It is
Wednesday, and so time for the second instalment of ‘the Papal examen.’ For
those who missed it last week, I am going through the Pope’s marvellous talk to
the Curia from before Christmas, where he laid out fifteen spiritual diseases
he saw as endangering the health of that body. My take on it is that his words
are not for the Curia alone, but that it is a great examination for all of us,
and so I’m taking Wednesdays (the day Judas betrayed the Lord) to go through
each of these diseases.
Disease two
is “the ‘Martha complex’, excessive busy-ness. It is found in those who immerse
themselves in work and inevitably neglect ‘the
better part’: sitting at the feet of Jesus (cf. Lk 10:38-42).
“Jesus
called his disciples to ‘rest
a while’ (cf. Mk
6:31) for a reason, because neglecting needed rest leads to stress
and agitation. A time of rest, for those who have completed their work, is
necessary, obligatory and should be taken seriously: by spending time with
one’s family and respecting holidays as moments of spiritual and physical
recharging. We need to learn from Qohelet that ‘for everything there is a
season’ (3:1-15).”
Now, just to
forestall the obvious objection, there are times and seasons in life when we
are, in fact, very busy. Parents in the midst of raising their children are not
necessarily suffering from the ‘Martha complex,’ but simply dealing with the
reality of many little people who need to be cared for each day.
I would say,
though, that even there, there has to be a balance. I am involved in the lives
of many families—it is one of the perks of the priesthood!—and it does seem to
me that sometimes parents can indeed become excessively busy, so taken up with
the real work that needs doing that they don’t actually enjoy being with their
children too much. I have seen both—parents who are very responsible and
attentive and yet can laugh and play and delight in their children’s little
ways, and others who don’t quite manage to do that.
A sense of
responsibility and seriousness of purpose is a good thing—but life is filled
with these moments of beauty and joy, laughter and fun (especially in a house
full of children), and it does seem to me that any of us can become so taken up
with the work we have to do that we can miss these little moments which are meant
to refresh and renew us, that are sprinkled throughout the day.
It is
perhaps worth noting here that the Pope is not using the language of sin here,
but of sickness. The person who not only works hard and is attentive to the
needs of those who depend on them, but who cannot stop working, cannot relax
and enjoy life, cannot enter into that Sabbath space where it is time to simply
be and receive, to sit at the Lord’s feet and rejoice in the gifts given by
Him—this person is not in a state of sin, but they are unwell.
Of course
his primary audience here is not parents of young children, where clearly this
poses special challenges, but a group of celibate churchmen. And this certainly
can be among the perils of celibate life, that life is work and work is life
and there is nothing else going on in one’s life except the work one is doing
for God and the Church. It is understandable, but very unhealthy.
All I can
say is that St. Martha did us all a big favour when she had her little meltdown
with the Lord, faithfully recorded in Luke 10: 38-42. Perpetually, human beings
need to be reminded that the main event of life, the most important thing going
on in any of our lives, the ‘better part’, is not the work we are doing, not
the endless tasks life serves up to us. Far more important, far more deserving
of our attention, far more vital to our life, is the work God is doing in each
one of us, the hidden mysterious work of the Spirit in our hearts and in the
hearts of those we are trying to take care of.
When we lose
this sense, life does indeed become ceaseless drudgery and a constant worry.
Worse yet, we can start to feel more responsible for things than we really are,
as if it is our job to make everyone happy and fulfill every need of everyone
around us. This is nonsense, of course, and we will wear ourselves to
exhaustion if we don’t realize that.
God is
working; God is doing something; God is on the move, and part of our whole
sense of Sabbath, in the Christian understanding of it, is to reclaim that
sense of God’s gift and grace flowing through our lives.
It can be
very challenging to do this in the middle of a busy hectic life, but it is
spiritual health, and makes our lives much more peaceful and happy if we can
find our way to it. Let us pray for the grace to receive, and enjoy, and give
thanks to God for his presence and his work in our life.
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