On a sabbath Jesus went to dine at the home of one of the leading Pharisees, and the people there were observing him carefully.  He told a parable to those who had been invited, noticing how they were choosing the places of honor at the table.  “When you are invited by someone to a wedding banquet, do not recline at table in the place of honor.  A more distinguished guest than you may have been invited by him, and the host who invited both of you may approach you and say, ‘Give your place to this man,’ and then you would proceed with embarrassment to take the lowest place.  Rather, when you are invited, go and take the lowest place so that when the host comes to you he may say, ‘My friend, move up to a higher position.’  Then you will enjoy the esteem of your companions at the table.  For every one who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”  Then he said to the host who invited him, “When you hold a lunch or a dinner, do not invite your friends or your brothers or your relatives or your wealthy neighbors, in case they may invite you back and you have repayment.  Rather, when you hold a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind; blessed indeed will you be because of their inability to repay you.  For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”  Lk 14:1 , 7-14 

Sports: Humility vs. Pride

On a crisp March morning in Dodgertown in Vero Beach, FL with the sun glistening off of the morning dew on field #2, I can remember listening to one of the most motivational coaches in the history of the game.  I was 18 years old and experiencing my first spring training as a professional baseball player.  Yet at this time I was emotionally, spiritually, and physically empty from an experience that had changed my life a few months earlier.  The experience of losing a childhood friend a couple of months earlier made me question my own very existence and the importance of life.  Including the importance of sitting where I was now sitting, in a Dodger uniform. 

Before my friend’s death, these motivational words would have had me pumped up and ready to “compete” in a way of seeking and destroying.  These sort of mantra’s and locker room speeches have always riled me up because it would hit the core of my need for power and dominance, sports being the avenue to achieve it. 

Sitting in the stands of field #2, these same words, were now falling on an empty and dull soul.  A soul that was not reacting at all from these words.  And now, beginning to even reject them.  This in a nutshell was the story of my 8 year professional career.  A story that was being played out in my soul that had its two main characters, pride and humility, doing battle with themselves for athletic achievement.  This inner confusion and I would say messy conversion that still rages on in me today, certainly had its affects on me on many levels.  Yet it isn’t until today that I can begin to put words to the feelings that I had in the uniform on that particular day.

Losing Myself to Find Myself?

One of the main themes of the motivational talk that we were receiving on that day was that “you have to believe that you can make it.”  “You have to believe that you are the best, just don’t tell anyone about it.  You have to believe in yourself!!!!”  As I sat there I was finding myself thinking how I can believe in myself when I don’t know “who I am?”  I had built my identity and worth into becoming and being an athlete and through my friend’s death, that illusion of me died as well.  So I sat confused and empty. 

It wasn’t until a slow reawakening of my soul through the recognition of what had transpired during my baptism that I began to find my true self in Him.  St Augustine writes that, “Thou hast made us for thyself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in thee…”  The feeling of selfish pride in order to achieve greatness on the athletic fields was making my heart very restless to the truth of finding my greatness in Christ. 

Humility: Knowing your Role

Knowing your role I think is an extension of humility.  Humility is not wanting to get the big hit or win the game on the big shot for fear of winning or accomplishments, rather it is wanting to be in that position understanding our role as faithful servants to God’s talents.  As a friend says, we are in sales, not management in this God business.  So believing in myself, as my coach said on that day, is to say I am to believe in the gifts God has given me, and I am called to be His servant.  This context, understanding this role, might have changed my career.   Yet understanding it today, may be a much greater grace.

I once heard from a friend who was in AA that they often refer to humility as not thinking less of yourself, rather thinking about yourself less.  In other words, the world does not revolve around me, but that in and through Christ, it is both the I and we, (Our).  So in Christ, we play for the name on the front of the jersey, our coaches and opponents, and for the name on the back of the jersey as well.  “You Shall Love your neighbor as yourself.”  Mark 12:31 

Christ being the source and summit, and the one who gives us balance between the security of our true identities and humility in our roles.

Contemplation of the story of Christ
 
I have found one of my favorite spiritual exercises to do, when I feel myself on the verge of some very prideful thoughts and or actions is to begin to contemplate the highlights of Christ’s life.  The King of Kings, the Prince of Peace, the Son of Man, born into this world in a very humble atmosphere, was threatened all of His life, hung out with some questionable characters at best, rode into Jerusalem on a donkey, and voluntarily was crucified for me?!?

