Praying and Running

We are coming to a close on the year of the catechism that I have posted about a few times. It has been very enlightening and coming on the heels of the year of the Bible I have learned more about our faith than I even dared to imagine and gained a ton of perspective through these exercises. One thing that I have found that is evident through reading the entire Bible and the Catechism (what amounts to the catholic guide to the faith) is that there is no foundation for some of the political stereotypes that have evolved in the church. To the contrary, the authentic teachings of the Church transcend the American political landscape. You know what I am talking about. We have Catholics that are conservative and we have Catholics that are liberal. There are others, I am sure but these are the ones I see the most and it seems that the people who fall into these stereotypes allow their American political views to shape their faith. It seems to me that they  make no attempt to reconcile t

This Advent I have been thinking a lot about "the inn keeper". As we read in the Gospel of Luke and as most people are aware Jesus was born while Mary and Joseph were traveling to Bethlehem. At that time many people were traveling to the towns of their ancestors to comply with an order for a census. In other words, it was a very busy time. Because of this busyness of the situation and all of the extra people that had to be accommodated no one had room for the Holy Family. Instead, Jesus, our Lord and our God made in human flesh, was born in a stable amid animals and filth. I guess that people relegated Him to the stable because they could not recognize Him. I guess they could not recognize Him because they were not looking for Him but instead they were preoccupied with everything going on around them. I know that people are as familiar with that part of the story as I have always been. But I have never really considered the other people in the story until recently. For in

Advent is a great time to refocus attention on the spiritual life and growing in the Christian faith. As a runner, I can see a similarity between running and the spiritual life. When I am running and preparing for a race, I get very focused and am methodical in my training plan. I have a goal and I work toward that goal with intensity. However, when there is no race on the schedule, my training can become lax and unfocused. That is kind of how I am seeing this advent as well, with the Christmas season being the finish line and advent the training season. It seems to me that like being well prepared for a race enables me to enjoy the race itself and reap the benefits of my training with the goal of the race being met by a new personal best time and finishing strong. In the same way, being well prepared for the Christmas season will allow me to experience more fully the joy of the season. This Advent I plan, God Willing, to focus and prepare with intensity for the Christmas season an