Assumption Catholic Church
323 West Illinois Street - Chicago IL 60654
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Pastor's Messages Fr. Joseph Chamblain, O.S.M. Pastor
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| 10/10/2026 | Fr. Joseph Chamblain, OSM |
| LET US RUN WITH PERSEVERENCE | |
Marathon Weekend is like no other in River North. Added to the typical Saturday morning scene of residents walking their dog and tourists strolling around, runners are outside their hotels, stretching and then taking off for a run, dodging pedestrians and cars, getting ready for Sunday. We are privileged each year to welcome dozens and dozens of runners to our 5:00pm Vigil Mass for our Blessing of Runners and then more who attend our Sunday evening Mass proudly wearing the medal they received for completing the course. Early Sunday morning 45,000 runners from over 100 countries step off from Grant Park and run 26.2 miles north, south, west, and east, before arriving back at Grant Park in the early afternoon. The Bank of America Chicago Marathon is much more than a race. About one fourth of the runners are raising money for a charity, and last year charity runners raised a record $47 million dollars. The Marathon would not happen without 12,000 volunteers from some 200 volunteer groups (including a group from Assumption Young Adults) who provide water and other support services. And then there are the cheering spectators who keep runners running when they feel weary-not unlike the "cloud of witnesses, " the saints, described in the Letter to the Hebrews as cheering us on to eternal life.
There is also a deeply spiritual side to running. The discipline required to train for a marathon or follow a fitness program is not unlike the discipline needed to grow in prayer and closeness to God. Just as we will never be ready for a marathon if we only train when the weather is nice, we slept well the night before, we have nothing pressing to do that day, and we are feeling energetic, so we will never grow in our prayer life, address our character flaws, or contribute in any significant way to a service commitment if we only make time for them when the mood is right. And the peacefulness that some runners discover when they get into their rhythm is not unlike the peacefulness we need to enter into deep meditative prayer.
Hollywood screenwriter and veteran runner (and convert to Catholicism) Chris Easterly writes, "Why do we run? Maybe the better question is, Why don't we run? For a variety of reasons not everyone is a runner. But for those to whom God has given the ability and the desire, the practice of running is a way of showing gratitude for that gift. We're taking care of our bodies so that we can better serve our families and others and live more productively the lives God has allowed us to live. Of course, running does not always feel like a gift. Some days it feels like a burden. We're tired and would rather kick back on the couch, eat chips, and stare at our phone. But nobody ever wrote a motivational book called Why We Eat Chips and Stare at our Phones. More importantly, when we give in to the siren song of the couch, we feel less alive, less right with ourselves and the world. When we settle for that lifestyle, we know deep down we're not living up to all that we can be."
Easterly goes on to say, "In the Protestant church where I was raised, my thinking was informed by the notiont that spiritual things are good, but the flesh is bad .... When I began to explore Catholicism and started attending Mass occasionally, I was struck by how physical it is. All throughout the liturgy, Catholics use their bodies to worship. They dab holy water on their forehead and inhale the scent of incense with their noses. They sit, they stand, they trace the Sign of the Cross over their heads and chests. They shake one another's hands as they offer the sign of peace. They kneel as the priest holds up the Eucharist moments before they receive it in their open hands or on their tongues. The whole person, body and soul, worships God .... Something similar happens when we run. When consciously offered up to God, running becomes a form of worship and an expression of gratitude for being who we are .... The sky glorifies God simply be being blue, gray, pink, or whatever color it happens to be. Water worships by flowing. Trees applaud in celebration as the wind rustles their leaves .... Nature praises God simply by doing what it was made to do. We also glorify the Lord with our bodies when we use them to do what they were designed to do."
So, welcome to Chicago (and to Assumption) our many visitors from around the world. We hope you enjoy your run through the diverse neighborhoods of Chicago. We offer you our blessing ... and our admiration.
Fr Joe
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