By Dan Russo
Editorial
This week the world mourns the loss of Sister Jean Dolores Schmidt, BVM. The team chaplain for the Loyola University Chicago men’s basketball team died at 106-years-old. The woman religious was a member of the Sisters of Charity of the Blessed Virgin Mary based in Dubuque, Iowa.
Her long and fruitful ministry in education included an unusual brush with fame. She received national attention when Loyola made it to the Final Four in the 2018 March Madness tournament. Ultimately, her team lost. She was gracious in victory as well as defeat, providing a Christian witness through sports. In a quote that was attributed to her during a 2018 NCAA news conference, she reflected on prayer.
“We have a little slogan where we say: ‘Worship, work, and win.’ And so you need to do all of those things. God always hears, but maybe he thinks it’s better for us to do the L instead of the W and we have to accept that,” said Sister Jean.
In this issue of The Catholic Messenger you can find the second part in a series on faith and sports. The first part, published last week, featured Father Paul Connolly, a retired priest for the Diocese of Davenport, who spent years as a coach. Like Sister Jean, he realized that approaching sports with the right attitude can bring people closer to God. Being a coach and even just attending sporting events, helped the priest break barriers that might exist between ministers of the Gospel and those they are trying to serve.
“It shows that we are interested in them as people, and it might end up bringing people in (to the Church),” he told The Messenger. Additionally, he said: “It helps people see priests as people.”
We live in a time in the United States where many are leaving organized religion in general and the Catholic Church specifically. This is occurring just as it seems people need Jesus more than ever. There are economic struggles, political divisions, violence and a break-down in the family structure.
Two big questions arise in light of these trends: 1. How do we evangelize (or re-evangelize) people so they can experience the internal peace and positive transformation that only a relationship with God can give them? 2. How do we sustain the motivation to complete the works of mercy, as Jesus commanded us to do, in the current environment where the physical and emotional needs of people can seem so overwhelming?
Sports can provide some answers. Sports can help develop virtues like hard work, courage and perseverance. These are helpful for evangelizers who may experience rejection or even anger for having the gumption to speak about their faith in public. These virtues are also important for people helping the poor or marginalized. This can be challenging work and lead to burn out. Sports strengthen the body and fortify the mind, making it easier for people to deal with difficult situations in the world outside of sports. For those who can’t play sports or who don’t want to, athletics can still provide inspiration and wisdom.
In a recent Dodgers and Phillies game, the Dodgers moved closer to a championship by beating Philadelphia after a hard fight in extra innings.
Andy Pages, an outfielder for Los Angeles, had a pivotal role in the win. Something else stood out about the Cuban-born player besides his actions on the field, however. He wears a tattoo on his neck that reads “Jesus is the hero” written over a cross. He’s not the first sports star to use his platform to draw attention to Christ, but the fact that he is from a country where a Communist government has suppressed Christianity for generations, makes his boldness all the more remarkable.
Another player in that game also stood out. Phillies pitcher Orion Kerkering made a bad throw that ended his team’s season. He was visibly devastated. Fellow players ran to the mound as the Dodgers celebrated. His team, instead of castigating the pitcher, provided support. “I feel for him because he’s putting it all on his shoulders. But we win as a team and we lose as a team,” said Phillies manager Rob Thomson, in a post-game interview.
The faith these players had in their teammate mirrors God’s faith in us after we make mistakes and echoes the truth that Christianity is a team sport. It also reminds us that there are more important things than winning a game.
Maddy Hellwig, an avid athlete who works at Newman Catholic Student Center in Iowa City knows this well. She told The Catholic Messenger in part two of the series: “When there’s uncertainty in sports you can rely on what’s certain and that is that God cares about you and God has a plan for you. Sports aren’t necessarily the end all, be all.”
Dan Russo, editor
