Running for a Higher Purpose: 8 Steps to Spiritual and Physical Fitness

by Thomas John Paprocki

Overview

What if you could improve your physical health while deepening your spiritual life? In Running for a Higher Purpose, Most Rev. Thomas John Paprocki, Catholic bishop of Springfield—a marathon runner and hockey player—shares how the simple discipline of running can help you unlock profound spiritual benefits.

Paprocki took up running as a teenager for his health; he ran his first marathon in his forties. Along the way he discovered that improving your physical health through running is a way to honor God and grow deeper in your spiritual life.

Perfect for those who want to try running for the first time as well as for more experienced runners who want to set goals for a new challenge, Running for a Higher Purpose offers eight steps to reach spiritual and physical fitness.

1. Review – Review where you are.
2. Reform – Identify how to improve.
3. Resolve – Resolve to put change into effect.
4. Repeat – Don’t quit.
5. Renew – Renew your physical and spiritual wellness.
6. Relax – Balance physical and spiritual exercise with the need to rest.
7. Reward – Feel personal satisfaction and reward by achieving your goals.
8. Rejoice – Integrating a sound mind in a sound body leads to eternal happiness.

Each chapter includes an inspirational quotation, a personal promise statement, and a prayer.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781646800469
Publisher:	Ave Maria Press
Publication date:	03/26/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	609,322
File size:	5 MB

About the Author

Most Rev. Thomas J. Paprocki is the bishop of Springfield. A Chicago native, he was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Chicago in 1978. He served as auxiliary bishop of Chicago from 2003 to 2010.

After ordination, Paprocki studied law at DePaul University and was admitted to the Illinois bar in 1981. He cofounded the South Chicago Legal Clinic to help the poor with legal services. In 2014, he was named president and of-counsel for the organization, which is now called the Greater Chicago Legal Clinic. Paprocki completed his doctorate at the Pontifical Gregorian University in Rome in 1991 and his MBA from the University of Notre Dame in 2013. He served in a variety of pastoral and administrative roles in the Archdiocese of Chicago. He was an adjunct professor of law at Loyola University Chicago from 1999 to 2015 and has served in the same capacity at Notre Dame since 2016.

The connection between sports and faith is a focus of Paprocki’s ministry. He is an avid hockey player and runner, having run twenty-four marathons throughout the world and raised about $500,000 for charity. Paprocki is the chairman of the Episcopal Advisory Board of Catholic Athletes for Christ. He is the author of Holy Goals for Body and Soul: Eight Steps to Connect Sports with God and Faith.

Table of Contents

Introduction vii

1 Review 1

We start by making an honest assessment of our situation and our need to improve.

2 Reform 15

Once we have assessed where we need to improve, we must identify how to do so.

3 Resolve 33

Knowing what to do will not bring about any change unless we resolve to put those steps into effect.

4 Repeat 51

Getting started is a tough first step, but continued effort is needed lest we quit before seeing any real improvement

5 Renew 71

The whole point of running for a higher purpose is to bring about a renewal of physical and spiritual wellness.

6 Relax 93

Physical exercise and spiritual exercises are both hard work, but effort must be balanced with rest to prevent burnout.

7 Reward 117

Achieving our physical and spiritual goals brings a great sense of personal satisfaction and reward.

8 Rejoice 131

The integration of a sound mind in a sound body leads to the ultimate goal of eternal happiness.

Epilogue 147