As we begin this new season of sports, let us contemplate the death of Christ.  Let us contemplate His actions for us, so we may be centered and reminded of our true identities, not on what goes on in the fields, yet what went on, on the cross.  Here we may begin to feel comfortable and humble in our roles, on the fields, in the stands, and on the sidelines.

Brett Illig
Founder/Director                                                                     
The Message of Hope Foundation

In this past week’s Gospel, Jesus challenges the meaning of success.
               
Someone in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to share the inheritance with me.”  He replied to him, “Friend, who appointed me as your judge and arbitrator?”  Then he said to the crowd, “Take care to guard against all greed, for though one may be rich, one’s life does not consist of possessions.”  Then he told them a parable.   “There was a rich man whose land produced a bountiful harvest.  He asked himself, ‘What shall I do, for I do not have space to store my harvest?’  And he said, ‘This is what I shall do: I shall tear down my barns and build larger ones.  There I shall store all my grain and other goods and I shall say to myself, “Now as for you, you have so many good things stored up for many years, rest, eat, drink, be merry!”’ But God said to him, ‘You fool, this night your life will be demanded of you; and the things you have prepared, to whom will they belong?’  Thus will it be for all who store up treasure for themselves but are not rich in what matters to God.”  Lk 12: 13-21                   

What is Success?

This particular gospel always makes me ponder the meaning of success.  This usually leads me again to wrestle with God and His meaning of success.  Playing sports all of my life resulted in me constantly asking myself what success really meant and looked like on and off of the field, especially the baseball field.  Baseball is a sport where you must have a handle on what success looks like or you won’t last too long, as I found out the hard way.  This is a sport that is set-up in failure.  You fail 7 out of 10 times and you are considered a great hitter.  What do we make of that, in a culture that in many ways views success in a different fashion? 

I can still remember one of many conversations I have had with one of, if not the greatest hitting catchers of all-time, Mike Piazza.  I can remember speaking with him at a time when I was really struggling with my hitting early on in my career and I remember walking away from the conversation thinking it cannot be that simple. 

Mike at one point asked me how my day was at the plate.  I was 0-3 with a walk.  His first reaction was then you must be seeing the ball well because you drew a walk…which baffled me a bit…and began to take my edge off.  Then he proceeded to ask me what my other three plate appearances were.  I had struck out, grounded out, and lined out.  Upon further questioning by Mike, he made me see that the strike out is not only a HUGE part of the game but I needed to get used to it.  You are at times going to be beaten and over matched, part of the game.  And oh by the way he reminded me that I was just 17 years old facing a 27 yr. old Cuban pitcher who just signed for 10 million dollars.  The ground out was a ground out to the second baseman with a runner on second base and no outs.  In baseball, with a runner on second and no outs, the hitter at the plate needs to get the runner to third somehow with less than 2 outs.  So as a right handed hitter, hitting the ball hard to the right side is something you are looking to do.  After finding out that little piece of information, Mike was congratulating me on a great at bat.  He had reminded me that I did my job, giving your self up for the betterment of the team.  As I began to feel a little better, he then asked about my final at bat in which I had lined out to the shortstop.  In which he then said was a successful at bat as well.  He told me that you did everything you could do right in what you have control over, I hit the ball hard, after it leaves your bat you can’t control any of it, including a line drive right at someone, who by the way is there to get you out and is also very good at catching the ball.  After walking away from the conversation, going 0-3 with a walk, and having the greatest hitting catcher of all-time tell me it was a great and successful day at the plate, I was completely and utterly confused.  I remember thinking hitting can’t be this simple in professional baseball.  There needs to be more to it.  Yet at the same time it felt “right” and the pressure began to lift a bit. 

Looking back on that conversation that seemed to have repeated itself throughout my 8 yr career, I have come to know that the reason I was struggling to understand and except Mike’s answer  to me was because I had built my identity into my success, thus making my view of what success was, not true.

If sports really teach life lessons, is this one?  And to go one step further, what is “The” lesson, Christ’s lesson, offered to us?  What is success?  What is success on the field?  What is success in the classroom?  What is success in the boardroom?  What is a successful marriage?  What is a successful republic?  What is success?

I was a sent a reflection by Fr. Joseph Pellegrino who also posed the question, what is success?  I thought that his reflection is much better than I ever could articulate, so I will offer it to you now.  As you read this, remember that what we teach on the athletic field is what we bring to other areas of our lives, from our relationships, roles, and professions.  So as we ponder what true success is, how do we square up the success of the Savior of the world, born in a barn and to die hanging on a cross?  Maybe Christ hanging on the cross turns our view of success and failure, of victory and defeat, and of power and weakness upside down.  God Bless, enjoy the reflection, and have a great week.

