Ponder for August #disciplinepausemove

I know it’s August, but I am eagerly anticipating/planning for the fall offerings at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton! There’s a lot going on and I am delighted to be smack-dab in the middle of it. I have Women’s Bible Study, a 12-week session of Evangelical Catholic course, the Catechetical Institute, 4 people currently studying to enter the Catholic faith, with a myriad of baptisms thrown in the mix. We also have Family Faith Formation, Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, and a Women’s Scripture Study on the docket. Shannon and Liam will launch 6-8th grade youth ministry too! Plus, the 50th Anniversary of St. Elizabeth’s canonization celebration with Bishop Izen in September. Yep, a lot!

That also means, however, that I need to plan out the days and months with care. Over the course of this year there’s a few lessons the Lord has been teaching me about the spirituality of work and the way he envisioned ‘work’ to play out for our benefit.

Discipline
We have 24/7 access to e-mail 365 days a year. Most of us have much more autonomy than we’ve ever had in the work environment. It’s easy to sneak a peek at emails in the evening or text a colleague on the weekend, thanks to laptops that go from work-to-home and phones/watches that keep us ever-alert. It’s up to us to prioritize our workflow and protect our leisure time. That takes no small amount of intentionality and a great deal of discipline, two bedrocks of the spiritual life.

A spirituality of discipline allows us to work when needed and retreat when necessary.

Pause

Which leads us to “The Pause.” A cultural buzzword at the moment, it has spiritual significance. The Church asks the faithful to communally pray the Liturgy of the Hours, resting at several moments throughout the day. There’s a reason for that: We need to pause in order to take stock of what’s been done. Have I sent e-mails with kindness and clarity? Have I treated colleagues with respect? And then look at the work ahead. What does the Lord want of the upcoming tasks and conversations? Where should I expend my energy and what tasks can wait? It’s not so much what we do, it’s how we do it.

A spirituality of pause reminds us to seek God in the past, present, and future of our work.

Movement
The “how” we do our work is borne from the mind-body-soul connection. Moving the body stirs the intellect which activates the soul; we are beautifully complex and composite beings. There is a rhythm and harmony to movement, in which all parts work together for the glory and good of God. Stepping away from our desks to chat with a colleague, take a walk, or run an errand helps us to nurture our God-given complexity.

A spirituality of movement keeps us happy, healthy, and holy, the way God intended.

As our thoughts turn to autumn work-and-school rhythms, we might want to contemplate a different routine. How might we integrate this spirituality of work in our every-day lives? Remember what Jesus did: He worked and rested. He prayed to his Father. He walked wherever he went. If Jesus could sanctify his work in the world this way, maybe we should too. #disciplinepausemove