Something Different For This First Full Week of Lent
Do you want to "make a difference"? We hear this all the time, don't we?
Young people are exhorted to "make a difference." Many of us at work
would like to "make a difference" in our chosen careers. It all sounds
fine, as long as by "difference" you mean you want to do something
that's ultimately good. After all - think about it - Hitler, Stalin, and
Mao made a huge difference during their lives.
In any case, we've all got a chance now to make a difference - in the
good sense - at work. We're into our first full week of Lent at work. So
what will it be: business as usual, or, well, something "different"?
Have you "prepared" your workplace, your work time (and your home) for Lent? If not, get on it. (HERE
for some suggestions.) If so, then you're about to make a difference at
work. Observing Lent in whatever manner that makes sense for you in
your current situation will make a difference not only for your
spiritual life, but in the lives of everyone you touch throughout the
day. It will likely make a difference in the quality of work you do.
So Lent arrives and brings with it "something different."
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 3: Jesus Falls the First Time
St. Alphonsus writes:
Consider this first fall of Jesus under His Cross. His flesh was torn
by the scourges, His head crowned with thorns, and He had lost a great
quantity of blood. He was so weakened that he could scarcely walk, and
yet he had to carry this great load upon His shoulders. The soldiers
struck Him rudely, and thus He fell several times in His journey.
My beloved Jesus, it is not the weight of the Cross, but my sins,
which have made Thee suffer so much pain. Ah, by the merits of this
first fall, deliver me from the misfortune of falling into mortal sin. I
love Thee, O my Jesus, with my whole heart; I repent of having offended
Thee. Never permit me to separate myself from Thee again. Grant that I
may love Thee always; and then do with me what Thou wilt.
Relating this to our work day:
In conjunction with St. Alphonsus's remarks, let's recall the role our
sins played in inflicting unfathomable suffering on the Son of God, Our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. It was the unbearable weight of our sins
more than the weight of the Cross that caused Him to fall. How sorry
should we be; how desirous to show our sorrow through acts of penance. In that spirit, let's make a special, penitential effort at work today.
No matter how tedious or difficult, let's assure the quality and timely
completion of all our tasks, without procrastination or complaint. This
alone could be tough enough for many of us. But add to this now, in
that same penitential spirit, a determination to treat all with whom we
come in contact with charity. And, yes, that includes bosses,
co-workers, even customers who, frankly, get on our nerves, even say and
do things that hurt us or harm us in some way. Rather than react to
them, pray for these people. If possible, try to go the extra mile and
speak to them without rancor or annoyance. If that's asking too much, be
certain to avoid critical or complaining remarks about them.
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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