The Successful Christian
By: Fr. Joseph Pellegrino
           
            Today’s readings force us to confront the questions: What is a success?  What is a successful life, a successful career, a successful relationship?
 
            Is a person’s life successful if he or she is making a good salary? There’s a story about a grandmother who pulled out pictures of her three grandchildren, all under two, and showed them to a friend saying, “These are my grandchildren: That one’s the rich doctor, that one’s the rich lawyer and that one’s the chairman of the board of a large corporation.”  The word success for her had to include having a high salary.  But is real success predicated on salary? Certainly, that is the way that most people calculate success.  But are they correct?
 
            How about marriage?  What makes a marriage successful?   Is a marriage successful because a woman and a man have been together for, thirty, forty, fifty or sixty years and have avoided both divorce and homicide? Marriage anniversaries are important, but do they point to the success of a marriage or only to its longevity?
           
            The readings for this Sunday force us to take a closer look at the whole concept of success.  In the Gospel reading, the man is convinced that he is a success because he is a rich farmer.  What should he do now that he has succeeded in harvesting more grain than he has storage room?  Build a bigger barn, of course.  The only thing is, the basis of his success is his grain.  When he suddenly dies, his success remains here, and he goes on to God empty handed.
 
            The whole mind set that success is predicated on what we own is based on a fallacy that was very clear to the author of the first reading.  He is sometimes called Qoheleth, or the Preacher.  This book from the Hebrew Scriptures is the very insightful and difficult book called Ecclesiastes. “Vanity of vanities,” says Qoheleth, “All is vanity.”  Qoheleth’s point is that the only real values are the spiritual values.  The early Christians loved this book of the Hebrew Scriptures because it helped them remain focused on the reason for their existence. That was why it was called the Church’s book, Ecclesiastes.
 
            There is a fantastic book of meditations on St. Francis of Assisi written by James Cowan, a lay novelist, who spent some time in Assisi trying to understand Francis.  You are all well aware that Francis gave up all his worldly possessions as a radical prophetic action.  Cowan writes that Francis recognized that wealth, family, social position and profession confined him in a web of relationships that made it impossible to define himself as a full human being in the image of Christ.  Francis lived at the time of the emergence of the middle/merchant class. Before this a person was either a peasant or a noble.  The merchant class was so taken up with making money and having the finest things of life that, as Qoheleth predicted, there days were full of labors and their nights were restless.  Francis’ prophetic action of stripping off his rich clothes in the square in Assisi was a sign that the inner person had to be exposed rather than cloaked in silk and velvet.  Francis’ action was prophetic, a radical action to help us recognize the entanglements of what the world calls success.
 
            A doctor is successful not if he or she has a prosperous practice but if he or she becomes the healing hands of Christ for the sick.  A lawyer is successful not if he or she is part of a profitable firm, but if he or she uses learning, knowledge and talent to protect people and the community, to do good for people and the community, to be just. 
 
            Many times an incorrect view of success is based on honors and titles.  Is a priest a success if he becomes a Monsignor or a Bishop? Monsignor Guido Sarducci from the old Saturday Night Live boasted that it was really important for him to become a Monsignor because he could get a better cut of veal in Rome.  No, success is not measured by titles.  A priest is on the road to success if he can draw closer to God each day of his life while he also draws those he serves to join him on the journey to God.
 
            How can we determine if a marriage is successful?  Certainly, longevity does not determine the success of a marriage.  A marriage is successful if the man or woman is a better person, a more loving person, because of the marriage.  How about parenting?  What are the signs that people are good parents?  Success in parenting is certainly not based on what your kids have, but who your kids are.  For example, many of you parents have begun shopping for school clothes.  Perhaps, some of you are shopping at Ross, Walmart or Target.  Perhaps some of you are shopping at most exclusive stores in Tampa Bay.  The cost of the clothes that you put on your children has nothing to do with the success of your parenting.  The success of your parenting is evidenced in the decisions your children make throughout their lives.
 
            What I’m saying is that the general  concept of success is a fallacy.  Success is not predicated on what we have, what honors we receive, what jobs we hold, etc.  Success is predicated on how each of us has developed as a person. 
 
            Let me take this one step, one infinite step, farther.  Success is predicated on our ability to assume the person of Jesus Christ.  St. Paul says in the second reading that our lives are hidden with Christ in God in such a way that when Christ appears we appear.  The personality of a Christian is so entwined with the person of Jesus Christ that Christ and the Christian, Christ in the Christian, must be one.  That is success.
 
