Can the joy of the weekend still be with us on Monday?

Sometimes I'm not altogether sure what is busier; my work week or my weekend.  Don't misunderstand my dilema; my work week is not a piece of cake.  There is much change and work, a new business philosophy and little free time to attend to extracurriculars.  For me, especially this time of year, reaching 5 pm does not equate with heading home and relaxing.  Often there are evening events around my life as a Permanent Deacon and when that is not the case, we are quickly entering that cut the grass every chance you get time of year. 

I actually love those evenings when I can leave work and engage in ministry.  Often these evenings are spent doing baptismal seminars or preparing couples for marriage.  I have my prison ministry night and my evening spent with the 2015 class of aspirants; a fancy word for 1st year diaconate possibilities.  For most of this new year(2012) Tuesday nights have been devoted to some adult faith formation.  Recent organizations at the parish, like a vocations committee and evangelization committee are also opportunities to advance the faith.  And these too are on weeknights.

If we grasp our call as a Christian, if we live our life in balance, if we see the dignity of doing both that which we must do along with that we want to do, we can survive a work week.  We can even find joy in the more tedious parts of the week if we stay focused on our life of faith.  Truly there can be joy when a job well done at the office serves to help a client with a problem, or a new opportunity and when our presence in the workplace serves as encouragement to others.  All of this can result in joy and fulfillment.  In light of today's Gospel, where we are called to recognize Christ, perhaps we are even called to recognize Him in our work week, in our tasks and even in the challenges and disappointments we encounter from week to week.

To bring the joy of our weekend, hopefully spent in time worshipping God, quality time with our families, and opportunities for some rest and relaxation,  I would recommend prayer at the start of each day.  In a special way, ask God to make present to us the joys and dignity of each day.  For each day, the weekends and the Monday's of our lives, are special and holy to God!  Can we draw on our weekend experiences to carry us through the work week?  I think we can.  Use some break time or other time available to you to connect those joyful experiences of our weekends to bring some joy to our weekdays.

Perhaps we can check in with each other from time to time to see how we are doing.  I know this; after such a busy and fulfilling weekend, I'm dedicated to starting my week on Monday morning with great joy!