Exercise always gets a lot of attention from the media around the new year. But lately, things like Super Size Me, the P.E. Bill, and countless studies showing how overweight Americans are have brought extra attention to how important diet and exercise are to our physical (and even mental and emotional) health.
What about our spiritual health? Certainly if eating the right food and getting enough exercise can increase our physical health, there must be spiritual food and exercise.
As Catholics, we have the amazing gift left by Jesus Christ on that first Holy Thursday. Food that lasts for ever. If you remember from Exodus, the Israelites were given just enough food to sustain them in the desert. The manna from heaven. We are even more blessed, whether we know it or not. Our daily bread isn’t a once-a-day gift for our time in the desert. It’s everlasting. Christ made that promise to us almost 2000 years ago. A perfect spiritual diet.
What’s our end of the deal? For me, it’s my favorite part of being Catholic. The Liturgy. In 1963, Pope Paul VI (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy) reinforced the liturgy as source and summit of our faith, called for a full, conscious and active participation in the liturgy, and called Catholic Christians not to limit their spiritual lives to the confines of the liturgy. “The liturgy in its turn moves the faithful…” Move!
One of the most beautiful gifts of the Holy Spirit is to be moved, then to be humbled by the realization that you’re moving in the wrong direction, then to be redirected. Be active in your faith and remember not to leave your faith at the door of the church when you leave on Sunday.
Wednesday, January 31st, 2007 | Uncategorized | No comments