The Catholic Liturgy for Sunday, August 21, 2016, the 21st Sunday of Ordinary Time, can inspire us to draw up a
personal spiritual workout plan for our souls, very much like we might do
for our bodies with physical fitness in mind.
The first reading
reminds us that we are all God's ambassadors among people who do not know Him
and we need to be prepared for this task. Some of God's people will be called to
serve as "priests and Levites" (as the Old Testament reading puts it,
in New Testament Catholic terms, "priests and deacons") but ALL
have the responsibility to proclaim God and his glory among others. This is
what Pope Francis is saying all the time about the dangers of
"clericalism", that is, of thinking that only those who are
ordained are representatives and missionaries for the Lord. Not true! We ALL
have our part to fulfill in the mission of Jesus, a mission of announcing the
Gospel way of life by the way we live and of being images of God among all
people. To think that ordination is the only way to be a presence to
others in society and an influence in the Church is to miss the power and
beauty of Baptism.
The second reading from the Letter to the Hebrew Christians
reminds us that discipline is necessary in life, be it physical or spiritual
discipline. Its goal is to do for our souls/minds what physical fitness does
to the body: condition it, increase strength, bulk up the muscle. By a
personal regimen of prayer, Scripture, practicing the virtues in everyday
life, and receiving the Sacraments of Eucharist and Reconciliation we
faithfully carry out a proven spiritual fitness plan. The Holy Spirit is our
Personal Spiritual Trainer who will guide us if we listen and allow Him to
act in us. The saints are spiritual role models who have undergone this
training and show us what is possible; that it is INDEED possible for each of
us to join their ranks as athletes for Christ.
In the Gospel, Jesus himself tells us that only the
(spiritually) strong will make it to the Kingdom of
Heaven; there will indeed be those who are not strong enough to
endure the "race" of life, that is, fidelity to the Church and Gospel
until death. In order to be among this spiritually fit team we need to
be committed and faithful to our "spiritual fitness plan". So I
like to ask myself: what are the components I put together for my
daily physical fitness routine? How can I use this as a guide to
formatting a spiritual fitness plan? Permit me to share some of this with
you....
Nutrition...they say nutrition is 80% of a
successful fitness plan, so I try to eat well and take supplements.
Therefore, for me the first and most important element of a spiritual plan is
the Holy Eucharist, the very Body and Blood of Jesus as nourishment for the
soul. Sunday Mass is a given so I add Mass during the week/weekend as I
can. I am fortunate to be at Fort Miley where we have chaplains of
the military archdiocese to offer Mass daily at our chapel...but I cannot
always get there for Mass. But I can go in and spend time in personal silent
prayer before the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle, and while it is not
the same, the holy athletes for Christ (saints) tell us that if we really
cannot receive actual Holy Communion then Jesus will come to us in
spiritual communion if we ask Him. Anyhow, that's my #1.
Whole Body workouts...I like whole body routines as it
saves time and gets the fitness done more efficiently (in my opinion) and
so in my spiritual workout plan I choose prayer that is all encompassing: the
Rosary. The rosary is a whole-soul workout as it includes meditation
(reflecting on the rosary mysteries), Scriptural prayers (Our
Father and Hail Mary) and the Gospels (events from Jesus' life). Not
much left out, is there?
Fine tuning with isolation exercises...in addition to
whole body, we each have need for isolation exercises depending upon our genes,
needs, circumstances, physical therapy...and the same is true in a spiritual
fitness program. This is where the Holy Spirit as a personal spiritual trainer
is especially needed. In our prayer we can ask Him to show us what in our lives
needs tweaking, extra attention. He WILL show us. Then we focus the
virtues needed to improve that aspect of our lives. Is anger an issue? We
try to practice gentleness or patience. Lizard of lust getting us down? We
work on respect for the human person and chastity in what we see and say.
Gluttony urging us on to more than we need in food or drink? We
consciously think about our eating and drinking and make a plan to
deal with it. So you can see that this aspect of the plan is constantly in
need of review and changing according to our day and circumstances.
Relationships....just as we bring relationships into realm of
our physical fitness so we do the same for our spiritual plan...and
we DO bring relationships to fitness in one way or another. We consciously
limit our time working out so that family, friends and work do not suffer. We
hone the body for the sake of staying attractive to our present/future/intended
partner. We strive for better health so that our time with family and
friends is enjoyable and lasts as long as God wishes not his earth.
So in the same way focusing on relationships is part of a
spiritual routine: relationship with God, with others,
with ourselves. And of course the Sacrament of Penance and Reconciliation
(aka Confession) is prime in this regard. It heals
and forgives; it strengthens and enlivens relationships. A
solid and effective spiritual workout program will give confession at
least a monthly place in our personal program.
So as we worship at Mass this Sunday, let’s ask the Lord to help
us form a good spiritual fitness plan and grant us the grace to stick to it
even when inconvenient. Let’s give our souls the same attention we give our
bodies and train to become solid athletes of Christ. Let’s go for the gold, the
gold of the Kingdom of Heaven!
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