And so we run…

[24] Know you not that they that run in the race, all run indeed, but one receiveth the prize? So run that you may obtain. [25] And every one that striveth for the mastery, refraineth himself from all things: and they indeed that they may receive a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible one.


[26] I therefore so run, not as at an uncertainty: I so fight, not as one beating the air: [27] But I chastisemy body, and bring it into subjection: lest perhaps, when I have preached to others, I myself should become a castaway.
~ First Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, Chapter 9

I think that most folks who have read this passage will conclude that it is referring to a man who is running a race, and is favored by God, and if he cooperates with His grace, will win the race. He is compared to others who perhaps being called by God, given all the opportunities, but either they want to win by the power of their own steam or are distracted by more earthly rewards rather than heavenly. I would propose, as food for thought, certainly not in the literal sense, but perhaps in a spiritual sense, that this may refer to our own personal race, with no other souls competing.

I recall years ago when I was trying to console a friend, and encourage him to keep fighting against his own temptations and sins. I had to think of something. I brought up this passage. I made a point, which I thought made sense, and I had always wanted to revisit the thought and perhaps write on it. I told this young man that we are not competing with others. That’s what the Pharisee’s did. They were always concerned with the appearances of holiness, and hardly ever concerned with their own actual, substantial holiness. They were whited-sepulchers. They washed the outside of the cup, but failed to cleanse the inside.

So, we should be concerned with our own holiness. How are we doing on our own journey towards Christ? When we look into the spiritual mirror, do we see Peter, or Judas? The Pharisee or the tax-collector? We run the race, not to beat others, as if we are better than them. I think our competition is ourselves. Every day we have an opportunity to either become better versions of ourselves or worse, becoming saints or becoming devils. And so, our race is against ourselves, or I should say, previous versions of ourselves. Why should we worry if we are doing better than the next guy? Who knows, those “immodestly dressed women” and “un-catechized men” may enter the Kingdom before we do. All it takes is one sincere act of faith and conversion at the moment of death for the “sinner” to enter into Glory, and one act of selfishness and pride at the moment of death for the “saint” to enter into Perdition.

We run against our bodies tempted by daily sin. We run against our bodies wounded by Original Sin and burdened with the triple concupiscence, the world, the flesh, and the Devil. We run against our bodies under the spell of the world’s false promises. We run against our bodies frustrated with the way the Church of Christ is being managed. We run against our former selves unwilling to accept the help of God. We run against our former selves unwilling to accept the truth Christ’s Church teaches. We run against our former selves unwilling to accept fault when others humble us.

We must thank God for the gift of faith and ensure that we guard it with sound doctrine and appropriate forms of spirituality, either time-tested or renewed ways that bring the soul closer to a personal and real relationship with God. We must have hope that all our trials and suffering are not wasted, that it is for God’s glory, that we may one day enjoy the eternal presence of God. We must have charity towards all people, not just to those within the Church, but especially to those outside the Church. We must help to make the Church more attractive than the world, not in the way many people have tried, by appealing to man’s worldly tendencies, but with the beauty that the world can never duplicate, and that is the beauty of saintly souls, your souls. And so we run, that we may one day win the crown of glory.