What's Coming Now That September Has Arrived

Picking up from last time, here's some of what's coming now that September has arrived. We'll focus, as always, on our work. 

Our point here is that our work is not something isolated, totally apart, from the rest of our life, and from our world. Our work essentially "supports" in some way the rest of our life. The primary way is by earning money to pay our bills. Sure, it's great when our work is satisfying, when we get to do what we really like. But before all that, we need money to live. That's how things go in our modern world. It runs on money.

And the wider world can't be held "outside the gates" of our workplace. If we commute, we, in a sense, wend our way through that wider world by foot, by car, by public transportation. Our surroundings permeate our minds and our bodies - at least to some degree. And however much we "connect" with the world through various media, we become aware of "what's happening" out there. 

By the time we arrive at work - even if we work from home - we've brought some of this baggage with us. Then it's time to settle down, re-focus our attention, and get to the tasks at hand.

So looking ahead to what's coming now that September has arrived is merely recognizing all that comes with a typical work day, whatever our work, whatever our circumstances.

We left off with Halloween last time. As Catholics, we might make the effort to "re-set" Halloween to the role it plays in the liturgical year. It's the Eve al All Saints Day. It's older name is All Hallows. Various cultures have observed this day (and night) differently. These days it seems all about dress up. Never was one to get into that stuff. But if done tastefully and without pandering to the horror or satanic side of this custom, I suppose it's OK.

But then we get to that great day, All Saints. As mentioned in past posts, this was always a big deal back in the day. Churches were packed with Mass goers. After all, it was - and is - a holy day of obligation. And somehow it lightened up our surroundings, remembering all those who have entered into the Divine Presence and the eternal happiness of Heaven, and who intercede on our behalf - the Church Triumphant.

Immediately after, November 2nd, we turn to the Church Suffering - the Holy Souls - on All Souls Day. Our minds and hearts are raised to Heaven in our petitions to alleviate their suffering and we try to speed their journey from their cleansing of their souls to the putting on of the white garment of the saints.

Does all of this penetrate our daily work? While it shouldn't distract us to the extent that we don't do bang up job, it really should be part of our day's labor. Perhaps we attend Mass, surely we pray to the saints and for the Holy Souls. We do this before, during, and after our work day - or at least we can strive to do this.

All of this, of course, must be done in the face of a secular world that does nothing to support our efforts. So these days, it may be a challenge. But so be it, right?

Now, there's secular stuff that picks away at us too with this month of September. Before we progress to the "Big Three" - All Hallows, All Saints, All Souls - we Americans begin our love affair with football. And while the NFL dominates the media, there's also the beginning of the NHL season (hockey), basketball (the NBA) and, of course, the World Series. 

Enough to distract even a relatively comatose soul exiting the doldrums of summer.

(And even if your not a sports fan, you know that many of your colleagues will be jabbering about all this, never mind the media in all its forms (main stream, alternate, social, etc.). 

There's enough here to push and pull our concentration this way and that as we try to ply our trade each day.

Which is why we double up on our efforts to connect our daily labor and our spiritual life. There's just so much out there to decouple this critical connection. And, as we've pointed out, it's up to each of us, in the face of all that's "going on" to prevent this decoupling.

And we haven't even mentioned Thanksgiving - the quintessential secular, thoroughly American family feast day.

With autumn coming soon, it's a good time to take a deep breath recollect ourselves before all that the world serves up grabs our attention to the detriment of our diligent pursuit of the duties of our state of life, especially our daily work.

If we can get through autumn in this recollected fashion, we can both enjoy all these fall happenings and still give our best to our work. Proceeding in this disciplined fashion for the coming weeks will then put us in the right mind-and-soul-set to welcome the great Season of Advent, which culminates, of course, with...CHRISTMAS!

We've got a ways to go before that. But you know it's coming.