Reading
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
—Colossians 3:16-17
Reflection
There is little that feels holy about typing an email. It’s a mundane task that most of us wish we spent less time on, especially at work.
Somehow, though, God takes the most ordinary moments and transforms them into something holy. This is what happens in baptism and communion. God takes ordinary, common elements—water, bread, and wine—and transforms them into vehicles of God’s grace.
As hard as it may be for us to believe, even email can be an opportunity to experience God’s presence and bless others. Any everyday task can become an opportunity to encounter God.
One of the masters of seeing God in the ordinary was a 17th-century French monk named Brother Lawrence. He lived in a Parisian monastery, working in the kitchen and as a sandal maker. While his station was humble, he had a magnetic quality about him, and his teachings were eventually written down and published in the book The Practice of the Presence of God. It is a beautiful, accessible little book.
He sought to make love the goal of all of his actions and conversed with God throughout the day. He wrote, “The time of business does not with me differ from the time of prayer, and in the noise and clatter of my kitchen, while several persons are at the same time calling for different things, I possess God in as great tranquility as if I were upon my knees at the blessed sacrament.”
Following Brother Lawrence’s example, we can see each of the ordinary, mundane tasks throughout our day as an opportunity to love, and every task as an opportunity to converse with God. What difference might it make if you began reminding yourself that in every task you undertake, you are in God’s presence?
As we begin noticing God’s presence from moment to moment, conversing with God as we go through the day, and making love the goal of each action we take, our work begins to become an act of prayer—even our emails.
A Prayer of Brother Lawrence
My God, you are always close to me.
In obedience to you, I must now apply myself to outward things.
Yet, as I do, I pray that you will give me the grace of your presence.
And to this end I ask that you will assist my work,
receive its fruits as an offering to you,
and all the while direct all my affections to you.
Amen.
