The Unprofitable Servant: Beggars Can't Always Be Choosy!

Friday, June 10, 2011

Beggars Can't Always Be Choosy!

I know we don't have to go to daily Mass. I also know that it's usually a greater sacrifice for me to perform whatever duty calls me away from daily Mass than to make the effort to get there. Just as nearly every Saturday may be dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, so it is with Friday and devotion to the Sacred Heart. While I know that only the first Friday is particularly dedicated to the Sacred Heart, I try my best to do something in reparation and if possible, to recite the Litany. It had been a long time since I missed Mass on a Friday. Unfortunately, it happened today.

I got a call last night right as I was going to bed that a catastrophe occurred which compromised the sterility of our instruments and supplies. I had already taken an allergy pill and did not want to drive in to work, plus I knew the nursing supervisor and others were on the premises and could do as I directed them. My phone did not stop ringing until sometime after 2 am and bleary-eyed, I dragged myself in at 6am to see what else needed to be done. I can't complain because the evening folks didn't make it home until 4 am. I was scheduled to visit my friend at her Catholic hospital, but that was looking more and more precarious.

At any rate, after running around for 4 1/2 hours, dealing with childish surgeons and staff and noting that my supposed right-hand nurse was enjoying watching me sweat, I decided things were under enough control that I could leave for a few hours. We decided that this would be a working visit and my friend planned things so that we could review policies in her OR that are plaguing me in mine. I interviewed some of her staff in the endo lab, which is an area where we are having particular challenges, and brought back some good information to guide us in our facility.

I absolutely loved the hospital I visited though it is admittedly twice the distance from my house as my current position. The hospital is located on a beautiful campus and a statue of the Blessed Virgin Mary greets you as you arrive at the entrance. A modern looking cathedral-type structure is attached to the entrance, and I learned that it is "the chapel". It's larger than some churches I've been in. I'm not crazy about the modern statues and the off-center tabernacle, but it's a hospital chapel, not a parish church. Beggars cannot be choosy!

I have a lot to consider. On the one hand, it is quite a distance. On the other, I will be in the same building, all day long, in which the Blessed Sacrament is reserved. The chapel is open 24 hours a day, which means that whenever I have the time and the desire, I can pop in for a quick prayer or an hour of devotion at the end of the day before I leave. It will be less money, but that's never an issue. Less is more, if you know what I mean. The time off works differently too, but it won't be a problem. I will make a list of pros and cons and weigh them carefully for awhile.

When my friend took me into the chapel, I thought that even though I didn't make it to Friday Mass for the first time in a long time, I did get to greet Jesus in person, if only for a moment. Aside from the visit, this was an extremely difficult day and one on which I found it so difficult to pray.

As I drove in to work this morning at an hour when I would normally be on my way to Mass, I wondered to myself why it appears as though God makes things so difficult. I have only to think of St. Joseph in search of a place for his wife to bring forth her Child to recall that His plan for us seems not to include clear-cut directions complete with arrows.

Some days are going to be better than others. Only in Heaven should I expect perfection, cos I surely have no right to expect it here on earth.

(I tried my best to edit this, but I am the midst of a sneezing conniption, so please excuse typos, etc!)

5 comments:

MannyJune 10, 2011 at 8:19 PM
Addressing the first part of this entry, I would say that leadership requires sacrifice. I'm the manager of my project and I feel the sense of duty way more than the others or when I wasn't a manager. I think of it as analogous to Christ washing of the feet, a service to those dependent on me rather than a claiming of superiority.

As to the second part, I offer another prayer for you to make a wise decision. God guide you.
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TLWJune 10, 2011 at 8:27 PM
Management is largely a thank-less job, but someone has to do it. I think I have concluded that it would be better if that someone was someone else!

