Many times on this blog, I’ve shared my love of walking. It’s the exercise that I most enjoy, and I’m now eight years into this routine. The habit comes and goes, but there are two truths that I’ve gained from my experience. After two weeks of walking every day, I notice a real difference in how I feel and my momentum is hard to stop.

It was in the latest iteration of my walking habit that I came across a new podcast. As it usually goes, I was rearranging apps on my phone to put my physical health front and center on my home screen. I needed to download the _Magnificat_ app, when I saw my old friend, _Hallow_. In the description, they noted that you could now listen to Fr. Mike Schmitz’s _Bible in a Year_ podcast.

I fired up my podcast player, and sure enough, there it was. Fr. Mike is posting podcasts every day throughout 2021. Episodes, around 20 minutes each, start with him reading chapters from the Bible, followed by prayer, and a short lesson on the stories that he read.

That evening, I went for my walk. I usually listen to podcasts as I quietly move through my neighborhood, and I set the _Bible in a Year_ podcast to go first. Naturally, Day One covered chapters 1 and 2 of Genesis. I walked in the cold winter evening, beneath a clear sky with the stars on full display, as I listened to and prayed the Creation story.

One of the greatest fruits of this pandemic is the new horizons of ministry that are now open. No longer is the default reaching people at Mass on Sunday. Many courageous digital missionaries have seized the media tools of our modern era and employed them in the spreading of the Gospel. We all benefit from this wide availability of spiritual resources.

In my busy day, I’m hard-pressed for time. I’ve carved out as much as I can for myself and, unfortunately, I don’t regularly find quiet time to sit down and open the Bible. Now, thanks to Fr. Mike and Ascension Press, the first fruits of my day can be given over to prayer. I can start my morning quietly hearing the Word and carry it with me throughout the day.

There’s something romantic and very human about walking under the stars at night. Even more meaningful is the spiritual element of taking that sacred time to walk with God and listen to His Word for my life.

Tags: Spirituality Wellness