Still in the Octave of Easter at Work

As we noted last time, we're in the Octave of Easter here at work. It's intended to "extend" Easter beyond a 24 hour one and done event. 

With that understanding firmly seated in our minds, we have been trying to keep our Risen Lord, well, risen. Instead of keeping Him under wraps (at least for many or us) as we go out our daily work, we're trying, in various ways, to let Him rise, specifically to be more "conscious" of His Presence.

There are so many ways we can do this, and yet for many of us, all of these are neglected. That's especially true if we take the trouble to organize our daily labor and know our priorities. Of course, it's important - and good - to do this. We take our responsibilities to our employer, to our clients and customers seriously, right?

Or maybe our workplace hums with activity such that we are swept up in the daily waves and simply must ride them as required and directed by whoever oversees our work. 

Or maybe we're sole proprietors whose business relies on our complete and exhaustive attention to every detail to keep the work flow flowing so our revenue exceeds our expenses and pays us a living wage - at the very least. 

The point is, for many if not most of us, our time at work comes with a list of tasks that have deadlines. And, especially if we always try to strive to produce excellent work, we feel it's all we can do to keep up with those deadlines. Time for God? It's our intention, perhaps, but may be more ideal than reality.

Well, now's the time to address this. And the good news is that we're in the Octave of Easter. 

First of all, anything good happens because of God's grace, right. We're simply in no position to be good or make good on our own. Remember fallen human nature? We're all part of that club. But it's not bad news (if it is indeed news at all). It's good news. 

Why good? Because we can turn to God and beg Him for the grace we need to be good and do good. And in today's context, we can turn to Him and seek the grace to be more conscious of Our Lord during our work day. Even better, we can do this with the understanding that special graces flow during an Octave. And best of all, we can recall that this Octave sits at the top. It is Easter unfurled for us for the entire week.

When Our Lord died for us, everything changed, as we know. The closing of the Gates of Paradise because of Adam and Eve's Original Sin was finally "reversed" - forever. Now all of us - assuming we love God and are in the state of grace, can dare to believe that one day we can be in His Presence, eternally happy in Heaven.

But Our Lord didn't stop with His death on the Cross. He then rose from the dead. And on that day, He showed us our future. We too can rise from the death of sin, from this Vale of Tears. The image of our Lord, resplendent in all His Glory, shines its Light on all who would follow Him, who would love Him above all else. 

We continue to meditate on His Passion and Death. We can never forget this. But we can now meditate on His Resurrection as well. And we must never forget this.

So now that we are surrounded by the Octave of Easter, even as we go about our daily labor, all of this can be ours to contemplate even if only for a moment or two during our busy day at work. 

Perhaps these clumsy words won't inspire many of us, but forget the lack of elegant style here and consider the reality of all this. Really let it sink in. We are not in "ordinary" time here. It's the Octave of Easter!

Happy Easter? Yes! But more so, Christ is Risen!

How can we just go about our work as if it's just another day?

 

Happy Easter!

Christ is Risen!