Priests: spiritual rigour need not outstrip physical fitness

Sure, it's easy for a young guy like me to point this out, but I think this does deserve note:

[CNS] With studies confirming that a high percentage of U.S. clerics are overweight and lead inactive and nutritionally unhealthy lifestyles, several Catholic leaders in interviews with Catholic News Service said priests should focus on their bodies with the same care they give the souls of their parishioners.

"We should remind our priests to take the time for relaxation and physical exercise," said Baltimore Archbishop Edwin F. O'Brien, himself a physically fit 69-year-old Catholic leader. "It's very important for their health and their ministry."

A 2001 national survey of more than 2,500 Christian religious leaders -- conducted by the pastoral leadership research project "Pulpit and Pew" based at Duke Divinity School in North Carolina -- said that 76 percent of Christian clergy were either overweight or obese, 15 percentage points higher than for the general U.S. population.

Reasons:

It's easy for clergy to fall into a sedentary lifestyle with a work schedule that has them on call 24 hours every day of the week and also to indulge in unhealthy foods provided at the numerous social functions and potluck dinners they are required to attend, said Susan Gibbs, spokeswoman for the Archdiocese of Washington.

... Because many diocesan priests live alone, it's easy for them to fall into the trap of eating junk food and spending their leisure time in a sedentary way, which is why group activities can be beneficial for priests, Father Joensen said.

A generation thing?

In general, younger priests lead healthier lifestyles than older clergy, said Father William M. Joensen, 48, of the Archdiocese of Dubuque, Iowa, and a philosophy professor at Loras College in Dubuque, which has a small number of seminarians in its St. Pius X Seminary Program.

"You can attribute some of that to a generational philosophy which places physical fitness as a priority," said Father Joensen, himself an avid bicyclist who was spending part of June in Spain on a cycling trip.

"But, we also stress in priestly formation that it is important to avoid reverting to a sedentary lifestyle and to focus on staying active. This becomes an issue in their evaluations, when I work with them as a spiritual director," he said.

The point:

Physically fit priests also have more credibility when espousing the virtues of being a good steward of one's body to members of their congregation, Father Garcia said.

My experiences agree with what this article claims.

Seminarians of my generation, in general, put a greater focus on remaining fit, and this is often positively enforced in their formation. Priests of an older generation are more hit-and-miss. I have many priests friends who won't be competing in any marathon anytime soon. I also have a priest friend who is one of the most physically fit individuals I have ever met. This man is better able to fulfill his demanding duties as a priest because his body does what he needs it to do.

Do I have a point here? Not really. I think most of us would agree that being physically fit is a good and useful thing. I'm just mentioning it again here so that maybe we can think of an inventive way to help our priests care for their bodies as they care for our souls.