Tuesday, September 23, 2008

Now that things have settled down...

Well, it seems like Joseph isn't talking to me any more. Alas. I guess I'll have to find something else to blog about....

...such as what life as a young Jesuit is like.

This morning I woke up fairly early (5:30 am) and had time to do Yoga. In the still of the morning, I love nothing more than to take my time giving thanks to God for the start of a new day. As I assume various poses, I imagine the stretching of my body mirroring the opening of my inner life to be responsive to God's movement in my day. 

What I've noticed is that the practice of Yoga has brought me a sense of inner peace as my exterior and interior are aligned through stretching and breathing. The tension of the previous day is relaxed away, my muscles and joints are awakened for a new beginning. Having achieved some sense of balance and physical awakening, I settle into my chair for some more formal prayer time - usually beginning with Pray-As-You-Go and then moving into a meditation on the day's reading. Since I've been in a relatively peaceful state (although you might not have guessed it from this weekend's tussle), my prayer each morning has just been a resting in the peace of the Lord. No fireworks, no great insights, just the peace of God's holy presence. 

Following my morning prayer, I met Drew Marquard, SJ for a 7:30 session in our home gym. We've been doing CrossFit this semester. Amazing. Simply amazing. I'm so sore right now but I've never felt physically more healthy. Then we had breakfast, watched the season premier of Smallville, and once I finish this post I'll take a shower and settle into reading a good bit of Husserl. I have class from 2:00-4:00 and then I'll go to Mass at 5:10 at Loyola Hall, eat dinner, and then get ready for the Blaqrobes' (the Jesuit team in Fordham's intramural league) softball game at 8:00 (I'm pitching again). At 9:15 I'm meeting with some students and then, hopefully, by 10:30 I'll be back home in time to do my Examen (my prayerful review of the day) and catch up on some pleasure reading.

I mention this because, very often, I get asked just what it is that I do all day. And, to be truthful, it varies from day to day. My days are full and, I feel, quite balanced between the many areas of interest that give me great life and energy.

And, on that note, I go. 30 pages of Husserl might not sound like a lot, but it's a rough go. I'm glad I have John Drummond as a teacher - he is exceptionally clear and has been great at explaining the text so far, so I'm confident that what I don't get on my own effort I'll get with his aide.


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