Made it to Witchita

So, I've gone seven days without writing.  As I sit hear late on a Monday night, I thought I would be asleep by now.  I ran 6 miles this morning at an 8:09 pace.  That was after a Sunday that included an 18 mile run at an 8:13 pace (most of which with a great running partner and including the last four at a pretty kicking pace), then going to mass, then making two eggplant-yellow squash-jalapeno-tomato-bleu cheese-parmasen-mozzarella pizzas, then going to see Earth to Echo, and then going to see a performance of Fluid Movement (local water ballet telling to story of the Battle of 1812).  I got to sleep late last night and was tired today, although not so bad that I was unable to give a good welcome to the new 2 year MBA students.  That was after a Saturday when I got to bed at midnight after going to get my youngest a 1/4 size double bass, getting my youngest new ice skates, getting a nice lunch, and going to a LONG Orioles game.  That was after a six mile run.  Working backwards, Friday was an off day, Thursday was an 8 mile tempo run with two friends, Wednesday was an easy run, Tuesday was a progression on the treadmill.

I am now at 1277.2 miles for the year.  On my 2000 mile quest running from St. Pius X in Towson just outside Baltimore to Our Lady of Perpetual Help in Truth or Consequences, NM, I have reached Witchita KS.  One of the churches in Witchita is the Church of the Magdalen.  I have never heard of a refernece to Mary Magdalen like this, but she is the only figure I know in the Catholic church referred to as Magdalen.  I have mentioned previously that she is sometimes referred to as the patron saint of the contemplative life.  I have contemplated a lot over the past week since I wrote last.

A fourth person in the past two months confided something very personal to me.  I seem to have attracted a lot of this lately.  I don't mind.  It is part of my calling.  But someone who helps me think about running reminded me that people who help others for a living hear a lot but also have the training to draw boundaries and separate themselves.  That is critical.  Yet I don't want to shy away and I do want to share.

What people come to me for is not what they would come to a religious figure or pray to God for.  I certainly don't give myself that much credit.  But yesterday in the Catholic church the first reading was from Isaiah 55.  Hearing the verses, I knew we would sing the song about coming to the water.  Very fitting.  That is all about what people come to God for.  All of it is comfort in one form or another.  A comfort that I can never provide to others.  But a comfort to which I can contribute by acting with God in mind to help others.

The second reading was from the letter to the Romans about nothing separating us from God.  And my contemplation on that was just the faith that I continue to have.  When runs go well and when runs don't go well.  When people come to me with issues and when everything is just fine.  I find strength in my faith regardless. 

The Gospel reminded me of two things.  It was just after John the Baptist was murdered.  Jesus needed time away.  He wanted to draw boundaries.  So even the greatest prophet who was both God and man needed a little break.  I should take a lesson sometimes.  But when people found him he told his disciples to feed the people and there was abundance.

My life is blessed with abundance.  And abundance of energy.  An abundance of activities.  An abundance of ambition.  An abundance of running.  All is good.  

I love to share my abundance.  I love to share my story.  What I shared when I welcomed students today included information about marathon running (the Dean had set me up for that) and ideas about putting puzzles together.  

I get energy from contemplating and sharing.

I hope others enjoy it. 

Brief Update

No miles today (Tuesday, January 28, 2014).

I ran 5 miles on the treadmill yesterday.  Enjoyed the easy run in 39:41.

That puts me at 155.2 miles.  To be there four weeks into the year projects out to 2023 miles, so I am not worried about overall distance.

The location at this point is somewhere on PA 218, Stoystown Rd just after it turns off from Pompey Hill Rd.  I'm really on the back roads of western Pennsylvania at this point.

I did not get to the viewing for the music and liturgy director at our church last night and I won't get to the funeral today. That is disappointing.

Final comment on 9/11: I recall meeting with a woman who was a student that day.  She said we could skip it and reschedule but she was getting ready for the first round of her pre-dissertation writing oral examination.  Students at the school of public health have two rounds.  It made me feel like I was getting something done.

Other interesting observation--St Mary Magdalene is the patron saint of the contemplative life.  I didn't know the Catholic church had a patron saint of the contemplative life. I'm not sure how "official" that is, but I really like the idea.

On to other things.  Life is very busy right now--especially as I keep getting extra sleep to shake the cold I have. 

Women in Luke's Gospel and in Spirituality in General

Just a quick thought--today at mass, Fr. Sam Lupico mentioned the women of St. Luke's Gospel.  He listed off a few and commented on the role they played in Jesus's life.  With a quick online search, it does not take long at all to find many entries in which people have written about the importance of women in St. Luke's Gospel.

It is interesting to me as I think about the importance of women in my own spiritual development:

• My mother was a larger influence on my spiritual growth as a child.  Not that I didn't admire my father and my father is now a cantor which brings him into the mass in an entirely different way than my mother who attends but does not lead singing, but in my formative years it was m mother.
• My mother encouraged me to join the Newman Catholic Student Association.
• There was a woman prominent in the campus ministry at Penn State.
• Much of the leadership during my years there was young women.
• We had a very active sister in our parish at the University of Michigan.
• Of the leaders of our pre-Cana training before we got married, I could relate to the woman (who was a more senior grad student) than I could to her husband
• While my tattoo is of St. Sebastian, he is accompanied by Irene who played an important part in the story
• Nearly all the youth/children's ministry leadership at St. Pius has been female
• Our pastoral life director is female

Now, I am not Jesus.  And none of the women with whom I have the experience to relate to over the years would compare themselves with Elizabeth, Mary, Mary Magdalene, etc.

But, I do recognize the importance of women in my spiritual life.  It is interesting that as I have to raise my own kids, I am the father taking an active spiritual role in the life of three sons.  We will see how they turn out.  And when they grapple with the Bible and with their own spirituality some day, will they see themselves in the same context that I do or will they see themselves and interpret their spiritual growth through a completely different lens?

I don't know, but I suspect it will shape how they think of their spirituality as they grow and how they end up living their faith as they grow and become adults.  It is interesting to wonder how much different my day to day adult mid-life spiritual experiences woud be if I'd had a different set of influences as a child and in my young adulthood.  The context matters immensely.