Jen Messing said her childhood was filled with time outdoors, so she grew up loving it.
As an adult who has spent time studying St. John Paul II’s Theology of the Body, “the very body-soul reality that God made us with,” Messing said the body is intended to be exercised not just in a gym, but in everyday activities.
Jen Messing
“When God put us in the garden and surrounded us with his creation, including … lakes, rivers, mountains, the glory, even of the plains, there’s so much of a connection between body and soul that it’s undeniable when you’re outside,” she said. Second to being in eucharistic adoration, she finds a deep sense of the presence of God in the outdoors, Messing said.
Messing is founder and executive director of “Into the Deep,” a nonprofit that offers indoor and outdoor retreats, teaching seminars, study groups and speaking engagements for youth and adults. She is also a co-founder of the Frassati Society of Minnesota, which honors Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati and offers Christain camaraderie through outdoor, cultural and spiritual events. She recently joined “Practicing Catholic” radio show host Patrick Conley to discuss the spiritual value of the great outdoors.
“I do think we have to reclaim the fact that our bodies are meant to pick up on every bit of gift that God pours out,” Messing said. Creation and beauty itself is a gratuitous gift, she said, a complete outpouring from God to simply receive him, enjoy the beauty, marvel at him, experience awe. “I do see it as the first cathedral because it was the original way that God wanted us to look up and ponder him, and not be distracted by other things, but to just let our heart soar toward him, talk to him, acknowledge him.”
It’s also a chance to step away from electronics and step into God’s gifts, she said.
Upcoming, age-appropriate trips offered through Into the Deep include a hiking trip for middle school girls at Mystery Cave State Park in Minnesota, a hiking trip for high school students in the Badlands of the Black Hills, and a trip for adults this summer to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area.
To hear the full interview, which includes details on more upcoming trips for middle and high school students, adults and couples, listen to this episode of “Practicing Catholic,” which debuts 9 p.m. June 10 on Relevant Radio 1330 AM and repeats 1 p.m. June 11 and 2 p.m. June 12. To learn more about Into the Deep and upcoming retreats, visit idretreats.org.
Produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis, the latest Practicing Catholic” show also includes interviews with Bishop Andrew Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, who describes the National Eucharistic Revival he is leading for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops; and with Archbishop Bernard Hebda and Bishop Joseph Williams of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and Father Joseph Bambenek, assistant director of the Archdiocesan Synod, who share reflections on the recent Synod, the first in 83 years, which took place June 3-5.
Listen to their interviews after they have aired:
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