Running and the Grace of God

Today, I just wanted to write a brief note on my thoughts about running and the grace of God.  I have mentioned how I experience or feel grace when I am running.  Looking back at the definitions of grace that the Catholic church uses, I thought it might be useful to push that a little to see what conclusions I could come to.

I found an entire section on grace in the Catechism of the Catholic church online (http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c3a2.htm). 

What does it tell me?  Well, what strikes me most is that grace is participation in the life of God.  There is also a sentence about grace being the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to the call to become children of God.

How does either of these relate to running.  First, I am using a talent that God has given me.  Later in the section it talks about how individuals called to specific vocation should do it well.  I'm nor sure that running is a vocation, but I hope that my running well is a sign that I also take my vocation seriously.  Second, I am experiencing nature--another gift from God and this would seem to be participation in the life of God.  Third, there are many teachings in the Catholic church about the need to take care of oneself.  Running is a great way to do that--to feel the vitality of life that God has given.  Fourth, there are times when quiet is needed.  Running is a great time for quiet.  Sometimes there is conversation but in other cases it is just the footsteps and breathing of individuals running side by side.  Fifth, running can be done in service--to help others, as a fundraiser, etc.  Sixth, running can strengthen friendship or be a time to listen to another.  

I am sure if I thought harder, I could find other examples.  But running and participation in the life of God and all the things that God has intended for me seem to go hand in hand. 

Three Well Chosen Readings

Each Catholic wedding has the potential to be a unique experience.  At least among people I know, the bride and groom working with the priest who will celebrate the wedding mass have a chance to choose the readings.  A Catholic mass typically includes one reading from the Old Testament, one reading from the New Testament that is not part of the Gospel, and a Gospel reading.  Each couple has many reasons for choosing the readings they do.  Each couple is at a unique point in their lives in terms of their understanding of their faith and their understanding of themselves.  The choice of readings was guided by both for me and Sherry 20+ years ago when we planned our wedding.  We were just two people of an age we now refer to as "kids" (22 at the time we were married) who had attended mass regularly, had some exposure to what was called CCD at the time (Sherry having more than me), and had been involved in the campus ministry while in college.  At Jackie and Patrick's wedding (at a slightly later point in their lives with a different background in exposure to and working with their faith) the choices were clearly inspired by their understanding of themselves and their faith.  And, as I am clearly one who thinks about how the words I am hearing from the Bible relate to the current day (myself or, in this case, those whose wedding is being celebrated) I projected from the readings onto my own life experiences and the lives of the two beautiful individuals getting married.

The first reading was Micah 6:6-8

With what shall I come before the LORD,
and bow before God most high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old? 

Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
with myriad streams of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my crime,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 

You have been told, O mortal, what is good,
and what the LORD requires of you:
Only to do justice and to love goodness,
and to walk humbly with your God.

I have never known Jackie and Patrick to be anything but humble.  Quiet--not necessarily.  Shy--definitely not.  But wonderful examples of humility before everyone and focused so much on the lives of others.  Giving not to be noticed but because it is right and it all comes from their hearts.

The second reading was from the letter to the Hebrews (12:1-3)

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us rid ourselves of every burden and sin that clings to us and persevere in running the race that lies before us 

while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus, the leader and perfecter of faith. For the sake of the joy that lay before him he endured the cross, despising its shame, and has taken his seat at the right of the throne of God. 

Consider how he endured such opposition from sinners, in order that you may not grow weary and lose heart.

As I heard this one, I looked around at the packed chapel on Loyola's campus (where Jackie and Patrick had met, gotten engaged, and were getting married) where they were surrounded by a cloud of witnesses as two people whose eyes are truly fixed on Jesus.  Running races (both figuratively and literally) is something they do a lot and endurance (whether the opposition of sinners as mentioned in the reading or, more, in a running race) is an important part of their lives.

Finally, the Gospel reading was Luke 24: 13-35, the story of the Road to Emmaus.  I won't copy and paste the whole thing (it is a long reading) but there is a link above.  It mentions that the disciples were walking a distance of seven miles when they came upon the person they did not recognize as Jesus at first.  In the reading, they ended up walking seven miles to Emmaus and seven miles back--14 miles or just over the distance of a half marathon.  Yes, my brain actually went to thinking about how it was like an "out and back" course that the two disciples ended up walking.  What else did I think about?  Jackie conducts many of the orientations for community members who want to be new participants in Back on My Feet.  I remember that she told us to try to remember to say hello to as many people as possible when out on our runs.  Just to be polite.  Just to try to brighten people's day.  Whether the person was homeless, outside a shelter of some sort, at a bus stop, or at Health Care for the Homeless.  There are many popular stories about how a person might come to meet Jesus or someone representative of the qualities of Jesus in a modern setting and overlook that person.  This is where I connected the story.  When we are out running with Back on My Feet, we never know who we will meet on the road.  We never know what type of difference we might make for the people we meet or what type of difference they may make for us.  We never know who might be able to demonstrate for us and share with us the grace of God.  In fact, we never know anywhere in our lives when we will come upon a sign from God or the second coming of Jesus himself.  Yet we should always be open to it.  And the disciples, once they realized that they had seen Jesus, did the second half of their "course" quickly and shared all the news when they returned.  Again, so closely similar to the experience of many runners who share stories about what they saw, who they experienced, and how they felt when they get back from a run.  And this relates to Jackie and Patrick not only because a half marathon distance is something with which they both are familiar but also because I know that they live their lives in a way that shows they are always open to receiving God's grace.  To welcoming a stranger.  To extending hospitality to a stranger.  To listening.  To relating.  And to sharing stories of the little things and most important things in life.

