Exercise Our Body And Our Faith: An Analogy

So often many will say it’s so hard to get to the gym to exercise because I am just not motivated, however, if I force myself to go, I always feel better afterwards.

Moreso, many say if I have an exercise partner or partake in an exercise class I do even more and feel better. This is called positive peer pressure. It is a lot easier and better for us to not go it alone.

We all need to exercise the muscles in our bodies to keep them strong so we can live and feel better. When we eat healthy foods, drink a lot of water, get our proper sleep we may even feel invincible. In addition to exercising our bodies it is good to exercise our brains like a muscle by reading and learning and thinking.

Many, if not all want to feel well and feel better and have a great quality of life.

So, what is the most important muscle we could or should exercise?

Before we answer this question it is important to realize the fact that we are body and soul! We are not a soul trapped in our bodies. We are entire beings, body and soul. 365 The unity of soul and body is so profound that one has to consider the soul to be the “form” of the body. (Cathechism of The Catholic Church number 365).

I therefore propose the most important “muscle” we need to exercise is our faith or soul “muscle”. Yes, think of our faith and our soul as a muscle and exercise it, daily!

Exercise this “muscle” using the exercise analogy I outline above for our bodies, which goes like this – maybe I don’t feel like going to mass but I will always not only feel better but be better after I go. Maybe I shouldn’t practice faith alone because when I attend the assembly of the mass I will get more out of it because others are participating along side of me (never forget that mass is a giving of oneself and a total giving of oneself every time we attend; just as Christ totally gave himself).

We cannot exercise our bodies if we don’t give of ourselves and we cannot exercise our souls if we don’t give of ourselves!

Furthermore, when we participate in exercising our faith, or rather our souls, with a “workout” buddy it goes even better and we get more out of it and we are healthier! When we exercise in a group class, wow, it goes exceptionally well because of the positive peer pressure; we don’t want to let ourselves down, we are influenced by our class mates to strive for more therefore we get in better “shape”!

When we eat and drink healthy our bodies feel better because they are better!

When we eat the body of Christ and drink the blood of Christ our souls “feel” better because they are better.

Just as we need oxygen, water and food for our bodies to not just thrive but to not die, we need the Sacraments, which are life giving to our souls because Christ Himself gave them to us!

Frequent reception of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Communion are the same life giving oxygen, water and food to our souls that the food and drink we consume is to our mortal bodies. (See and read John Chapter 6 on why Holy Communion and please click on and read this entire article on why confess sins to a priest – https://www.catholicfaithandreason.org/confession-of-sins—how-biblical-is-it.html)

In conclusion I ask all to be the people God created us to be, to be I can people, not I can’t people. “I can go to the gym” and “I can go to mass”! I must! It’s for my benefit! The only time we should ever say I can’t is to say “I can’t go it alone”. I need others and want others to help me and walk along side me so I can both learn and teach.

Our faith or soul “muscle” is not meant to be exercised alone for if it were then Christ would not have entered humanity as an innocent baby in need of a mother and father to protect and care for him. Christ would not have picked 12 Apostles and many others to walk with Him and to help carry out his mission. Christ would have fed the 5000 and the 4000 alone without asking his Apostles what they have to help in this mission of feeding so many.

Sometimes we have to go it alone as Christ did in His temptation in the desert and His walk to Calvary. We too will face death alone and at times in life will have to go it alone but if we have fed on the body of Christ and exercised our faith and soul muscle with others throughout our life we are not alone and we are never alone!!!!

I hope you get the picture by now and know I am praying for you and ask you to please pray for me.

So, just as the muscle in the body atrophies and dies if we do not exercise it so goes the soul and our faith if we do not exercise it and it will atrophy and eventually die and that would be hell and we never want to experience that.

If you are here at this point still reading and would like to come back to the Catholic Church, or maybe you are not Catholic and now would like to enter the Catholic Church but not sure how to get started and/or you would like to join a faith group then I encourage you to go to the rectory of your local Catholic Church and ask for help or simply reach out to me by contacting me through this website. You will make my day if you do.

God Bless You and Keep on Walking for God!!!!

I recommend reading this link below –

https://mum6kids.wordpress.com/2012/06/07/corpus-christie-saints-who-lived-on-the-eucharist-alone/