Hello Everyone—thanks for stopping by. This week is one of several weeks in the year when we call “catch-up” with our work. We have a different schedule that allows for a longer stretch of time to get a job done that requires a bit more time, or is more labor intensive, like getting the yard ready for winter, doing some touch up painting, or extra dusting, cleaning, etc. I’ve always loved what Clare tells her sisters about work:
Let the sisters to whom the Lord has given the grace of working, work faithfully and devotedly at work that leads to a virtuous life and the common good. They must do this in such a way that, while they banish idleness, the enemy of the soul, they do not extinguish the Spirit of holy prayer and devotion to which all other things of our earthly existence must contribute.
Clare’s Rule, chapter 7
How many people find their work drudgery? Clare’s description flows from a spirit of gratitude for all God’s goodness, and so, work, thought of by many as a burden, is reimaged as something positive–grace. Our constitutions further describe our Poor Clare attitude towards work. Our way of life reminds us that by working we are able “to return to the Lord an increase of the gifts we have received.” We participate in the “creative and redemptive work of God.” There are many people who do not have the ability to work, and so it is a call for gratitude when I think about all that I am able to do for my Sisters and all God’s people. Praise God from whom all blessings flow!
My prayer this week is especially for all those who are out of work and in need of a job.
Peace! Your Poor Clare Sister Kathy Ann