“AGE QUOD AGIS”

“AGE QUOD AGIS” – “DO WHAT YOU ARE DOING”. This is a piece of advice from Rev. Fr. Narciso Irala, SJ, in his book “ Achieving Peace of Heart”. The statement before the advice reads as follows: “Do your job or everyday duty with the greatest possible perfection, that is, with concentration, naturalness and pleasure. Avoid all tension, haste and disgust. Find in your work the strength and joy of an ideal. Age quod agis. Do what you are doing.”

I have been reflecting on this piece of advice and I see the wisdom in making it a rule of life.

The questions raised in my mind are:
1. Why am I doing this?
2. How should I do it?
3. To Whom am I responsible for what I do?

To the first question I searched for the answer from the standpoint of my
Christian Faith. Since I believe that I owe my whole existence to GOD, the Supreme Being, and that He created me to serve as His instrument in pursuing His inscrutable plan in the work of creation, the only logical answer is: “This is what God wants me to do – His Divine Will”.

The answer to the second question flows as a consequence from the answer to the first question. Since what I am doing is what God wants me to do, then I should do it in the best way I can.

To the third question, it is obvious that there is no other one to whom I am responsible but to God Himself.

In the biography of St. Aloysius Gonzaga it is narrated that one day while he was playing billiard someone asked him: “Suppose you will be told that death would come to you after a few minutes from now, what will you do?” The reply of St. Aloysius was: “ I will just continue playing billiard”. From this reply of St. Aloysius I can deduce the simplicity of his holiness, namely, CONSIDERING WHATEVER HE IS DOING AS GOD’S WILL. Hence, what matters is giving one’s best in whatever one does, regardless of it’s significance, simply because it is God’s Will.

This, I believe, is the wisdom behind the advice: “AGE QUOD AGIS” – DO WHATEVER YOU ARE DOING. In the past few days I tried to put this into practice. It has, indeed, helped me a lot to concentrate on what I am doing. Being convinced that it is God who is using me as His instrument for whatever may be His incomprehensible design in His work of Creation, I cannot but give my utmost best.

Just focusing on what I am doing brings about a kind of unity in my whole being – body, soul and spirit – participating harmoniously in a concerted effort towards the achievement of some desired objective.

“AGE QUOD AGIS” – makes me enjoy life as it comes day after day, regardless of the circumstances, bearing always in mind that what I am doing is the WILL of GOD.

by: Salvador 'Buddy' Cagurangan
August 22, 2010