            All this is a completely different way of considering success.  For the Christian, success is not a present reality, it is a goal, the goal of Christian life.  This goal will be reached when every aspect of our lives reflect the Person of Jesus Christ. 
           
            That is success.
 
            All else is vanity.

In this past week’s Gospel, Jesus is asking us to be mindful of only one thing.

Jesus entered a village where a woman whose name was Martha welcomed him.  She had a sister named Mary who sat beside the Lord at his feet listening to him speak.  Martha, burdened with much serving, came to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me by myself to do the serving?  Tell her to help me.”  The Lord said to her in reply, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and worried about many things.  There is need of only one thing.  Mary has chosen the better part and it will not be taken from her.” Lk 10: 38-42  

“Give me Jesus”

There is a running joke in our men’s spirituality group about the mounting list of questions we have if any of us is blessed enough to make it to the gates of heaven…here are a couple more as it pertains to this gospel.  What is it that makes Martha so upset?  Why doesn’t Martha say something directly to Mary?  What are the unmet expectations that Martha may have?  Could this be the recipe of our resentment and anger, our unmet personal expectations?

I am a terrible golfer.  I play maybe about 5 times a year.  I enjoy golfing because my expectations are very low.  I know that this is a game of repetition, and the more you play and find yourself on the practice range the better and more consistent you are going to be on the tee box.  Playing sports all of my life, this recipe is pretty standard across not only every sport but many things in life.  The more you practice, the better you become, always with limitations. 

Usually the first time on the golf course every year I am pleasantly surprised at the outcome.  It still isn’t very good on a golfer scale, but for my scale, not bad.  There is no pressure, no anger when I hook a shot into the trees, and no feeling of resentment when a friend sinks a birdie putt from 40 ft. while I tap in my 4th putt for triple bogey.  It is a freeing feeling, and a feeling I rarely ever felt in the sports arena.  It is low-drama, low-expectations, just an openness to reality and truth.

However, by about the forth time out on the course, usually with weeks in between never picking up a golf club, why is it that I become frustrated hooking that same shot?  Do I really think that because this is my forth time out on the golf course, I should be hitting fairways and greens?  What expectations do I have?  Do the way I react to certain shots depend on who I am playing with?  Does my anger and resentment on the golf course come from unreal expectations and posturing?  Is this the same recipe for Martha’s resentment toward Mary?

Maybe Martha resented Mary because she had expectations of what things were supposed to be when Jesus arrived in their house, and Mary was disrupting the plan Martha had envisioned.  Jesus can’t see me like this, the house out of order, the food not cooked to perfection, the clothes that I am wearing not good enough, etc…  I don’t know if these were things that Martha was thinking about, but I know when ever my anger comes out, it usually is a reflection of not dealing peacefully with my own insecurities and insufficiencies.  As Larry Gillick S.J. states:

“We are limited, fragile, quite incomplete persons and generally do not wish that personal poverty to be seen. When found less powerful, less in control, unknowing and the like, anger seems to arise either toward ourselves or toward whomever or whatever causes exposure.”

This made me think about a lot of things.  What expectations did I have as a player?  As a coach?  Now as a parent?  I know as a professional baseball player my expectations were so off the charts because my self-worth and identity was built on results of the field.  Resentment, anger, and winning as means of power were all things that came up and out in the heat of competition on and off of the field.  Is this the same root anger we see on the sidelines and playing fields of our youth sports today?  Unreal expectations rooted in self-worth and insecurities?

Maybe anger and resentment is a collision at the intersection of our own expectations and the Truth of our severe limitations and brokenness.  This happens both on and off of the fields with children, adults, and my golf game.  While we have an image in our minds about the white picket fence, fairy-tale endings, and championships every season, maybe this perfection is what Martha envisioned.  While Mary’s only expectation was to be with Jesus despite her brokenness.  And maybe this is the only expectation that Jesus has for us.  How does this reality damage our expectations?  And what do we do about our anger when these human self-truths get exposed?  Maybe that is why Mary is just sitting, looking into the eyes of Jesus, and Jesus looking into the eyes of Mary, with Love, despite her insufficiencies and humanity on full display.

I don’t know, but maybe Jesus was telling Martha to sit with Mary, not that Mary would do nothing but sit the rest of her days, but when experiencing, conversing, interacting, and listening to the Person of Jesus, she can then get up and “do” with a peace.

