Balancing Work with Prayer

On Monday, we will celebrate Labor Day, a holiday originally intended to celebrate the dignity of the worker.  St. Joseph is, among other things, the patron saint of workers.  He made his living as a carpenter, engaged in manual labor, and he passed on his trade to Jesus.  Jesus took it a step further in his role as the Son of God.

Jesus engaged in the work of conversion through prayer.  He called his apostles from their daily work to a different calling, but one that is still work.  “Come after me, and I will make you fishers of men,” He tells them in Matthew 4:19.  It is work to follow Jesus.  It is sacrifice.  The conversion of hearts takes effort, both on the part of the convert and the converter.

The idea that prayer and work go hand in hand has survived through the centuries.  Ora et labora (prayer and work) became the motto of many monasteries as a key component of the Rule of St. Benedict.  His Rule sought to ensure that there was balance in life rather than a tending toward one extreme or the other.

When prayer guides our work, we can be assured that God will have a hand in it somehow.  It may not be in the way we expect, but He is working in and through us.  As we celebrate Labor Day, let us call to mind all those who work with and for us to better our lives.

Regaining Clarity

I’ll just say it.  The air quality this summer has been absolutely terrible.  It was such a nice surprise to be able to see the Salt Lake Valley on my way to work yesterday morning.  Thank God for the cleansing rain!   Unfortunately, the storm on Wednesday blew a lot of smoke into the valley again, so our respite was fleeting.  Nevertheless, we know that there is the possibility of clearer days ahead.

Regaining the physical ability to see the valley only to have it obscured the next day, reminded me that there are always opportunities to look for the gifts that God is giving us.  Sometimes they may be more difficult to see than usual, but they are still there.  Saint Ignatius called these times of haziness in our life “desolation.”  He called the times of clarity “consolation.”  When we are in desolation, it may seem difficult to talk with God.  It may be hard to see the good things in our life.  The times of consolation are easier.  During these times, we should strive to thank God for all the things He is doing for us, whether we realize it or not.

This week, try to see the gifts God wants to give you each day.

Winnie the Pooh and the Value of Being Child-Like

In Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians he says, “When I was a child, I used to talk as a child, think as a child, reason as a child; when I became a man, I put aside childish things” (1 Corinthians 13:11).  It is important though to make a distinction between “childish” and “child-like.”  After all, Jesus said, “unless you turn and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 18:3).  The new film, Christopher Robin, in theaters now, illustrates this distinction very well.

WARNING:  SPOILERS AHEAD!  If you would like to see the movie without spoilers, please skip the next two paragraphs.

The film brings back beloved characters from childhood:  Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit, Owl, Kanga, and Roo.  It first presents Christopher Robin as a boy getting ready to go away to boarding school.  The majority of the film shows him as an adult (played by Ewan Mcgregor), with all the worries and responsibilities of a grown up.  Pooh finds his way to London because he has lost his friends in the Hundred Acre Wood and needs Christopher Robin’s help to find them.  Christopher Robin is facing a daunting time at work during which his boss expects him to do some restructuring of staff.  He has needed to cancel a family outing with his wife Evelyn and daughter Madeline in order to work.  Pooh’s timing could not be worse!  Grudgingly, Christopher Robin takes Pooh back to the Hundred Acre Wood, defeats a “woozle,” and saves his childhood friends.  But, when he returns to the “real world”, he unknowingly leaves behind all of his important work papers. 

The inhabitants of the Hundred Acre Wood embark on a mission to return the papers to Christopher Robin, enlisting the help of Madeline.  Madeline goes off with them to try to find her father in London, resulting in her mother thinking she has gone off on her own.  Christopher and Evelyn find Madeline in London, and Christopher finds a way to resolve his staffing issues in a manner beneficial to all.  In the process, Christopher Robin realizes he is trying to make his daughter grow up too fast.  He discovers that there is more to life than working all the time.  He finds a solution, both to his work problem and the problem of missing time with his family.  And, in the grand tradition of Disney films, they live happily ever after.

So, what does this have to do with the scripture passages I included earlier?  Christopher Robin “put aside childish things,” but he also lost his child-like wonder.  It took a significant intervention from his childhood friends to help him find it again, and he was a happier person because of it.  He found himself again, and he was able to allow his daughter to be a child instead of growing up too fast as he had to do.

As I have gotten older, I have begun to notice the “grown-up” messages in films meant for children.  This film was full of them.  It helps us to realize the value in being child-like.  Most importantly, it reminds us not to grow up too fast.

Resolutions Aren't Just for the New Year

This is the first time in twenty-six years that August has not been “back to school” time for me.  Typically, August was filled with back to school shopping and “school year resolutions”:  This year, I’m going to be organized.  This year, I’m going to stay on top of my homework (or, when I became a teacher, my grading).  This year is going to be different, and it’s going to be better, and I’m going to get so much more done.

Now that I am out of school, both as a student and as a teacher, I am finding myself missing this time of starting fresh and beginning new things.  I feel like I’ve finally “graduated” to becoming an “adult” with bigger responsibilities, even though I had them as a teacher as well.  Now, though, they’re year-round.

I realize it doesn’t have to be this way necessarily.  Any time can be a time of renewal.  Often, if one looks for advice on goal setting, what one finds is simple.  Add new habits and goals gradually.  Set a time-range for meeting your goal.  Is it a long-term goal?  Allow more time to achieve it.  Set smaller goals to help reach the bigger ones.

At this point in my life, leaving the world of education, I feel like I've lost the sense of schedule that the cycle of school-summer-school gave me, but that’s not a bad thing.  Now I can truly embrace the idea of starting anew at any time.

I think the same can be said for spiritual renewal.  Often, we look to the “big” seasons in the Church year, such as Advent, Christmas, Lent, or Easter as the times to reconnect with our faith, but we can do so at any time.  God is always waiting for us.  We just have to be ready and willing to meet Him.

What could you do to start a time of spiritual renewal right now?

What Price Will You Pay?

Perhaps, for those of us who have lived in Utah for some time, just the words “the Pearl of Great Price” may bring to mind our Mormon brothers and sisters.  For Mormons, these words refer to a publication of Joseph Smith’s translations of scripture.  For Catholics, we hear these words in the context of a parable, one of the stories Jesus told to teach his followers about the Kingdom of Heaven during his earthly ministry.  These stories often begin “The Kingdom of Heaven is like…”  Jesus uses similes and metaphors to describe something that is beyond our human comprehension.

The parable of the Pearl of Great Price is paired with that of the Treasure in the Field.  Both of these are similar to the parable of The Good Shepherd, which we hear during the Easter season.  God is the Good Shepherd who leaves his sheep to seek the one who has gone astray.  God is the person who finds the Treasure in the Field or the Merchant who finds the Pearl, and sells all He has so He may purchase the field or the Pearl.

In his homily on this Gospel, Deacon Gerald Zukauckas of EWTN pointed out that, in the metaphor of these parables, we are the “treasure” or the “pearl.”  God was willing to pay the ultimate price so that He might possess us.  He was willing to send His Son to us.  Jesus literally gave His life for us.  Because of Jesus’ example and sacrifice, we have our faith, which is the greatest treasure we can hope to possess.  

How much are we willing to pay God for His boundless love for us?  How much are we willing to give up for our faith?