Taking Small Steps To Deepen Our Faith

I’ve been a runner, in one form or another, most of my life.  When I was younger, I ran mostly for conditioning and training; now in my 40s, it is my main source of exercise.  As I age, however, some things affect my ability to perform as well as I’d like; one of those is runner’s knee.  When this kicks up, I find that sitting at my desk all day really tends to aggravate it, thus making an evening run rather uncomfortable.  So, I decided standing in front of the PC may be a good option.  I did some research, and I found compelling data that standing at work might be much better for me in a variety of ways.  Several studies indicate that those who stand a few hours while at their desk daily work off a considerably greater number of calories (equivalent to an additional seven pounds of fat each year).  It appears I may have been sitting myself to death, so I decided to make a small change to see what results.

I’ve received a few odd looks, and one of my colleagues has already stopped in to ask about the recent changes to my office.  In fairness, it does look rather odd, I’m sure, to see a man standing behind a small end table that has been propped up on his desk where his computer monitor used to be.  It isn’t the most elegant choice in furnishings, but it appears to be doing the trick.

I spent a good amount of time standing with young people recently.  They weren’t too concerned about burning off more calories, nor did most of them seem to have any physical ailments caused from too much sitting at a desk.  We spent a few days in Indianapolis at the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC), a gathering of more than 20,000 young people from across the country.  As we stood in Lucas Oil Stadium, all 20,000 of us, it really got my heart racing!  I was surrounded by young people who gave up the better part of four days and nearly $400 to attend a faith-based event; and from what I witnessed, they had a great time doing it.  For some, it was the ongoing faith formation they’ve received from their parents, religious educators, and youth ministers that led them to NCYC; for others, this was a first step toward diving more deeply into their faith.  But all of them were on their feet--praying, singing, and vibrantly stepping out in faith.  It did my heart good to witness.

Several of the youth who made the trek to Indy were also involved in the recent Diocesan Youth Rally, and they aptly chose the theme, “We Walk By Faith” for that event.  Their hope was that they would help to motivate their peers to begin thinking about how they would actively live out the New Evangelization in their homes, parishes, and schools.  Of course, the hope for those who traveled to Indy for NCYC is that this would be yet another springboard that launches them to carry the fire they experienced back to their home parishes.  Many conversations come to mind regarding the way that God began to tug at their hearts and beckon them along the path to full discipleship; I am excited to see the strides that will be made here in our diocese, and I am confident that our young people will have us all up and running in the near future.

Small steps, sometimes merely the result of getting on our feet, can often be the beginnings of deep, abiding changes.  Whether it is simply standing a few hours more each day than usual, or choosing to attend an event a few hours away, big change often comes from the smallest of beginnings.  May God bless our 150 young people who traveled to NCYC, and may the strides of faith they will make in their lives continue to impact our diocese for generations to come.