I am finding myself more and more driven by either circumstance, or more so, my insecurities to Christ.  My need to listen, interact, and converse with Him grows with the more my insufficiencies are exposed.  I pray that through these times with Him, it will allow me to get up and do His work, with less of an anger and resentment, but a peace in the roles of my life.

In the end, it is always about Christ.  In our words or actions.  In our sitting or our doing.  When we are alone or with family or friends.  While we are coaching or playing a sport, or watching it on TV.  In the morning or in the evening.  And when we are living or when we come to die.  “Give me Jesus.”

Brett Illig
Founder/Director                                                                     
The Message of Hope Foundation
In this past week’s Gospel, we are asked to do His work.

At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit.  He said to them, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest.  Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves.  Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way.  Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household.’  If a peaceful person lives there, your peace will rest on him; but if not, it will return to you.  Stay in the same house and eat and drink what is offered to you, for the laborer deserves his payment.  Do not move about from one house to another.  Whatever town you enter and they welcome you, eat what is set before you, cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’” Lk 10: 1-10                                       

Why are we here?

Over this past holiday weekend I was away with my family in Ocean City, NJ.  Anyone who is from the Tri-State area knows that “the shore” during this particular weekend can be very crowded.  And so on Sunday morning in the course of deciding on which Mass to attend I knew I had to leave a little bit early even though I was only about 3 blocks from the church.  I got myself ready and off I went.  As I was sitting in the pew about ten minutes before the Mass started I noticed the droves of people that kept piling in from all of the doors.  As I slid into the middle of the pew I realized that the seats were going quickly and with 5 minutes before the start, the church was filled to capacity.  As the Mass started and I tried to “get centered” I couldn’t keep my eyes off of the doors that by this time just stayed open with everyone coming in and in and in…I began to wonder what a cool sight to see.  On a very busy and crowded holiday weekend, sunny one too, the church was beyond capacity and people were still trying to get in. 

As I began to listen to the readings I couldn’t help but to look at everyone around me and start wondering.  I began to wonder why are we here?  What was it that drove us here on this beautiful sunny morning at the beach?  Was it out of duty?  Was it out of faith?  Was it due to a death of a loved one or maybe a loss of a job?  Was it a physical ailment or a bad week at work?  Did some have family issues or problems looking at themselves in the mirror?  Or was it all of the above? 

As I began to wonder about all of these questions, there was a sense of peace that was present as I watched the faces of my brothers and sisters.  A sense of peace that for whatever reason we were there, Christ was there with us.  That He was meeting us where we were.  Because of our known brokenness, we can begin to heal in Him. 

Then the gospel reading came and I began to think this through again.  Why are we here?  You mean besides getting healing we are to be sent and spread the gospel to others?  The peace was beginning to erode a little bit as I began to become a little fearful.  “God use me?”  Does He know who He is talking too?  Does He know my weaknesses and shortcomings? Not only that, I began to wonder about what others would think of me too.  “Who does He think He is?”  “We know him, what a hypocrite.”  As I began going down this stream of consciousness, there once again became a peace in me as I thought about Jacob from the Old Testament. 

In Genesis 32, Jacob is depicted with wrestling with God (through an angel) and coming out with a new name, Israel.  Oh, and most importantly, he came out walking with a limp.  I began to find that peace again as I asked myself, what is the alternative of these fears, not to wrestle with God?  Not to attempt to do the will of God in my life?  I began to look around again at all of the faces.  Despite our ailments both physically and emotionally, and probably because of our ailments, we are to be sent and spread the good news.  How counter-cultural this is, yet how fulfilling and full of grace. 

As we “were sent” walking out of Mass, my mind again began to spin.  Where are these people going?  Back to their houses or to the beach, or maybe to the ball field to play or coach?  And I began to think about the roles of coaches, players, and parents in the context of our athletic fields.  What does spreading the good news look like in the athletic harvest?

We can Imagine

We are saved so we have Hope.  And through this Hope we can imagine.  And when we imagine we begin to serve in His name.

“Imagine sport programs where every player feels safe, valued, affirmed and challenged to be the best they are capable of becoming.  Imagine coaches implementing the idea that the physical, intellectual, social, emotional and moral well-being of players is part of every coach’s responsibility. Imagine leagues and institutions providing a safe and supportive environment for healthy competition where parents are fully invested and engaged.  Imagine this not as the exception but as the rule at every level of sport, from tee-ball to high school to college. Imagine sports and coaching used to initiate individual, communal and societal change throughout America.” Joe Ehrmann

We can imagine this type of sports culture because we are sent out to do His work.  We can imagine this love for others and ourselves in our uniforms because we are loved from God in ways we can’t begin to consider.  We can imagine a sports culture from “game faces” to “loving faces” because we are renewed in the Spirit.  We can imagine because we have Hope.  Hope in the One that has changed the course of humanity once and for all…including the harvests of our locker rooms, sidelines, and stands of our athletic fields.

