Friday, October 15, 2010

Workload solution

I've been preparing for next week's filming in Italy, boning up on my Italian and reading an enormous book about our Founder's life (in Italian, of course). But I am also working on the Digital Catechesis workshop for Boston. And now I may be giving another (two-day) workshop for clergy on communications the week after I return from Rome. (I do not have a whole lot ready for that.) It's kind of a lot to fit into the space of four weeks.
Last night I was wondering about how I'm going to actually manage that, given that I also have to sleep, eat, pray and exercise. Every day, if possible. I remembered the advice given by the saints: When you have a lot to do, rather than increase your working hours, increase your prayer time. In other words, put it on the Lord's to-do list. This is just what Psalm says, "If the Lord does not build the house, in vain do the builders labor; in vain is your earlier rising, your going later to rest when he pours gifts on his loved ones while they slumber." So I resolved to add 20 or 30 minutes to my adoration time.

While I was eating my breakfast, I continued plowing ahead in that humongous biography of the Founder. Precisely today I reached a section which quoted from a letter written by his spiritual director, Ven. Francesco Chiesa. It was a little story in which the disciple says to the spiritual director: "I am overburdened with work! I just can't do it anymore! Tell me what I should leave off doing." And the director responds, "Add a quarter-hour to your Visit to the Blessed Sacrament."
I love it when our Lord is clear like that...

1 comment:

K T Cat said...

I don't know if you're going to be talking about social media, but if you are, here's a great video by Scott Stratten on the topic. Scott was the opening keynote speaker at Blogworld this year and he was great. I've been a blogger for years and he taught me some new tricks.