The LA Rams vs the New Orleans Saints football game where the Rams defensive back committed pass interference on the Saints receiver with 1:45 left in the game and the infraction was not flagged? It was very obvious; the referees looked to be favoring the Rams. For several years now I have thought the NFL was favoring certain teams they wanted to win. Seems more like show time, instead of just football. So I am officially disillusioned with NFL football.

A young man that grew up in our community went off to college and then became a pastor. He lived out of state and the church he started grew by leaps and bounds. Then one weekend he came back to his hometown to hold a revival for his hometown church. Lots of people from the community went to see him preach, because we had heard so much about what was happening in his newly started church.

On the very first night that he spoke, the very first thing out of his mouth was the following: “I am only a man. Eventually, I will do something or say something that will disappoint you. So don’t worship me. I am here tonight to tell you about the only perfect man to ever live on this earth and he was Jesus. He will never disappoint you. May all honor and glory and praise be his and his Father in heaven.”

Remember the golden calf that Moses’ brother Aaron made for the Israelites who had just escaped from Egypt and 600 years of slavery? That golden calf represents many things that can be worshiped in our world today. Money, power, fame, pastors and of course the game of football may all be worshiped just like that golden calf. It wouldn’t surprise me at all, to find out that the golden calf, has a brand on his backside that says NFL.

Exodus 32

P.S. The NFL has shut down the sound and won’t allow the video to play from our website. They know they have a problem.

https://youtu.be/w-0OtWeSM_E

What does the Catholic Church teach about sportsmanship and our responsibilities as fans, coaches and players?

Some of you might already be thinking, “This is supposed to be a faith column, not a sports column, Father, why don’t you stick to your field.” Well, the truth is, that as a Catholic priest, whatever Catholics participate in becomes my field, because whatever we do, should be enlightened by our faith. Let me explain.

To my knowledge, none of the Popes or Vatican congregations has ever written a formal document on the place of sports and sportsmanship in the lives of Catholics. That being said, there have been plenty of Church leaders who have written about the importance of glorifying God in all that we do. For Americans, because sports are something “that we do” often, our faith in God should enlighten this aspect of our lives as well.

Here is what the Catechism says in its single paragraph about sports. “If morality requires respect for the life of the body, it does not make it an absolute value. It rejects a neo-pagan notion that tends to promote the cult of the body, to sacrifice everything for its sake, to idolize physical perfection and success at sports. By its selective preference of the strong over the weak, such a conception can lead to the perversion of human relationships.” (CCC 2289)

Do you think we “idolize physical perfection and success at sports? Do you think we regularly neglect the weak and glorify the strong? Brothers and sisters, I don’t think we do, I know we do. Teenage boys are sacrificing everything to become the successful athlete they think will make themselves and their parents happy, teenage girls are developing eating disorders everyday trying to attain the physical perfection pictured in our airbrushed magazine advertisements. And we now have the medical technology to “snuff out” any human life that might be genetically weak or disabled.

Is all of this a result of sports? No, all of this is a result of human beings not allowing every aspect of our lives to be enlightened by or checked by our faith. In many places, sports have become one of these unchecked areas of Catholic family life.

How many of us have ever thought about or set out our main priorities in life? Sadly, for many of us, we have a different set of priorities depending upon what building we are in; office, home, gymnasium. My own personal definition of sportsmanship is to be able to walk into a gymnasium or a football field with the same list of priorities that I would have when walking into church, or the office, or a hospital. What are these priorities? Well, as Mother Theresa put it, when a Catholic places in order the priorities of Jesus, Others, then Yourself, it will produce JOY in your life.

First, to place God as first priority is to believe God is your biggest fan or biggest critic when you are on the court or in the field. This was the reason for the popularity of the What Would Jesus Do bracelets a couple decades ago. It was a practical way to remind oneself of first priority, how does God influence my actions in sports?

Secondly, we must place others above winning. This means that no human being should be hurt physically, emotionally, mentally, as a result of our physical play or our tongue. This includes every possible scenario; fans talking to officials, coaches talking to players, grandparents talking about players or coaches, players competing or trash talking with one another. This also includes school administrations hiring coaches who have these priorities in order and desire to instill them into their players. In every scenario, placing other’s well being above “winning” is good sportsmanship.

Lastly we should be concerned about ourselves. However, notice that we ourselves still have priority over “winning.” (Winning doesn’t even make the top three priorities in life.) Anytime we sacrifice our health or our emotional well being for the sake of winning, we mess up the order of priority.

Is all of this difficult? Of course it is, it’s a pain to be the one to accept a bad call, or to keep our mouth shut when it is blatantly obvious what the coach is doing is wrong. Does sportsmanship mean we shouldn’t try to win? Of course not. I love winning. I’m the most competitive priest I know and thus I know exactly how difficult it is to balance competition with faith, and I definitely do not always succeed. However, because sportsmanship is so difficult, it is also an amazingly powerful form of evangelization. People in our communities know we are Catholic, and if they see us holding our tongue and helping others up and congratulating our opponents, putting these three priorities in order, they are going to be suspicious of what makes us so different. They will witness our joy and desire it for themselves. They will be inspired by our sportsmanship and slowly begin to rearrange the priorities in their own lives placing God at the top.

In Christ’s Loving Service
Your Pastor,
Fr. Jarett Konrade
https://stn-church.com/

Denzel Washington Motivational & Inspiring Commencement Speech

Do you know the plays? Whether on offense or defense do you know the plays? You see the quarterback in a football game right before the snap, pointing to a player and talking to that player. The quarterback, most of the time, is telling the player where to line up. For that particular play, the player is most likely lining up in the wrong place. So the quarterback tells him where to line up.

A busted play is when the quarterback is snapped the ball from the center and then something goes wrong. The quarterback turns to the right, to hand off the ball to the running back, and the running back is behind him on the left. The left guard pulls to his right and the right guard pulls to his left and they collide into each other behind the center. You must memorize the plays and not depend on someone else to tell you where to go.

Do you know your faith? You call yourself a Christian, but do you know your faith? You go to church as often as you can on Sundays, just because you always have, but do you know your faith? If I asked you to repeat the 10 commandments, in order, could you do it? If I asked you to tell me the name of the four gospels, could you do it? Who was the first martyr of the Christian faith? Can you repeat the creeds from memory? Have you read the Bible, cover to cover?

Are you one of those football players the quarterback has to tell where to line up, before the snap of the ball? I challenge you to memorize the plays and your faith.

James 1:22-25 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror and after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.