When I think of Jimmy, I am confused because he has so many roles at John Carroll. He first introduced himself to me as a former resident minister. He occasionally sits down in Paula’s office, working to put the retreats together. Later he invited me to say the mass for his last class. He was a professor in the Religious Studies Department. After listening to his talks on St. Ignatius’ spirituality, I was convinced he was an engaging teacher.
But, besides these works, Jimmy is a runner, an extraordinary runner with special gifts. He has a different lung condition that had prevented him from running for his whole life. He thought he couldn’t run or shouldn’t run. Somehow his friends started running with him. He pushed himself, “You have to do this. You have to stay well. Keep going. Keep going. Give running a chance.” He said how happy he was when he was able to run a whole mile! He continued to challenge himself and others to prove that he could run a half marathon, which he did. I can imagine how hard it would be and yet he didn’t give in. His first and second half marathon and then he broke two hours—1:59:43 in his third attempt. He said this was perhaps the accomplishment he was most proud of in his life.
I am a runner as well. I was fortunate to have chances to run with Jimmy. As we ran a couple of miles, I saw he was struggling with breathing. His face became red, but he was still running. I understood what he said, “I run so I can stay alive.”
I have strived to embody St. Ignatius’ phrase: “The glory of God is the living person.” When I think of Jimmy, he is a man fully alive. Often I dream how cool it would be running with Jesus. If he were a runner, he would not be an excellent runner in good shape and pace. Rather, he would be an extraordinary runner with special talents like Jimmy because he would be persistent no matter how hard to carry the cross of the world. He wouldn’t mind running with burdens of others because of who he is, and he would take courage to run to finish the race, like Jimmy.
Jimmy Menkhaus is the sixth Christ.