Chapter Seven: On Exhaustion and Renewal in Toil

Chapter Seven: On Exhaustion and Renewal in Toil

As I have observed the ebb and flow of vital forces within the body, wherein blood circulateth ceaselessly yet requireth repose, so too doth the labourer, though formed for work, reach the bounds of his endurance. Exhaustion is the soul’s lament when toil hath become disordered, severed from its divine source. The Psalmist crieth: “My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever” (Psalm 73:26, Greek: Ἐξέλιπεν ἡ σάρξ μου καὶ ἡ καρδία μου, ὁ Θεὸς τῆς καρδίας μου καὶ ἡ μερίς μου ὁ Θεὸς εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα – “My flesh and my heart have failed: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever”).

The Fathers before 1300 are concordant: exhaustion ariseth not from labour per se (for Adam toiled in Eden without weariness), but from sin’s curse: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread” (Genesis 3:19). St John Cassian (†435) attributeth it to acedia, that spiritual sloth which maketh every task burdensome. St Gregory the Great (†604) describeth it as the soul’s rebellion when the body is overtaxed without prayer.

The remedy lieth in the sacred order:

• Moderation in Exertion: “Better is an handful with quietness, than both the hands full with travail and vexation of spirit” (Ecclesiastes 4:6). St Benedict (†547) prescribeth balanced hours: labour six, read two, pray the rest.
• Renewal Through Sacrament and Prayer: When weary, turn to the Eucharist, wherein Christ saith: “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger” (John 6:35, Greek: Ἐγώ εἰμι ὁ ἄρτος τῆς ζωῆς· ὁ ἐρχόμενος πρός με οὐ μὴ πεινάσῃ – “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger”). St Ambrose (†397) teacheth that the sacraments restore vigour to the fainting soul.
• Communal Support: Share burdens, for “Two are better than one… for if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow” (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10). The early monasteries exemplified this, where brethren aided the weary.

He who ignoreth these descendeth into despair; he who embraceth them findeth strength renewed, “as the eagle’s” (Isaiah 40:31, Greek: ὡς ἀετοὶ ἀνακαινισθήσεται ἡ νεότης σου – “as eagles thy youth shall be renewed”).

Chapter Eight: The Man Who Attaineth Excellence in Vocation

As the architect discerneth the perfect form hidden within the marble, so the successful labourer revealeth the divine image through disciplined effort. Success is the fruit of grace cooperating with nature: “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God” (2 Corinthians 3:5, Greek: οὐχ ὅτι ἀφ’ ἑαυτῶν ἱκανοί ἐσμεν λογίσασθαί τι ὡς ἐξ ἑαυτῶν, ἀλλ’ ἡ ἱκανότης ἡμῶν ἐκ τοῦ Θεοῦ – “Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God”).

The conditions are anchored in patristic wisdom:

• Intelligence Ordered to Truth: St Basil (†379) teacheth that the mind, illumined by faith, surpasseth mere human cunning.
• Affinity in Charity: Love thy co-labourers as brethren, for “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar” (1 John 4:20).
• Reality in Prudence: Discern truth amid illusions, as St Anselm (†1109) sought “faith seeking understanding.”
• Communion in Obedience: Submit to just authority, for “Obey them that have the rule over you” (Hebrews 13:17, Greek: Πείθεσθε τοῖς ἡγουμένοις ὑμῶν καὶ ὑπείκετε – “Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves”).

St Gregory Nazianzen (†390) laudeth the virtuous worker: “He who uniteth prayer with toil ascendeth to God.” The successful man is he who, like the wise steward (Luke 12:42-44), useth talents for the Master’s glory, not his own.

Epilogue: The Future of True Thought

With man armed with engines of destruction that could raze the earth, the need for divine wisdom is urgent, lest we perish in folly. As St Irenaeus (†202) warneth: “Without God, all is vanity.” True thought, rooted in Christ, preventeth madness, crime, and strife.

Two forces contend: the wisdom from above (James 3:17) versus the fires of hellish invention. Which prevaileth dependeth upon thy fidelity. Change no creed unjustly, no polity rashly, no sovereignty violently. Rather, teach man to order his mind to God, that from barbarism may arise a city of saints.

As St Athanasius (†373) battled heresy, so must we war against ignorance. The glory of God is man alive in Christ; let this be thy aim.

Fare thee well in the Light who illuminateth every man coming into the world (John 1:9, Greek: Ἦν τὸ φῶς τὸ ἀληθινόν, ὃ φωτίζει πάντα ἄνθρωπον ἐρχόμενον εἰς τὸν κόσμον – “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world”).

Amen.