Just do it

This past weekend I rode my 32. marathon in this season. It was not easy to stay consistent and it wasn’t easy to get over some of the course hurdles. I noticed my enthusiasm waned about the time I saw at the half distance on the schedule. But it was the conditioning, consistently over the course of the whole that enables me to line up virtually every weekend.

I always have a plan B just in case when worse comes to worse. If so I handle it true to the motto: simply do it.

Let me briefly cite St. Paul who liked the race imagery as well and often used it as metaphor for the Christian life. His quote goes like this

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.”

For me (and perhaps for you as well) Paul’s encouragement and aspiration is to run well and to run our best. This metaphor speaks of effort, consistency, and obedience. In fact this is exactly the problem with us. Using the race metaphor Paul goes on to say us

“You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?”

You know, Nike has it right. So many things in life simply fall under the phrase, “Just do it!” Many of my greatest issues and challenges are caused not by what happens to me, but what I do to me! In regards to the spiritual life, so often I simply neglect to do that which I know I should do. When I become lazy about my spiritual life, my “race”

suffers. I’m not riding well. I’m not riding my best. When you train for a race, if you take too long a break in training your riding suffers. So it is in the spiritual life.

Authentic spirituality takes work, practice, obedience, good doses of humor and equal amounts of humility. It is a race. In many ways it is like a marathon; we’re in this for the long haul. The conditioning of our souls is what allows us to run well. Frequent Mass attendance, regular confession, reading Scripture, reading an edifying spiritual book, serving others — all of these are ways we “work out our salvation”. All of these are ways to increase our spiritual health and endurance and run the race.

Peace on earth

Robert