Back to Porridge

January 8, 2025 in News

BRENDAN MCMANUS SJ :: The expression, “back to porridge” used in Ireland basically means, “back to work” or “back to reality”. After the excesses of the Christmas and New Year holidays, overeating, oversleeping and overspending, there is the sometimes unpleasant readjustment to the routine. I’m a big fan of porridge (oatmeal), having had it as a kid and it’s now been rediscovered as this miracle energy food! 

The thing is, even though the holidays are great and the transition to regular meals and the normal routine is jarring, it is good to be back to normal life and some kind of balance. Our bodies appreciate regular sleep, rising times, food, exercise and relaxation. A bit of structure and a programme does no harm, in fact it helps to promote wellbeing, balance and positivity. 

St. Ignatius has this insight at the heart of his Spiritual Exercises, just like physical exercise needs time, training and a routine, so our spiritual lives, the heart of things, needs the same care and attention. The key thing here is balance and a realistic transition to a new routine or diet. We can often be tempted by the extremes of overdoing it or undergoing it, and neither of these are often helpful. Some of us need help and wisdom to know when to slow down or hold back and some of us need help just to get going, to start doing something. An Ignatian tip is to ask for what you need, recognising that you are unique, you have particular gifts and strengths, but also particular challenges and ‘addictions’. You always have choices however and there is always something, a routine, exercise, approach, that will work for you. Appropriate physical exercise in particular has fairly immediate health and mood benefits that justify just simply ‘doing it’.

The challenge for me personally then is to ‘get back on the wagon’ with diet, exercise, work and rest. Then, building in time for prayer, reflection and meditation has a surprising impact on the rest of my life. At the heart of things, it holds me in love before God and hopefully this shows itself it all the other things I do. Check out these very practical suggestions for what you might do: 

  1. Accept that it is good to enjoy the holidays, celebrate and ‘let go’ somewhat, while also recognising that it’s good to get back into a normal routine of life and work; flexibility and adaptability are key (the freedom to be able to move between ‘holiday’ and ‘normal’)
  1. Get yourself onto a healthy diet that is doable and enjoyable, avoiding the extremes of over-strictness and laxity (peace is normally found in the balance)
  1. Start small and work organically to build up an exercise routine or diet; the temptation is to overdo it initially in trying to get fit too quickly (a routine that respects our humanity and ‘process’; we are not machines)
  1. Enlist God’s help in getting fit and healthy, ask for help to combat addictions, overeating, laziness and apathy (pray with your desire to be fit and healthy, to overcome your resistances: https://www.ignatianspirituality.com/little-lesson-from-st-ignatius-of-loyola/)

Build in a regular prayer life that might include morning prayer (see www.sacredpsace.ie) and the Examen in the evening (see: https://godinallthings.com/prayer/evening-examen/)