The Direction of Intention is a special prayer inspired by Saint Francis de Sales. There are different versions of the Direction of Intention depending on where you hear it prayed. I use the one that is used at Salesianum School:
"My God give me the grace to perform this action with you and through love for you. In advance, I offer to you all the good that I may do and accept all the difficulty I may meet therein, Amen.”
None of our actions occur in a vacuum; all have an impact on our wider community. Through a “right intending” of our deeds, God becomes not only the constant companion in our everyday actions but also His plan for our world and our human community becomes more explicitly the end goal of everything in which we are engaged. Our personal transformation in terms of a closer union with God in prayer and in awareness of God’s presence in each action is joined to the potential of these deeds to achieve a transformation of human society and the creation of a more just and peaceful human community.
I have been in the Oblates for 41 + years doing maintenance work at Salesianum School, DeSales University Facilities Department, and now the Oblate Retirement Center in Childs, MD. Maintenance tasks can have good and bad associated with them. This is where the Direction of Intention can come into play. Over the years, people ask why I do what I do. My response is that it is my responsibility; it needs to be done and someone must do it. I have the Direction of Intention printed out and posted on my bulletin board over my office desk to remind me that things can go right or wrong. For many of our tasks, we have no control. I cannot determine how much snow will fall, however, I can decide how I want to look at the attitude that I want to have when I plow the snow.
Salesian Spirituality says that the way we approach our work gives praise specifically to God the Creator. We are also called to be “co-creators” with God. So, it's in a real sense, allowing us to realize the Good Mother Mary de Sales Chappuis’ wish that we be “other Christs walking the face of the Earth once again.” Our work, our labor, and our ministry allow us to do this. Offering all we do through such a powerful and prayerful means as the Direction of Intention allows all we do to become a sacrament, to change the ordinary to extraordinary. So powerful is this prayer that every Oblate is instructed with teaching it to all with whom they come into contact. Over and above our “personal advancement in holiness,” each of our actions also involves us in God’s creative and salvific purpose for humankind and for the universe.
Brother Joseph Schodowski, OSFS
Assistant Superior/Facilities Manager
Oblate Retirement Center, Childs, MD