In this past week’s Gospel, Jesus asks us “Who do you say that I am?”

Once when Jesus was praying in solitude, and the disciples were with him, he asked them, “Who do the crowds say that I am?” They said in reply, “John the Baptist; others, Elijah; still others, ‘One of the ancient prophets has arisen.’”  Then he said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”  Peter said in reply, “The Christ of God.”  He rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.  He said, “The Son of Man must suffer greatly and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed and on the third day be raised.”  Then he said to all, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.  For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” Lk 9: 18-24  

“Who do you say that I am?”

I often wonder if I were sitting among the disciples, how would I answer the question, “But who do you say that I am?”  Even in my life today, as a self identified Christian who attends church on a weekly basis, how would I answer this question?  I know that the answer would be the same as it was when I was a 10 year old boy in my religious education class, as being the Son of God, the Christ.  Yet my understanding of what that meant was no where near what it is today and even my understanding of what being “the Christ” means to me today is no where near the full understanding of its Truth.  It truly is a journey and process of coming to “the table” to understand His Truth. 

Yet as I reflect on what it does mean to me today, I know that my understanding of who “the Christ” is can’t be understood without identifying, contemplating, and carrying my daily “cross.”  In other words there is no resurrection without the suffering and rejection, so there is no sense of freedom within my soul without an acknowledgement, recognition, and accepting of my daily “cross.”  As St. Paul suggests, “We preach Christ crucified.”  During these times I find myself asking a fundamental basic question.  Who do I say that I am?  This fundamental question usually challenges all of my illusions, my dreams, my actions, and my thoughts.  The answer being, an identity baptized into Christ, yet the challenge being what this looks like in all of the roles of my life.

I am a Father

Celebrating Father’s Day this past week, I thought it was a good time to reflect on this particular role in my life.  If I were to ask my young son who I am, what would he say?  If my dad were to ask me who he was, what would my answer be?  What words would I use?  What emotions would come to the surface?  What pains would be present?  What cherished memories would I relive?

I got a Father’s Day card on Sunday from my parents that had a quote on the front of it stating “Fathering is not something perfect men do, but something that perfects a man.”  This quote immediately made me think of this Gospel.  Becoming a father has been nothing but a blessing that is full of grace.  It has brought a deep seeded love that I have never felt before that is full of joy and fulfillment.  Yet the true grace of becoming a father wasn’t felt until I experienced the times of discomfort, the times of resisted self-sacrifice, and the times of it being not about me.  To be called a father is one that is filled with tremendous joy and fun, yet it’s fullness of truth is one that is also filled with sometimes giving up on your wants and dreams.  Here lies the sacrifice that is full of grace.  As Jesus tells us, to call him “Christ,” is not without sacrifice, pain, or suffering.  To be called father by my son and soon to be next child brings me great joy, and also great sacrifice.

You are Coach…

In a culture that has sports on its center stage, what does it mean to be called coach?  More so, what does it mean to be a coach in a program that is rooted in the Gospels?  If we were to ask our players who we are, what would they say?  What does the word coach mean to us?  What emotions come to the surface?  What memories do we have attached to this role?  Some of these questions surface for me when I think of “who I am” in the context of a coach on the field.  In the fullness of the Truth, what crosses are we asked to bear when we have the whistle around our neck?  What pains and wounds do we bring to the surface when we speak to our teams after losing the big game or winning the big game? 

Sports provide a wonderful template to teach about whom “the Christ” is and who we are in Him.  He is someone that is with you in the big wins and the losses.  The One that doesn’t take away sacrifice or suffering, but carries you through it. 

I think one of the best sports moments of the year that illuminates this Gospel for me came during the 2010 Super Bowl.  With over one hundred and six million people watching, cameras flashing, and crowd screaming, the high-point of one’s professional career, there was Matt Stover, the kicker for the Indianapolis Colts lining up for a field goal to put his team up 20-16 with about 10 minutes to go in the Super Bowl.  After kicking the ball and watching it sail right, missing the attempted field goal, Matt Stover looks up into the sky and gives a point to God.  Matt Stover’s faith in God wasn’t dependent solely on his successes.  “The Christ of God” is someone who is there when you win the game as much as He is there when we lose the game.  He is always present.  The realization of this Truth, the realization of our crosses that we must bear, is a process and journey both on and off of the athletic fields.

