See Any Difference During This First Full Week of Lent?
For Lent to make a difference in our lives, we have to do something different. We talked a bit about this last time. A few more thoughts now.
First, recall that we've got 40 days of Lent to work with. It's not
quite a marathon, but it's not a sprint either. Let's call it, as they
do in track and field, a middle distance. You need both speed and
endurance here.
Why speed? Well, we're already a week into Lent. The gun went off on Ash
Wednesday. If you're not out of your starting block yet, you've got
ground to make up. Get going. Before long it will be two weeks, then
three.
But don't run all out here. For example, consider the discipline of
fasting. You need your strength and energy at work. You shouldn't be
starving yourself. But you can cut out a treat here and there, maybe
even reduce your intake at times. We've got a ways to go until Easter:
Pace yourself. Be prudent.
To help sustain our Lenten discipline at work, we continue our
journey with Our Lord during Lent, posting the Stations of the Cross,
one at a time, using St.
Alphonsus Liguori as our guide. (Click HERE for
a complete pdf of St. Alphonsus's version of the Stations of the
Cross.)
Station 4: Jesus Meets His Mother
St. Alphonsus writes:
Consider the meeting of the Son and the Mother, which took place on
this journey. Jesus and Mary looked at each other, and their looks
became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which loved each other so
tenderly.
My most loving Jesus, by the sorrow Thou didst
experience in this meeting, grant me the grace of a truly devoted love
for Thy most holy Mother. And thou, my Queen, who wast overwhelmed with
sorrow, obtain for me by thy intercession a continual and tender
remembrance of the Passion of thy Son. I love Thee, Jesus my love; I
repent of ever having offended Thee. Never permit me to offend Thee
again. Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou
wilt.
Relating this to our work day:
Last time we made some specific suggestions about how our Lenten
discipline can help us make a difference in our workplace. Basically
these boiled down to doing our best work no matter how difficult,
tedious or distasteful the job; and being charitable to all with
whom we come in contact, even those who annoy or cause trouble for us.
Of course, that's easier said than done. Perhaps this powerful and
moving image of Our Lord meeting His Mother can help here. No matter how
busy the day, it doesn't take more than a few seconds to see and, yes,
feel, the power of that encounter. Our Lord, in the midst of His
dreadful suffering, was granted a brief encounter with that greatest
source of understanding and consolation: His Mother. Much as this caused
her inestimable suffering, you just know that she did her best to
express her tender love for Her Son. And so, in the midst of our own
difficulties, we can and should turn to her, our Blessed Mother with
deep devotion. With her love and consolation we can surely persist in
our struggle to keep up our Lenten discipline at work.
We conclude today's thoughts with the simple, moving exhortation with
which St. Alphonsus Liguori approaches each Station of the Cross:
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