Important Connections Between Our Work and Our Spiritual Life - 4

We continue with a consideration of important connections between our work and our spiritual life, guided by Fr. Martial Lekeux. We do so, as we noted last time, drifting away from the extended Christmas Season. But we don't simply drift. Our little boat now heads towards Lent. And this Sunday, in the traditional liturgy of our Holy Church, the priest will wear purple for Septuagesima Sunday, the first of three Sundays designed to help us prepare ourselves for Lent. 

In a sense, this traditional preparation can serve as a reminder that life is never done until it's done. We're here to know, love, and serve God. Our work is a big part of our daily expression of that. It's not a thing separate and apart from our spiritual life. If we keep it "out there," separate from our spiritual life it will not serve God nor will it help us in our struggle to grow closer to Him. That's really the whole point of these posts - to find ways to sanctify our work, and to keep doing so no matter the distractions thrown at us by the world, the flesh, and the devil. 

As we read Father's words today, recall the story we read last time of the servant hired to clean up the yard. Father picks up from there to show us how our faults must never discourage us. This can be especially important if you realize that perhaps you have more faults than you once realized.

From personal experience, this can be a real jolt. But it's also a good sign. It could mean we no longer - consciously or unconsciously - hide these faults. We face them head on. And if we take our spiritual life seriously, we know by now that God has, of course, known them all along. In His Loving Wisdom He has been patient, waiting for the realization to finally come to us. And now we must be just as patient in addressing those faults and doing all we can to eliminate or - most likely - minimize them.

These persistent efforts can be similar to scattering seeds in a field. Our daily work serves as a fertile field for us in planting seeds of our salvation. We don't just take a fistful and throw them to the wind. We take our sack and steadily walk though the field and patiently scatter them in an persistent and orderly fashion. 

Indeed, if we apply ourselves today to our work in this fashion, and do so with the intention of working for the greater glory of God, we can know that each task done with fervor and exactness, becomes a clear expression of knowing, loving and serving Him - the whole purpose of our life on this earth.

No matter where we are in our spiritual life, in our recognition of our faults, we can always begin again - and again and again. No discouragement, no frustration, no giving up.

God wants good servants. He wants us. He will give us all the grace we need. He will fulfill his end; we now need to fulfill ours.   

No fault or faults can get in our way. They are, instead, our stepping stones to sainthood.

But let's allow Father Lekeux put all this in his words.

“You see, God, the wisest of Masters, wants good servants. When you have put in a good day’s work, He allows it to be undone, as it were; it’s almost as if you had done nothing. You may awaken some morning and discover that you have more faults than you ever realized before. It’s a sort of paternal trick He is playing on you. It’s so you won’t be without work the next day, and so that you can merit. He waits to see whether you are going to pout over it. Will you grumble and at the end of three days throw in the towel? What a lack of common sense that would be! Begin all over. That’s what God wants you to do. You’re being paid by the hour. Your good will is the wage scale. Whether there is a lot of dirt or not, whether your faults return or disappear, that is the Master’s business. As far as you’re concerned, work, and put your heart and soul in it. Do your best, and don’t worry about results. Believe me, God will be pleased. Incidentally, He’ll increase your wages too. You have more faults than others? Good. You will be able to merit more than others. You have just as many faults as ever? So much the better, if you’re struggling against them. In that event you’re sure of work for the future. Wouldn’t life be boring without our faults? How would we show our good will? In critical times, so many unemployed would be delighted to accept any kind of work, as long as they were paid for it. Your faults are your employment. You are always paid. There is never any layoff. The faults God allows are a great means of sanctification. But what is needed is the right attitude. We must understand how to use them and have the common sense to profit from them.

“Yes, I repeat, they can help us to be holier. A solider will never become seasoned by staying in a military school. It’s the attacks of the enemy and the resistance he offers that give him the opportunity to distinguish himself. Our faults keep us on the alert and require effort. They train us in patience, fidelity, and generosity. A great harvest of merits can be gleaned each day. They are the scene of action for the exercise of our good will. … Our faults keep us humble. Without humility every effort for holiness is vain. They disgust us, detach us from ourselves, teach us not to measure our progress and the extent of our sanctification so much, to lean on God more than on ourselves, and to abandon ourselves to Him in all that concerns us.”  (Fr. Martial Lekeux, O.F.M.)