Beginnings at Work - 3

Last time we began our work day with the first words of The Rule of St. Benedict. Given how much this remarkable masterpiece has to offer us Catholic men at work, let's see what St. Benedict has in store for us today. We begin with a couple of questions.

Are you in the habit of starting your day with time for prayer and meditation? Do you take some time to read Holy Scripture and good spiritual works? If so, you've likely come across these verses that the Rule quotes from the Psalms:

"Come ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord." (Psalm 33). "Run while ye have the light of life, lest the darkness of death overtake you." (John 12:35)

If we grasped the fundamental role obedience plays in our work life, as we saw last time, we will start each day eager to greet the Lord. We thirst to know Him. We desire the wisdom to follow His Commandments. Regarding wisdom, Proverbs 1 teaches us that "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom."

If you're not in the habit of reading Scripture, it's time to start. Same for good spiritual works. These will build a foundation for your relationship with God. They will also steady you as you approach your work each day. St. Benedict refers to Scripture right off the bat in his Rule because he understands this. His monks do too. So should we. Understanding this is why St. Benedict includes quotes from Scripture in his Rule.

Psalm 33 asks us, "What man is he that desireth life and would fain see good days?" 

We are that man, right? We have been blessed with the gift of life in this world. We are promised eternal life in the next. How can we not desire both this life and the next? The one leads to the other. How we live in this world determines how we will live in the next. 

Psalm 33 goes on to say, "If thou wilt have true and everlasting life, keep they tongue from evil and thy lips that they speak no guile. Turn away from evil and do good: seek after peace and pursue it."

So much of Scripture, especially the Psalms, is simple and direct like this. St. Benedict thus generously quotes from Scripture to awaken our hearts and minds. Our prayer and meditation each morning strengthens our will to keep our tongue under control, to seek to do good in an atmosphere of peace and stability. 

Before understanding all this, I used to wake up and rush to groom and dress. I charged out the door to get in to the office with fire in my belly. All that can be good. But where is God in all this? We need time with God first thing. It's more than likely that to do so will mean getting up earlier. We can do that, right?

The time we make for God will help us to prepare ourselves to work for His greater glory. That's what we want, right?

"And when you have done these things, My eyes will be upon you and My ears open unto your prayers. And before you call upon Me, I shall say to you, Lo, here I am." What can be sweeter to us, dearest brethren, than this voice of our Lord inviting us? Behold in his loving mercy the Lord showeth us the way of life."

If we take the time to prepare as we ought, the Lord will hear us, be with us, and show us how to work for His greater glory. 

Saying we work for the greater glory of God needs to more than a phrase, or a fine intention. We need to think, say, and do those things that will give glory to God, both in our personal lives and in our work life. Indeed, our work presents us with a golden opportunity each day to focus our hearts and minds on giving glory to God. It's an opportunity we don't want to miss. 

If we make a "new beginning" with each new day keeping all this in mind, our intention to work for the greater glory of God stands a much better chance of manifesting itself in concrete ways through all our thoughts, words, and actions.

Summing up, combine a reading of the Rule with the discipline of reading Scripture and all this - and more - will leap out and guide us each day. Our knowledge and understanding of how we give glory to God will be constantly reinforced. We will learn new ways of giving glory to God, inspiring us to tackle each day's tasks with renewed vigor, pleasing God immensely with our good intentions to work for His greater glory. Armed with this shot of reinforcement and inspiration our spiritual life will grow stronger with each passing day.

Each day thus becomes a new beginning. As a result, we'll be following the path St. Benedict has blazed before us in his holy Rule.