Health in Body and Spirit at TOT

Last night (Wednesday) was the second session of South Jersey Theology on Tap. There have only been four scheduled so far as a trial process; in 2011, the youth ministry staff at the diocese will decide how to proceed.

Tonight, our speaker was Patrick Donovan, the Executive Director of Youth Ministry for the Diocese of Wilmington. I have to confess that I stuck my nose up when I heard about the theme for the night, "Body, Mind and Spirit: Total Fitness in the 21st Century" and almost considered sitting this one out.

In retrospect, I'm really glad I went. It was nothing like the discussion on exercise and eating my veggies like I thought it would be.

Donovan, who is slightly dejected over recently hitting the big 4-0 and no longer being classified as a young adult (the threshold is usually 18-39 these days), was full of humor and sarcasm. With a wife and four children spaced each a year apart, I guess you have to be!

"I used to be a runner," he told us, gesturing to his growing belly, "but now I only run when someone's chasing me with a weapon. Or to save my 2-year-old son, who thinks that playing in traffic is a good idea."

He then moved on to discussing the end scene of the 1988 movie Field of Dreams, where the main character realizes at long last that he's found his father. For Catholics, Donovan said, that should be our life's goal: to reach the end and realize that we are finally home with our Father.

"But how are you going to get there?" he asked us, referring to yesterday's Gospel reading about those turned away at the narrow gate of heaven. "You can't do it knowing about God. You need to know Him -- and be able to recognize Him."

There were six major tips he offered in order to take care of ourselves not only spiritually, but physically and emotionally, too. The three are always connected, and if one is in bad shape, it's likely that the others are. I'm going to break it down briefly for you.

1) Seek God's will. The best way to ensure continuing health on all levels is to do what God asks of us -- taking care of our bodies is obvious, but also seeking His plan. A priest once told Donovan that so often God's voice is drowned out by our worries, saying we all need to take time to "kneel before the mystery of God, and shut up!"
2) Be countercultural. The best way to show people our faith is to be a good example to others in a world that's often decadent.
3) Watch carefully. Drawing on the life philosophy of Mother Teresa, he said that the ones that get to heaven will be those that "learn to see Christ in the unborn, the kid being bullied in the cafeteria, in that person that drives us absolutely crazy with annoyance." It's an opportunity to grow in holiness when we respond in a Christian way in these situations.
4) Pray. "For a lot of young people, God is either the divine butler or the therapist." Instead of merely asking for stuff -- we watched a clip from a recent episode of Glee where a character prays to "Grilled Cheezus" for romantic success -- or venting to God, we should have regular conversations with Him. Conversation, of course, involves talking and listening.
5) Eat well. We are what we eat, physically and spirtually. As Donovan said, "We become what we receive." At Mass, we become more like Christ when we truly receive Him in the Eucharist and ask for "daily bread" in the Our Father. This also applies to what we take in for pleasure -- TV, music, the websites we visit. We can choose unhealthy things that will damage us, or wholesome things to strengthen us.
6) Serve. If we're going to be like Christ, that means we need to serve others, especially those in need. Scripture says that faith without works is dead. Just saying that we believe is an empty statement if we don't act like we do.

All in all, it was a highly informative and entertaining night. The next one will be on Dec. 1, when the Bishop of Camden will be joining us. Pretty cool, if you ask me. :)