Their three readings were well chosen for them.  And their three readings served as a reminder for me. Of how incredible my two friends are.  And of the importance of living a life of humility, perseverance, and openness to the grace of God every day.  

What is prayer?--Or Another Thing I Learned at the Start of Another Year of Religious Education

On Sunday morning, after we discussed personality types, the next item was the definition of prayer.  Among the six tables of people entrusted to teach mostly children and some adults about our faith, we could come up with things like "talking to God" or "talking with God" or "a conversation with God" or "listening to/for God".  While all those were interesting, the director of child and youth ministry at our church wanted something a bit bigger.  Below is something close to what she said.  I could not tell whether this was three separate ideas or a single quotation she took from someone else.  But this is what I came away with

The practice of the presence of God...to change my own mind to put on the mind of Christ...enabling grace to break into us.  

There are three distinct ideas here.  The first is something quite important.  It is not just "practicing" but "a practice" (or in this case, "the practice").  The key here is that we are focused on remembering that I am in the presence of God.  Recognizing that I am in the presence of God.  Acting like I am in the presence of God.  Using the presence of God as a motivator.

The second idea mentions the mind of Christ.  There is a mention of the mind of Christ in 1 Cor 2:16.    It certainly seems to me that it would be much easier to "put on the mind of Christ" or "have the mind of Christ" or "know what the mind of Christ is thinking" (e.g., "What would Jesus do?") if I am in the practice of being in the presence of God.  Or, better yet, to be the presence of God for someone else, i.e., God's hands and feet, eyes and ears here on earth.

The third idea is that it should involve grace.

The key with these ideas is that almost anything can become a prayer.  Prayer can be loud or silent.  Prayer can be speaking, reading, or listening.  Prayer can involve meditation or activity.  Almost anything that involves God's grace, remembering that I am in God's presence, and thinking about acting as Jesus would can be a prayer.

So a life of prayer or a life lived in prayer, does not mean being in a church praying all day.  Instead, it can mean doing all the things I would do otherwise but always with an eye on God's grace.  There are some things I imagine that definitely don't show God's grace.  The goal then, for me, can be to live a life always showing God's grace and living out the implications the words I pray aloud and listen to in church.  

A Little Up and A Little Down

Yesterday was a day of ups and downs. I won't go so far as to quote Dickens, "It was the best of times.  It was the worst of times."  Because yesterday was really at neither extreme.  Just a bit of good and bad.  I'll highlight two very good.  I'll highlight one negative--but even the negative had a positive about it.

The best positive--our house is still not the cleanest, neatest house.  It will never likely be.  But yesterday we got our acts together enough as a family to clean up enough so that all five of us could sit at the dinner table.  Not just be home at the same time for dinner--which we often are.  But to actually sit together.  We had done that a lot while on vacation--both in the condo and out.  But is was so nice to be able to do it on our own house.  It is one of those things that (to use a cliche) makes a house a home.

The second positive--my run yesterday morning.  I realized that my slow long distance runs over the summer were not for lack of training.  I may or may not get a personal best in the race in two weeks.  But if I don't it is not for lack of trying or lack of readiness.  Yesterday's 15 mile run was the fastest pace I'd run anywhere near that distance since the Baltimore 10 Miler on Father's Dat weekend.  The runs I had done the rest of the summer seem to have been a function of three things--running alone (which I am capable of doing but just is not the same as running with a group), not getting to the NCR trail (which, while some call it boring, it a welcome relief from hills), and having run in much warmer weather the rest of the summer.  Yesterday's run was wonderful.

The negative--after avoiding getting hit by a backing pickup in one part of the grocery store parking lot, I hit a car while trying to pull into a parking space.  Foolish--yes.  Costly in terms of future premiums, etc.  Probably.  But, it forced me to think about why it happened (not getting myself together enough after avoiding something bad to really concentrate on the next big task) and to see that some people in the world are still pretty good people.  I wrote a note and left it on the windshield of the other car, but also went to see if the owner of the parked car was in the store.  She was and when I began with a profuse apology she began with "these things happen".  Unhappy--yes.  But she took it in stride and was very forgiving.  That seems like a rare quality these days.  Even in an unhappy moment, there was a moment of grace.

Two of out three positive is not a bad day.  I just hope that the next negative can be a little simpler but just as graceful.