Attending To Our Duties Within The Octave of Pentecost

Attending to our duties should be or normal way, right? Now that we're in the Octave of Pentecost, let's try to do so in some special way that helps us grow closer to our Risen Savior.

As we recalled last time, Pentecost really lit up the disciples of Our Lord who were gathered in that upper room. Despite the astounding reality of His Resurrection, they still were a bit unsettled and confused after He ascended to Heaven. They were stuck in an old way of thinking - that somehow Jesus, the Messiah, would restore the Kingdom of Israel in some political sense. No matter that Our Lord referred frequently to the "Kingdom of God," they still yearned for the day when Israel would rule itself and not be under the thumb of Rome.

Of course, His Apostles knew Him in a deeply personal way. So they must have known that He wasn't looking to be a king in this world. Indeed, St. John explicitly addresses this in his Gospel as Our Lord speaks with Pilate. But as Jews, they had centuries of yearning for some sort of worldly leader in the form of the Messiah baked into their DNA. So things were unsettled.

Not being either a historian, or a Scripture scholar, or a theologian, all of the above comes at you from reading and studying over the years. It may be off a bit, but some kernels of truth likely remain. Otherwise, why the necessity for the sending of the Paraclete, the Holy Spirit on that dramatic day. 

Just think of our own minds and hearts, and how they sometimes struggle mightily to seek the True, the Good, and the Beautiful in the face of the world, the flesh, and the devil. The disciples were normal human beings just like us. 

So the descent of the Holy Spirit, the Fire of His Love, the Light He infused into those people in the upper room was needed to launch and new page of history, one that continues to this day and will continue to the end of the world.

In that light, how can we just go about our work today as if it's just another day on the job?

So at the very least, we can - no matter how busy things get - recollect ourselves with the awesome reality of Pentecost in mind and heart.

We can also take our normal routine and seek special graces from the Holy Spirit to polish each task with His Light. While this would be a good idea on any given work day, remember that special graces flow during Octaves. We should ask for these and cooperate with them when they are given.

Begin by remembering that our work makes up a large chunk of the duties of our state in life. We spend the bulk of the day absorbed in performing those duties. So they serve as a kind of meat and potatoes of our overall striving to become saints, ultimately to get to Heaven.

If our duty is to do the best work we can for the Greater Glory of God, we begin by parsing out that overall duty into the individual tasks we face today. So maybe we think of each task at hand as a "pearl of great price." Remember Our Lord's story. He told us about the man who found such a pearl and sold everything in order to obtain it. 

In our case, we can fashion each task to be this pearl, one pearl at a time. And in so doing, our daily work will become a whole string of such pearls. We can offer these pearls to Our Lord at the end of the day today. And if we would so offer these, we would certainly want them all to be some instantiation of that "pearl of great price," right?

It's so easy to allow our duties to be performed in a haphazard manner. We Catholic men can't afford this. We know that the Holy Spirit remains our source of Light, our sure Guide, so that our duties become super-naturalized, that they serve God above all, even as they serve the practical matters that they are intended to address. 

We don't want Pentecost to pass by unacknowledged. That's why our traditional calendar provides an Octave - to keep those flames alive above our heads, giving the inspiration of the Holy Spirit every chance to penetrate our thick skulls!

With all this in mind, the work day will be special one. And with the help of the Holy Spirit, each work day for the rest of our lives will be special.

Come Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of Thy faithful and enkindle in us the fire of Thy Love. Send forth Thy Spirit and we shall be created. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth!