Two Business Meditations for Holy Week
By Peter Mirus ( bio - articles - email ) | Mar 28, 2010
Here are two challenging business meditations as we move through the conclusion of Lent.
First Meditation
It is a rare and blessed occasion when business activities are executed exactly as planned, resulting in the desired consequences. While a sense of purpose, determination, and steadfastness are necessary in business, flexibility is also necessary.
While St. Joseph is the patron saint of workers, I reflect this week on Mary’s purpose, determination, and steadfastness—along with the flexibility that allowed her to answer God’s call under the most trying of circumstances. We worry about flawless execution of our plans. Mary was following God’s plan even as her life’s work was being executed—for a crime that He did not commit.
Second Meditation
St. Bernard of Clairvaux wrote that the first degree of pride is “inquisitiveness”. How much more productive would our business workday be if we put a check on our inquisitiveness? Thanks to the many pleasant distractions that the Internet and our coworkers can provide, one can easily spend a good deal of time on things that have little to no worth.
How much better would it be for our careers and for our relationships if we kept our mind on our own affairs while at work—rather than on fantasy sports, March Madness, weird news headlines, celebrity news, YouTube videos, sentimental-pass-this-email-along-cute-thoughts-of-the-day, office gossip, etc.?
There’s a time and place for recreation, and brain-recharging breaks during the day are often necessary. However, our lives need to be properly balanced, and it is way too easy to slip out of balance in these areas. Sure, we might make up the hours by working overtime (in the office or at home)—but if we’re married, isn’t it better to take care of business at work when possible? We need to prioritize and push aside inappropriate distractions.
May each of you have a blessed Holy Week and a happy Easter!
Peter Mirus is a business, marketing, and technology consultant with more than 20 years of experience working with companies and nonprofits, ranging from start-ups to large international organizations. From 2004-2014 he contributed articles on the Catholic Faith, culture, and business to the CatholicCulture.org website.
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