‘Running For A Higher Purpose’ Highlights The Need For Physical And Spiritual Health
Bishop Thomas Paprocki’s new book focuses on faith and his love for running marathons. Photo courtesy of Ave Maria Press.
(REVIEW) If you’re anything like me, you hate running.
Running is something I did a lot of while growing up. I played sports — soccer in particular — and that involved loads of running. It was my least favorite thing to do in a game that features lots of kicking, passing and scoring goals.
These days, I’m more of a weekend warrior, playing soccer with my children and the very occasional pick-up games in the park. I’m more likely to run because I’m late to a meeting or to catch a train.
This type of running is often frenetic and stressful. It’s not good for either mind or body, and it’s also not great for your soul. Running for a Higher Purpose: 8 Steps to Spiritual and Physical Fitness (Ave Maria Press) is unique in that it’s part how-to, part spiritual journey. The book by Thomas Paprocki makes the connection between body and soul and emphasizes the importance of nurturing both. What makes Paprocki such an expert? He is both an avid runner — he has taken part in 24 of them — and the Roman Catholic bishop of Springfield, Illinois.
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This is Paprocki’s second book involving sports, wellness and faith. In that first book, Holy Goals for Body and Soul: Eight Steps to Connect Sports with God and Faith, which was published in 2013, Paprocki shows how athletics and fitness provide daily ways to connect with God. Paprocki, 69, is a lifelong Chicago Blackhawks fan and is often referred to by his nickname, “Holy Goalie.”
In his second book, Paprocki sticks to the same theme and again divides the book into eight easy-to-understand sections. A quick read — only 148 pages — it’s the type of book perfect for a world that has been plunged into a pandemic since February 2020 and for those in need of both physical and spiritual assistance.
“The eight steps to physical and spiritual wellness — review, reform, resolve, repeat, renew, relax, reward and rejoice — are intended to help you not only set goals and achieve them as a runner, but also to apply the same formula to your growing and deepening spiritual life,” he writes.
The conclusion of each chapter has a prayer, serving as inspiration for anyone who is already a runner, is considering a run or is actually preparing for a run in the coming weeks and months.
Paprocki has not been afraid to wade into political controversies in the past, although this book doesn’t do that. In 2012, Paprocki wrote a column in the Catholic Times about the then-upcoming presidential election. He wrote that voting for a candidate who promotes actions deemed by the church as “intrinsically evil and gravely sinful” makes one “morally complicit” in them. He primarily took aim at the Democratic Party for its stance on same-sex marriage. Over the years, he has also been vocal about the church’s anti-abortion stances. In 2016, Paprocki said Catholics could choose not to vote for either Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton.
Instead, Paprocki, who is also an avid hockey player, uses the book to retell many great stories. He writes that there is “strength in numbers” when training for a marathon — something he learned after running his first marathon in Chicago in 1995 — and that he shaved off time when he trained with others rather than alone. He makes the case that the same is true when it comes to faith.
“Just as in physical training, if we limit our spiritual exercises to them alone, we run a far greater risk of becoming lukewarm in our faith, backsliding in our moral lives, tepid in our prayers, and lazy in our charitable deeds towards others,” he writes. “Maintaining ties to a community of faith is especially important in our American culture, which tends to be very individualistic.”
Paprocki bemoans falling church attendance in the U.S. and argues that “religion binds people together” and that groups “makes us far stronger spiritually as a community.”
You do not have to be a marathon runner — or even a Catholic — to enjoy this book. Its message is a universal Christian one on how to become a better runner — and an even better person.
Clemente Lisi is a senior editor and regular contributor to Religion Unplugged. He is the former deputy head of news at the New York Daily News and teaches journalism at The King’s College in New York City. Follow him on Twitter @ClementeLisi.