I have learned when contemplating on “the Christ,” I find myself a work in progress.  A work in progress in the many roles of my life.  And “the work” is very much related to the crosses that I bear, both on and off of the fields.  Yet like St. Paul says, “We preach Christ crucified.” And for that unfathomable love and grace found on the cross for us, we have the courage to pick up our crosses today along with our whistles and or diapers, and walk on…because “The love of Christ leaves (me) no choice.”

“The message is gripping.  Show a man his failures without Jesus, and the result will be found in the roadside gutter.  Give a man religion without reminding him of his filth, and the result will be arrogance in a three piece suit.  But get the two in the same heart-get sin to meet Savior and Savior to meet sin-and the result just might be another Pharisee turned preacher who sets the world on fire.” Max Lucado

In this past week’s Gospel, the disciples (we) experience blessings from our limitations.

Jesus spoke to the crowds about the kingdom of God, and he healed those who needed to be cured. As the day was drawing to a close, the Twelve approached him and said, “Dismiss the crowd so that they can go to the surrounding villages and farms and find lodging and provisions; for we are in a deserted place here.” He said to them, “Give them some food yourselves.” They replied, “Five loaves and two fish are all we have, unless we ourselves go and buy food for all these people.” Now the men there numbered about five thousand. Then he said to his disciples, “Have them sit down in groups of about fifty.” They did so and made them all sit down. Then taking the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up to heaven, he said the blessing over them, broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd. They all ate and were satisfied. And when the leftover fragments were picked up, they filled twelve wicker baskets. Lk 9: 11-17

Being Broken to Receive Blessings

What struck me this week when hearing this particular gospel were the actions and words of the disciples. The first thing that struck me was their initial real world concerns for the well-being of the over 5,000 people in this deserted place. There they were in the middle of nowhere with only enough food for a few, and they genuinely got concerned. And why wouldn’t they have? It makes me think of today’s economic times and the thousands of parents who are staring into the faces of their sons and daughters wondering where the next month’s food and rent is going to come from. What are we to do? What are we to say? Where are we to go, when we experience this sort of need? Much like me everyday, the disciples were in the world, and were struggling to discern how not to be “of the world,” but be in Christ.

Here lies the drama that struck me this week with this gospel. When hearing the instructions of Jesus to feed the over 5,000 people, they responded by saying we only have enough for ourselves here, and unless we go buy some for everyone, we are all going to be stranded out here without our basic human needs being met. My guess was that they very much were thinking, WE CAN’T DO WHAT YOU ARE ASKING US TO DO!!! My guess was that they were beginning to feel limited in their capacities, limited in their abilities, limited in their view of what they thought they were able to do. They had just come back from healing and driving out demons and if they were anything like me, they probably began to think, I am pretty good, I am pretty important here. Yet now they were asked to do something that they knew humanly could not be done. Their egos and illusion of self must have been punctured. Their image of self had to again be severely limited and broken. Yet this act of being “punctured” and broken, may be what is needed to allow grace and the many blessings to overflow through us in our words and deeds. And maybe was what allowed the disciples to allow Jesus’s words and blessings to sink in and live through them.

I think of how many times on the athletic fields throughout my career that I have been “punctured” in some way. Not making the team that I had planned, being cut, or realizing that I am not the player that I thought I was. And in my world, if I am not the player I thought I was, then my idea of self and why I was respected was now “up in smoke” with that illusion. Being broken is never easy; yet in the midst of our brokenness of self, I have found that I was now open to Him and His grace and blessings.

I heard a quote last year that illustrated the illusion of my baseball career, when former pitcher Jim Bouton said, “You spend a good piece of your life gripping a baseball and in the end it turns out that it was the other way around all the time.” Being able to come to grips that my identity and my reason for being secure, was not the illusion that I thought it was. This was very painful. Yet that brokenness, was the best thing that every happened to me, and I am thankful that it happened in the beginning of my career because it has helped me today pray everyday, “Lord, help me decrease, and you increase.”

Mandela Influence

With the eyes of the world watching South Africa this weekend with the start of the World Cup, I can’t help but to think about the influence of Nelson Mandela. This past year I watched the movie, Invictus, which illustrated his unbelievable ability to seek reconciliation rather than revenge in a very hostile and deadly situation. After being imprisoned for nearly 27 years of his life for being a part of the anti-apartheid movement, and upon becoming President in his release, he was open enough to see a possibility of reconciliation in his country, and he saw it through the sport of rugby. Not only did it illustrate the power of sports to heal and bring a country together as one, this movie illustrated the power of one individual to change and heal a nation.

