Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

A Day in the Life

If the daily life of Father Thomas King, S.J., is any indication, a typical day for one of Georgetown’s Jesuits is full of prayer, teaching, fellowship and camaraderie.

A member of Georgetown’s Jesuit community and a professor in the theology department since 1968, Father King says his daily routine starts in the wee hours of the morning, at about 1:30 a.m. After leading 11:15 p.m. mass every night except Sunday, he begins each day the way most of us end it – getting some sleep. His wake-up time depends on the time of his first class.

“I’m not an early riser,” King says. “I’ve never been an early riser. Getting up in the morning is my least favorite part [of the day].”

But he manages to get himself up and started by making a “prayer offering of [the] day.” The prayer takes the place of orange juice – this Jesuit hasn’t eaten breakfast in more than two years. He literally begins his day with a little soul food.

Luckily for King, most of his classes are held late in the morning or in the afternoon. He teaches the course “Ways of Spirit and Desire” three times weekly at 11:15 a.m. King also teaches two sections of “The Problem of God,” on Monday and Thursday afternoon and Friday morning and afternoon. Like many students, this Jesuit is often still groggy at the start of his earliest class.

“[In the 9:15 a.m. class] the students seem to say `don’t bother us,'” he says. “[There’s] not much discussion.”

After his first class is over, King has lunch in the Jesuit residence. He holds office hours in the afternoon three times a week. For him, office hours are a time to talk and interact with his current students, as well as catch up with some former ones.

“It’s nice to hear someone coming back with good stories,” he says.

After his last class of the day, King heads home to Wolfington Jesuit Residence for dinner. Although he enjoys the “very good and varied” food that Wolfington serves, he says he sometimes likes to go out to eat Asian food. He enjoys having dinner in the residence, though, because he gets to interact with his fellow Jesuits, and especially his brother, Father William King, S.J., who also lives in the building.

“After dinner, [my brother and I] visit together,” King says. “[We] go over our day.”

To relax, Father King enjoys listening to classical music, especially the piano music of Beethoven and Liszt. But time for rest and relaxation comes in small doses for him, as he has to lead a special mass at 11:15 p.m. on Wednesday nights. King has performed this candlelit mass, which includes the benediction of the Holy Sacrament, to a group of about 20 congregants for more than 30 years.

After mass on Wednesdays, a small reception is held with light refreshments. King explains that students generally stay after mass every night to talk with him and their fellow students.

With the end of mass and his return to the Jesuit residence to go to sleep, King’s day officially comes to a close. But while King concedes that his day “definitely has a routine to it,” he says that spending each day as both a priest and a professor always makes his day interesting.

“I like having the two [identities],” he says.

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