"Business"

Well, the new year is well underway and it's about that time that we seminarians begin adopting that same old word that is heard far too much in regular conversation and even the smallest of small talk: "busy." How are you doing? "I'm pretty busy, but I'm keeping up with things." "Doing well. Just really busy." "The new job is awesome, really taking off. It just keeps us very busy."

"Business." (By the way, a quick search for business on the very helpful Bartleby.com will shed some light upon the connotation of "business" with which I write.) Something about that darned perpetual "now" of the existentially-minded consciousness keeps one so caught up in the present, about the imperfections of what I am doing now, how I wish I could do it better than I am currently able with my resources or abilities, what I must do next, and what comes after that that the grand scheme seems to lose ground and all too quickly fades as a shadow at nightfall which leaves only a slight hint in the pale and faint moonlight.

It all reminds me of a quite good homily during my first year here at SPS which reminded all of us seminarians, SOD students, guests at mass, faculty and priests that without simple moments of recollection throughout the day, our life will flitter by without and our lives--and our souls--are slowly but surely led to dissipation, discontent and dissatisfaction with the majority of life. Thanks be to God for a place like the chapel, a little "shrine" or area with holy images in my room, the intelligence to appreciate God's providence and all God's many little graces (bestowed with the wonderful cooperation of human intelligence, ingenuity and planning) that provide the day with some continuity, some permanency, stability and a place at which the soul can verify that it is willing something, it is not lost in a sea of particulars but rather is actually willing one consistent end, with many particular manifestations; it is truly willing (hopefully, please God!) to love God in the midst of all the many fluctuating circumstances of daily life and the many menial duties of the day.

Seen in this light, the "business" of life is not a stream of endless activities which occupy the consciousness and slowly eat away at the soul (giving us the feeling of being perpetually busy) but rather opportunities of grace by which we can utilize all that God has given us and then take the time to serve God more wholly in prayer and confirm that these activities are not serving themselves but rather a greater end, the kingdom of God.