Life is good, the active life a sensation of holiness when kept busy, awake in spirit, daily mass and adoration sustaining. The new job is incredible on many levels. The maintenance department excels. The work is furious, fifty die casting machines running three shifts five to seven days a week. However the machines are basically all the same, and plus there are men fixing them who have been there since the plant opened in 1992. That is twenty years of working on the same machine, supported by a company that promotes quality, supplying extensive training. The maintenance department knows how to take care of their die casting machines, while functioning daily within adult communication and teamwork, firmly grounded in ethics and professionalism. God guided me into a stellar employment situation. This is truly a company one retires handsomely from. The entire second shift crew routinely shares in a community meal on Fridays, everyone pitching in money, while the die repair maintenance and machining department organizes the dispensing. We enjoyed an incredible meal of fried chicken, country fries, homemade potato salad, and dinner rolls in abundance today. I do not know where the food came from, although I will find out. The quality was amazing and so much fun for everyone to come together around tables in a celebration of dining. This is a friendly bunch, while also not too inquisitive. I enjoy my socializing, while also my distance. I read during lunch, keeping casual conversation to a minimum, while being fully present for coworkers, a brother to my fellow laborers. Speaking of reading, my time to digest words has been reduced with a work schedule demanding effort. I just purchased a wonderful grocery bag filled with books, all historical/religious, from the Cleveland library for four dollars, including a high dollar large collector’s photo assemblage detailing Vatican City. I also realized a Henry Suso book I ordered over a month ago never arrived, inquisitively emailing the seller, who assures me they will look into matters. I will have to be organized in order to maintain a healthy influx of contemplative nurturing, reading as much as possible before the Eucharist.
Tomorrow is the second and final eight hour training session with the Hospice of the Western Reserve. I am excited, I made a wonderful rotini pasta salad with Bulgarian feta cheese to share with others, humbled to take part, proud to be one amongst many. I am astonished I may start working with patients this week. Today, the second of the month, Tilma, the Catholic book and gift store in Berea hosted the praying of three mysteries of the Rosary for the conversion of the world. A prayer participant made the suggestion to concentrate upon the Divine Mercy chaplet during vigil watch, sitting with patients enduring final moments. During the reciting of the Rosary, focused upon a Divine Mercy image of Christ, the reality of my volunteering effort swept over me, washing me with humility, forcing me to question if I was really ready for such solemn activity. Life seemed mammoth, immense in magnitude and mystery. I could only cling to my Rosary beads, verbalizing prayers, understanding there was no turning back. There was no choice, thus no reason to fear. Jesus I trust in You. I am so intent upon giving back a hunger burns within my soul. I am ready for a profound contemplatively active life.
