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When Catholic writer Tom Thomas asked a priest friend if he gets a chance to exercise, his answer was sobering: “I don’t have time. There are too many responsibilities to attend.”
That exchange, Thomas later wrote in a July 16 article for Catholic Stand, revealed a deeper concern — priests are burning out.
“Our Shepherds are precious to us,” he wrote, “and they are up against many challenges in this world as they do His work tirelessly. They can get physically, mentally, and emotionally drained.”
According to Thomas, exercise is not just about physical health — it’s a matter of vocation.
“Besides all the work they need to do for their Mission, their personal prayer and daily Mass, they need to keep some time for physical exercise too,” he wrote. “It is much like the safety message one hears on boarding an airplane, in case of an emergency, put the safety mask first on yourself before helping others.”
Thomas added that this wisdom and burnout concern applies to the laity too.
He wrote that Pope Leo XIV has modeled this balance, noting that media reported that the Holy Father regularly worked out at the gym before the conclave with a mix of cardio and weights and that he is known to enjoy a game of tennis.
At the Jubilee of Sports in June, Thomas noted, Pope Leo reminded the faithful that exercise can cultivate virtue.
“The time you spend together in these days will offer you a valuable opportunity to think about the relationship between athletic activity and the virtue of hope,” he said. “When we think of it, sports are animated by hope, in the sense that they involve striving towards a goal, constantly trying to improve our performance and learning to work with others as a team.”
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Thomas noted that Pope Saint John Paul II echoed this truth in the Jubilee Year 2000.
“Every Christian is called to become a strong athlete of Christ, that is, a faithful and courageous witness to his Gospel,” the Polish pope said. “But to succeed in this, he must persevere in prayer, be trained in virtue and follow the divine Master in everything.”
Thomas also gave another example of someone who understood the virtues of exercise: soon-to-be-canonized Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, a mountaineer.
He quoted Frassati: “The higher we go, the better we shall hear the Voice of Christ.”
During the COVID-19 lockdowns, Thomas took up a consistent exercise routine and lost 8 kg (17.6 pounds), he said.
Moving more, lifting more, eating less, drinking less, and stressing less helped him lose weight. He recommended that every day, people do 30 minutes of exercise — anything one can do to get moving.
Though he admits to regaining some weight, his resolve remains: “I am following the precepts of daily exercise though, and I need this along with my daily Mass to get through the day.”
Thomas concluded by pointing to 1 Corinthians 6:19, which tells the faithful that the body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.
“We need to take care of our body, given to us by God, every day,” he wrote. “It is our responsibility.”
