Propelling Our Spiritual Lives at Work Into 2024 - and Beyond - 3

One last jolt to propel our spiritual lives at work into 2024 and beyond. For a good boost, we turn once again to Fr. Joseph Schryvers, a familiar spiritual guide for those of us who regularly visit this blog.

Last time we commented on New Year's resolutions. Whether we make 'em or not, we all can share the sincere desire to begin to work on, improve, or try to really excel in our spiritual life. It's a serious matter for us Catholic men, especially those of us whose lives are inundated with work and domestic responsibilities. We mustn't let these crowd God out of the picture.

With that in mind, over the years we've attempted to find and share ways to sanctify our work by making some space for our spiritual life no matter the work load we face on any given day.

Before handing the baton to our spiritual guide, please wake up and take note: Today's lesson gets right down to the matter of death, Heaven and Hell. We're all heading in that direction. Now's the time to get ourselves straight. And the New Year may provide just the "atmosphere" we need to get downright serious.

As we wade through today's tasks at work, let's be sure that we're grounded enough in our faith to make each moment of our work day an offering to God, one that pleases Him, one that somehow accrues the merit we need to enter Paradise when our "final work day" at long last arrives.

    “For unrepentant sinners the sentence will open the awful gates of immediate and eternal Hell. Hell! The privation of the Sovereign Good, the utter absence of all good, of all that for which the soul has an insatiable hunger and thirst, and the accumulated presence of all imaginable evils! Hell! Eternal, undying hatred, obstinacy in evil in spite of devouring remorse, envy, rage, and despair! Hell! The agony of fire without alleviation; torture multiplied and intensified, according to the number and the gravity of the sins. Hell! The society of the vilest characters, the most cruel, the most despicable and the most abominable, the company of devils and of all the lost, with their unhallowed chorus of maledictions, cries of rage, and blasphemies! Hell! Eternal immobility: immobility in space – as the damned soul falls into Hell, so shall it remain forever; immobility of time – the first moment of Hell shall never pass; immobility in hatred, despair, and malice! And the greater number of men are advancing towards this abyss, and as they advance, they laugh, they amuse themselves and they blaspheme and heap insults on their God. A few more steps and the pit yawns before them! Am I sure that I shall not be of their number one day? O Jesus and Mary! I attach myself to You; do not forsake me!

    “The judgment of the just shall be followed by Heaven. Heaven! The eternal possession of the Sovereign Good, the complete satiation of the soul by the inundation of infinite and substantial happiness; the accumulation of all that can render a human being happy! Heaven! The ineffable delights of the senses, the special reward for every little sacrifice, and every act of virtue. Heaven! The gratification of all the fondest desires of the soul, whose capacity for enjoyment will constantly expand and unceasingly be satisfied and never tire of enjoyment. Heaven! The delight of the intellect; the perfect vision of all the mysteries of the supernatural order; the knowledge of all truths of the natural order, with their causes and their mutual dependencies; the full revelation of the admirable ways of Providence in the government of the world, and in the conduct of each individual soul! Heaven! The joy of a heart plunged in an ocean of love, in the same love as the Blessed Trinity! Heaven! Family life, the company of angels and saints, of all that is most pure, most innocent, most loving, most amiable, and most holy; the presence of those who were relatives and friends here below; the presence of our unspeakably lovely Mother, the presence of Jesus, our Friend, our Brother, our God! Oh, truly, ‘Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, what God hath prepared for those who love Him”! (Cor. 2:9) And this happiness will be mine in a few days! Let the world, with its illusions and vanity, vanish out of my sight. I belong to Jesus forever!” - Fr. Joseph Schryvers, C.SS.R. (1876-1945)