Thanks for your prayers Manny, they're always appreciated.
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Mary ChristineJune 10, 2011 at 8:39 PM
Oh, this is exciting. I hope you are able to make the change. I will keep you in my prayers.
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Kathy Felsted UsherJune 10, 2011 at 8:47 PM
You need to choose the place that makes you happy. As long as you can financially swing any pay differences or increased gasoline costs there can't be any other consideration other than your comfort and happiness. You spend more time there, probably, than at home. In addition, if you are happy, that tends to rub off on others around you. Good luck with your decision!
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KellyJune 11, 2011 at 8:38 AM
LOL!! If that someone else was someone else! Love that! I do pray you will have lots and lots of grace as you go forward with whatever you choose. Changing jobs , even if it is a positive move, is stressful. God Bless!
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Mary, Queen of Peace

Ever glorious and blessed Mary, Queen of Virgins, Mother of Mercy, hope and comfort of dejected and desolate souls, through that sword of sorrow which pierced thy tender heart whilst thine only Son, Christ Jesus, our Lord, suffered death and ignominy on the cross; through that filial tenderness and pure love He had for thee, grieving in thy grief, whilst from His cross He recommended thee to the care and protection of His beloved disciple, St. John, take pity, I beseech thee, on my poverty and necessities; have compassion on my anxieties and cares; assist and comfort me in all my infirmities and miseries, of every kind whatsoever. Thou art the Mother of Mercies, the sweet comforter and only refuge of the needy and the orphan, of the desolate and afflicted. Cast, therefore, an eye of pity on a miserable, forlorn child of Eve, and hear my prayer; for since, in just punishment of my sins, I find myself encompassed by a multitude of evils, and oppressed with much anguish of spirit, wither can I fly for more secure shelter, O amiable Mother of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, than under the wings of thy maternal protection? Attend, therefore, I beseech thee, with an ear of pity and compassion, to my humble and earnest request. I ask it, through the bowels of mercy of thy dear Son; Through that love and condescension wherewith He embraced our nature, when, in compliance with the divine Will, thou gavest thy consent, and whom, after the expiration of nine months thou didst bring forth from the chaste enclosure of thy womb, to visit the world, and bless it with His presence. I ask it, through that anguish of mind wherewith thy beloved Son, our dear Saviour, was overwhelmed on the Mount of Olives, when He besought His eternal Father to remove from Him, if possible, the bitter chalice of His future passion. I ask it, through the threefold repetition of His prayers in the garden, whence afterwards, with dolorous steps and mournful tears, thou didst accompany Him to the doleful theatre of His death and sufferings. I ask it, through the welts and bruises of His virginal flesh, occasioned by the cords and whips wherewith He was bound and scourged, when stripped of His seamless garment, for which His executioners afterwards cast lots. I ask it, through the scoffs and ignominies by which He was insulted; the false accusations and unjust sentence by which He was condemned to death, and which He bore with heavenly patience. I ask it, through His bitter tears and bloody sweat; His silence and resignation; His sadness and grief of heart. I ask it, through the blood which trickled from His royal and Sacred Head, when struck with the sceptre of a reed and pierced with His crown of thorns. I ask it, through the excruciating torments He suffered, when His hands and feet were fastened with gross nails to the tree of the cross. I ask it, through His vehement thirst, and bitter potion of vinegar and gall. I ask it, through His dereliction on the cross when He exclaimed, "My God! my God! why hast Thou forsaken me?" I ask it, through His mercy extended to the good thief, and through His recommending His precious soul and spirit into the hands of His eternal Father before He expired, saying, "It is consummated." I ask it, through the blood mixed with water, which issued from His Sacred Side when pierced with a lance, and whence a flood of grace and mercy has flowed to us. I ask it, through His immaculate life, bitter passion and ignominious death on the cross, at which nature itself was thrown into convulsions, by the bursting of rocks, rending of the veil of the Temple, the earthquake, and the darkness of the sun and moon. I ask it, through His descent into hell, where He confronted the Saints of the old law with His presence, and led the captivity captive. I ask it, through His glorious victory over death, when He arose again to life on the third day, and through the joy which His appearance for forty days after gave thee, His blessed Mother, His Apostles, and the rest of His Disciples; when in thine and their presence He miraculously ascended into heaven. I ask it, through the grace of the Holy Spirit, infused into the hearts of His Disciples, when He descended upon them in the form of fiery tongues, and by which they were inspired with zeal in the conversion of the world, when they went to preach the gospel. I ask it, through the awful appearance of thy Son, at the last dreadful day, when He shall come to judge the living and the dead, and the world, by fire. I ask it, through the compassion He bore thee in His life, and the unspeakable joy thou didst feel at thine assumption into heaven, where thou art eternally absorbed in the sweet contemplation of His divine perfections. O glorious and ever blessed Virgin! comfort the heart of thy supplicant, by obtaining for me, (Mention your prayer intention here...) And as I am persuaded my Divine Saviour doth honour thee as His beloved Mother, to whom He refuses nothing, because thou asketh nothing contrary to His honour, so let me speedily experience the efficacy of thy powerful intercession, according to the tenderness of thy maternal affection, and His filial loving heart, who mercifully granteth the requests and complieth with the desires of those that love and fear Him. Wherefore, O most blessed Virgin, beside the object of my present petition, and whatever else I may stand in need of, obtain for me also of thy dear Son, our Lord and our God, a lively faith, firm hope, perfect charity, true contrition of heart, unfeigned tears of compunction, sincere confession, condign satisfaction, abstinence from sin, love of God and my neighbour, contempt of the world, patience to suffer affronts and ignominies, nay, even, if necessary, an opprobrious death itself, for love of thy Son, our Saviour Jesus Christ. Obtain likewise for me, O sacred Mother of God, perseverance in good works, performance of good resolutions, mortification of self-will, a pious conversation through life, and, at my last moments, strong and sincere repentance, accompanied by such a lively and attentive presence of mind, as may enable me to receive the last Sacrament of the Church worthily, and die in thy friendship and favour. Lastly, obtain through thy Son, I beseech thee, for the souls of my parents, brethren, relatives and benefactors, both living and dead, life everlasting, from the only Giver of every good and perfect gift, the Lord God Almighty, to Whom be all power now and forever. Amen.

