Important Connections Between Our Work and Our Spiritual Life - 3

We continue with a consideration of important connections between our work and our spiritual life, guided by Fr. Martial Lekeux. As we do, we drift slowly but steadily away from the spiritual safe harbor of the extended Christmas Season. Those of us who kept our decorations up at least until February 2nd, the Feast of the Presentation, may still feel little nips of sadness to see the festive lights and decorations go. No matter, we realize that our work awaits us. We set aside our fleeting feelings and put on our spiritual armor to face the world, the flesh - and let's not forget - the devil with a determination to work for the greater glory of God.

And yet, despite this determination, we know that our fallen human nature brings with it faults. And these faults can hold us back from abandoning ourselves to God's Will and simply going about our business best we can. While each of has his own particular faults, they still make up a common thread we all share. As we read today's wise words from Father Lekeux, perhaps we can take some solace in our common challenge to get on with the day's labor, and do our best to sanctify our work despite these faults. We are all in this together.

Today's thoughts begin with the importance of effort and perseverance. Just as we must employ these in our work, so to we must employ them in our spiritual life. We must not allow our good will in this matter to grow weak.

On bright note: We see that our struggle against our faults does not impose immediate deadlines, as is the case with much of our daily work. While we may hope to rid ourselves of our faults in our spiritual life, that's typically not how things go. But the good news is that there's no rush in God's eyes. We simply need to keep at it - and for most of us it may be a lifelong endeavor.

Patience!

“No vice is so tenacious as to resist the persevering efforts of a good will. But effort and perseverance are necessary. A fault is not uprooted in a week, nor in a month. Moreover, there’s no rush. You have your whole life for that. You were too hasty in saying that you would never succeed. Do you want to know why you haven’t succeeded? Because you haven’t tried. ‘But I did!’ you object. ‘Over and over again. To me it seems the more I try the worse I get. I watch myself all day long. I slave. I struggle against my faults. At night I think I have made some improvement. But when I wake up the next morning, I feel that they have grown again during the night and that I will have to start all over again. Or, it might be something like this. For a month I plod along. I advance slightly. Temptation comes, I slip back, and there they are, those cursed faults, stronger than ever. There’s the proof. Why go on?’ Little man of even less faith, listen to this parable.

“A man was looking for a servant who would be a good and trustworthy worker. Such people are hard to find these days. An applicant arrived. ‘My friend,’ said the master, ‘your job is to clean up this cluttered yard.’ He worked hard and completed the task. While he slept, his employer had the debris brought back, and added a few extra pieces. Imagine the servant’s surprise when, come morning, he saw the yard. ‘Well, that’s a good one. I worked all day yesterday cleaning that yard, and now it has to be done all over again. What’s going on?’ He went and complained to the master, who said simply: ‘Do it again.’ He did, but he grumbled and was less ambitious than the day before. Yet, by nightfall he had once again cleared away a good part of the yard. That night, the same trick. When he saw this the second time, he cursed and threatened to quit. ‘Good, my lad, you may leave.’ Another applied for the job. He was given the same work, and on the first morning, faced the same sabotage. His reaction was just the opposite. He lit his pipe and started working, singing to himself. Next morning, when the same thing happened, he said: ‘I had a square meal. This is the boss’ business.’ So again he lit up his pipe and began working. The same smile, the same good humor, the same work continued throughout the week – doing over what was undone during the night. The master called him and said: ‘You have done well. I’ll hire you as my servant. I’ll increase your wages.’ He was a wise employer.”

Having read this story of the hired servant many times, it never loses its appeal. The man serves and does so diligently. As his work is "spoiled" each day, he understands that he is paid to do the work, and just gets on with it with patience and persistence - a great lesson for all of us.

One more go-round with Father Lekeux next time...