Silently praying while at work

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I have a friend who flew jets in the Navy. He told me some great sea stories. He said the scariest times in his life were landing on the boat at night. Even scarier was landing at night in bad weather.

Lots and lots of prayers said 3/4’s of a mile from the ramp, looking for the ball with no moon, monsoon rain and a pitching deck (he flew on the old Midway - small deck too). He said one time after he landed, he popped open the cockpit and it was pouring rain. He was shaking so badly he needed help getting out of the plane. Hard to kneel in the cockpit, but lots and lots of praying going on there!
 
Haven’t heard of it, Jerzy. I think about my faith constantly at work, though.
 
“Any place is sacred ground, for it can become a place of encounter with the divine Presence.”

“Sometimes people get the mistaken notion that spirituality is a separate department of life, the penthouse of existence. But rightly understood, it is a vital awareness that pervades all realms of our being… Wherever we may come alive, that is the area in which we are spiritual.”

“Can you be grateful for everything? No. But in every moment.

“Monastic contemplatives have staked out a clearly limited area to be transformed by contemplation: the monastery. Lay contemplatives face the challenge of transforming the whole world.”

“True gratefulness is courage to give thanks for a gift before unwrapping it.”

“The root of joy is gratefulness…It is not joy that makes us grateful; it is gratitude that makes us joyful.”

Quotes by Br. David Steindl-Rast, OSB, author of Gratefulness: The Heart of Prayer

I think it reasonable to believe that someone who keeps a prayerful attitude at work as much as when on their knees is the kind who is going to find themselves spontaneously offering Hail Marys and Our Fathers while they work. That is the opposite of reciting lengthy prayers “as a pretext”. (Mk 12:40)
 
It’s a short spiritual classic about exactly this topic. I was thinking you might enjoy it, but it sounds like this sort of thing comes naturally for you anyhow, thanks be to God!
 
The Benedictine monastery near my home has 2 stained glasses behind the altar which says “Ora” and “Labora”. Our work is indeed holy. Peace be with you.
 
I pray sometimes when I’m in a traffic jam or when waiting in a long line at the store.
 
Totally unrelated to praying at work but I wanted to share this.

I left my house a couple of weeks ago to run a small errand. I had a couple of things in my hands. As I was fumbling with my keys to unlock the car, two passing neighbors of mine engaged me in some smalltalk. I had placed a couple of those items that were in my hands on the roof of the car. When the chat ended I got in the car and set out for the store. I drove several blocks under 20 mph, but then I had to make a left turn, which is a sharp one, out onto the highway. I also had to quickly accelerate from a full stop at this point. As I often do, I was silently praying Hail Marys (sometimes it’s the Divine Mercy chaplet, or something else). I had gone about 1/4 mile at 40 mph or so, when I heard a thump from the rear of the car, which I assumed was something in the trunk moving or falling over I gave it no further thought and proceeded about 2 more miles to my destination, having to stop at a couple of red lights along the way. I found a parking space very close to the front of the store which is a minor miracle in itself considering it was around 5:30 pm. As I walk past the back of my car, something catches my eye. “Hey, that looks just like my phone”, I say to myself. It was my phone! Sitting right on the trunk, like someone had placed it there. I couldn’t help wondering if the prayers made this happen. I like to think so. Sometimes when I have the phone just sitting on the seat, it goes flying when I make that left turn, and I have to open the passenger door to retrieve it from under the seat afterward.
 
Chesterton is credited to have said once, “You cannot smoke a cigar while you pray, but you can pray while you smoke a cigar.” It’s perfectly fine to not be kneeling and making the sign of the cross every time you pray. It’s certainly lovely and reverent to do so, but if circumstances restrict you to be discreet, it’s fine to pray doing normal things.
 
Sure
I recite my daily rosary often while driving or working, it’s the best I can do sometimes.
 
I have been engaged in wrestling, and for several years now I have always been praying before training. Of course, a real wrestler should more ask God for victories in fights not just protection from trauma(some good wrestlers do not even care about pain or trauma) but I dont forget to pray that God would keep me from trauma. Prayers are always in the mind and not by voice. And I have them as regular liturgy.
 
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