Prayer of St. Bonaventure

Pierce, O most sweet Lord Jesus, my inmost soul with the most joyous and healthful wound of Thy love, and with true, calm and most holy apostolic charity, that my soul may ever languish and melt with entire love and longing for Thee, may yearn for Thee and for thy courts, may long to be dissolved and to be with Thee.
Grant that my soul may hunger after Thee, the Bread of Angels, the refreshment of holy souls, our daily and super substantial bread, having all sweetness and savor and every delightful taste.
May my heart ever hunger after and feed upon Thee, Whom the angels desire to look upon, and may my inmost soul be filled with the sweetness of Thy savor; may it ever thirst for Thee, the fountain of life, the fountain of wisdom and knowledge, the fountain of eternal light, the torrent of pleasure, the fullness of the house of God;
may it ever compass Thee, seek Thee, find Thee, run to Thee, come up to Thee, meditate on Thee, speak of Thee, and do all for the praise and glory of Thy name, with humility and discretion, with love and delight, with ease and affection, with perseverance to the end; and be Thou alone ever my hope, my entire confidence, my riches, my delight, my pleasure, my joy, my rest and tranquility, my peace, my sweetness, my food, my refreshment, my refuge, my help, my wisdom, my portion, my possession, my treasure; in Whom may my mind and my heart be ever fixed and firm and rooted immovably. Amen.

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The Unprofitable Servant

Friday, June 10, 2011

Beggars Can't Always Be Choosy!

5 comments:

Mary, Queen of Peace

St Michael the Archangel

St. Mary Magdalene de Pazzi

St. Teresa Benedicta of The Cross