Running with God – Finding grace in every stride
Most people see running as an escape – a way to sweat out the stress of the day or shave minutes off a personal best. But for those who have ever "hit the wall" or felt the inexplicable grace of a "runner’s high," running is less an escape and more an encounter. It is a physical dialogue with the Divine.
By Danica Cachia Mifsud
Most people see running as an escape – a way to sweat out the stress of the day or shave minutes off a personal best. But for those who have ever “hit the wall” or felt the inexplicable grace of a “runner’s high,” running is less an escape and more an encounter. It is a physical dialogue with the Divine. In a four-session program organised by the Centre for Ignatian Spirituality, Running with God, we explored the profound parallels between the 16th-century wisdom of St. Ignatius of Loyola and the modern discipline of distance running.
In the first session we tackled The Starting Line. In his Spiritual Exercises, St. Ignatius begins with the “Principle and Foundation,” asserting that we are created for a specific purpose: to praise and serve God. In running terms, this is our “Why.” Without a clear intention, we are simply clocking “junk kms”—movement without meaning. Session 1 focused on the Spiritual Warm-up. Just as a runner performs dynamic stretches to wake up dormant muscles, the seeker uses the Examen to wake up a dormant soul. We learn that “lacing up” is a liturgical act—a physical “Amen” to the commitment to show up. We practice the “S.O.L.E. Examen,” checking our spiritual gait to see where we are striking the ground with grace and where we are tripping over our own attachments.
In the second session, we embraced The Path Ahead. Once the excitement of the starting line fades, we enter the middle miles section of our run. This is where the novelty dies and the internal dialogue gets loud. Ignatius describes this as the shift between Consolation and Desolation. Consolation is the spiritual “tailwind.” It is the flow state where God feels close and the stride feels light. But Ignatius warns us that this weather will change. Eventually, every runner encounters Desolation, the spiritual “Wall.” This is the moment when the “Internal Governor” (our ego) screams that we aren’t strong enough or that God has forgotten us. The takeaway for this stage is radical: In time of desolation, never make a change. When you hit the wall, you don’t quit; you adjust your pace, lean into your breath, and stay “firm and constant.” We learn that the kms that run in the “darkness of soul” are often the ones that build the most spiritual muscle.
In the next leg of the journey, we checked in at the mid-race mark to discuss the art of Discernment and finally completed with the fourth session which dealt with The Finish Line and Beyond.
Running with God taught us that the body is not just a vehicle for the soul, but a temple where the Spirit breathes. Whether you are at a sprint or a crawl, the path is open, the foundation is set, and the Creator is running right beside you.
The sessions were led by Danica Cachia Mifsud, a qualified retreat guide for the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius, runner and life coach, a member of Malta’s Christian Life Community (CLC) and an architect by profession.