St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria’s words—“Let us run like madmen not only to God, but also to our neighbor”

St. Anthony Mary Zaccaria’s words—“Let us run like madmen not only to God, but also to our neighbor”—are a call to holy urgency. He is speaking to people who hesitate, delay, and fall into neglect. So he says, in effect: enough waiting—start moving.

But notice the direction of the run: to God and to the neighbor. Zaccaria explains why: God does not need our goods, but the neighbor does. We cannot “give” God food, money, attention, or practical help—He lacks nothing. Yet we can offer these things to the neighbor for God’s sake, and in that way our love becomes real and concrete. The neighbor becomes the place where our devotion turns into action—where worship becomes mercy.

This fits beautifully with 1 Corinthians 9:24–25. St. Paul compares the Christian life to athletes who run to win. They train, practice self-control, and give everything for a prize that fades. Christians run for an imperishable crown—life with Christ. Zaccaria takes Paul’s image and makes it practical: run to win—yes—but understand that the race is not only inward and spiritual. It is proved and completed in love that reaches another person.

So “run like madmen” does not mean confusion or frenzy. It means zeal, the courage to love without constantly protecting our comfort. It means refusing the illusion that we can love God while ignoring people. In the Gospel’s logic, love of God and love of neighbor are not two separate races—they are one path, because Christ Himself meets us in “the least.”

A simple way to live this is to make your day a double movement: one step toward God (prayer, Scripture, Eucharist, conversion) and one step toward your neighbor (a work of mercy, forgiveness, time given, help offered). This is the Christian “training”: discipline for the sake of love—so that, like Paul says, we run not aimlessly, but to win, and the prize is Christ.