Holly was mad, and she let me know it by barking at me – hard.
Yes, Holly is a dog, and I had the opportunity to watch her last month as a friend spent a couple of weeks in Portugal walking the Camino de Santiago.
Holly is a great dog. Lots of fun and full of personality. But this particular Friday night, I had messed with her routine.
I had an event that evening and couldn’t get her out for her evening run, when she likes to zoom around the parish grounds and come back to me for her treat. I got home late, let her outside to do her business, and then we came back in.
She was not happy with me. I didn’t need a thought bubble above her head to translate her barks: “What happened to our normal routine? Why didn’t you let me run around and give me my treats like always?”
We compromised. I took her back out for a longer walk, and she was fine.
Throughout her stay, I noticed how important routines were for her. Eating breakfast and dinner around the same time every day. Playing with her toys when she’s happy and playful. Going outside on a regular schedule and hunkering down around 10 p.m. after those outside runs.
When we hear the word “routine,” we probably think boring, unexciting, nothing special. Holly reminded me that routines can be a gift.
One of my routines is to get up early enough to have morning prayer time before the day begins. Before 7 a.m. most days, I have completed much of my formal prayer, including the breviary that priests are required to pray every day. It’s my foundation for the day, and I miss it when that routine is interrupted.
Daily Mass is one of my most important routines. I don’t especially like saying Mass by myself. During the pandemic, I found it very difficult not having a congregation with me. I am scheduled for Mass almost every day, but on the rare occasion when I am not, I miss it. I miss being with parishioners or students at St. John’s and celebrating the Eucharist as a family.
Evening meetings are also part of my daily routine. I enjoy meeting with couples preparing for marriage, people considering becoming Catholic, and those looking for help on their journey.
I love the routine of going to St. John’s, where I serve as chaplain. I loved going to Catholic Charities and our various sites when I worked there. And I love being out and about, celebrating our faith with others in different settings.
I think routines matter because they help you show up. You show up for Mass. You show up for prayer. You show up for your family and friends. You show up for life in service to others.
I sometimes tease folks and say, “As that great theologian Woody Allen said, ‘Eighty percent of success is showing up.’”
Routines help us show up, and showing up helps us succeed. Routines may sound boring, but Holly reminded me how important they are for us and for those around us.
We’re now in the second half of September, back to our routines after the slower summer months. This is a good time to think about our routines – what we do regularly and, more importantly, why we do them. Can we add to or improve upon the good routines? Are there any we should cut back on or eliminate?
Routines structure our lives. They can help us love God and our neighbor as best we can. There’s nothing boring about that.
(Msgr. John Enzler serves as the mission advocate of Catholic Charities of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a chaplain at his alma mater, St. John’s College High School in Washington. He writes the Faith in Action column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)