It made me think, what enabled Mandela to have that courage, peace, and hope of reconciliation? The more I thought about it, the more I was lead to one the most powerful scenes in the movie, where the South African rugby team visits the prison in which Mandela was held. There in the jail cell, Matt Damon’s character, stands and looks out the small window of the small cell. Just for a moment, he experiences tremendous physical limitation, a limitation that Nelson Mandela felt for close to 27 years of his life. This scene reminded me of the writings of St. John of the Cross who experienced the same kind of limitations, and thus sparked his deep love and experience of Christ. What is it about experiencing profound limitations and brokenness of our humanity? Maybe it leads us to a place that is bigger than ourselves, more powerful than our capabilities, more love than our capacity to love, and thus experience grace that we can’t begin to fathom.

The theme song for Invictus is called 9,000 days. By the way taken from the poem, Invictus, written by William Earnest Henry who wrote it from a hospital bed where he had a lifetime of physical suffering. 9,000 days was about the number of days that Nelson Mandela experienced his profound limitations. The lyrics say:

I thank whatever
Whatever Gods may be
9000 days were set aside
9000 days of destiny
9000 days to thank Gods where ever they may be

In our time of limitations and brokenness, let us thank God. Whether it the realization of our profound limitation of this life itself and that some day we will physically die, or when we experience a physical illness, and or injustice done to us, or our own illusions of self become visible. Let us be broken, so we may receive the grace and blessings of the One who gives us true Hope and fulfillment. So, much like Mandela, we may enter the world and culture of sports seeking reconciliation and not revenge, empathy not apathy, faithfulness not selfishness, and Love not hatred.

Lifting up his eyes to heaven, Jesus prayed saying: “Holy Father, I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me.  And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.  Father, they are your gift to me.  I wish that where I am they also may be with me, that they may see my glory that you gave me, because you loved me before the foundation of the world.  Righteous Father, the world also does not know you, but I know you, and they know that you sent me.  I made known to them your name and I will make it known, that the love with which you loved me may be in them and I in them.”  Jn 17: 20-26 

“The Encounter” leads us to Our Encounters in Grace

The prayer of Christ to the Father seen in this gospel struck me with its intense want and love He has for us who are following Him.  I read that this prayer is sometimes compared to a “love letter” which outlines his deep want for us to become one, like He is one with the Father.  A “love letter” that invites us to experience the depths of Christ, filled with the highs and lows, sufferings and resurrections, of our daily lives, so we may begin to experience each other in Christ, more deeply.

In the First Reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 7: 55-60), we hear about the stoning death of the first martyr of this new Christian way, Stephen.  The tremendous parallels of the death of Stephen to that of Christ made me really consider the “love letter” that Christ offers to us in this gospel which encourages us to love the way He loves, live the way He lives, and forgive the way He forgives.

Stephen has an encounter with Christ, standing at the right hand of the Father, which sets the context for his graceful words and actions in his death.  

But he, filled with the holy Spirit, looked up intently to heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” But they cried out in a loud voice, covered their ears, and rushed upon him together. They threw him out of the city, and began to stone him. The witnesses laid down their cloaks at the feet of a young man named Saul. As they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell to his knees and cried out in a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them”; and when he said this, he fell asleep. (Acts 7:55-60)

How does one being stoned to death for believing in Christ, continue to be able to live out the two greatest commandments, (calling on God to receive his spirit, while loving and forgiving those who are killing him)?  Was it “The Encounter” with Christ that led him to have this tremendous grace in his encounter with the accusers and killers?

How does our daily “Encounter” with Christ alter the way we react, deal, and see those in our lives who anger us, betray us, hurt us, or use power over us?  More so, in this culture of sports, where an eye for an eye is encouraged and taught, what are we to take away from this tremendous act of grace?

“Grace is nothing else but a certain beginning of glory within us.”  St. Thomas Aquinas

I know for me, this call for grace, challenges every ounce of my human being.  How often in my own life, on and off of the athletic fields, my addiction to self, my wants, my needs, my righteousness stands in the way of grace, forgiveness, and “living, moving , and having my being in Christ.”  Yet deep down in my “true self,” that place where “my desires and cravings” are still and silent, this call for grace seems to be right.  In other words, this call for grace gives me a peace that can’t come from culture, friends, or family.  “When you happen to be entirely unoccupied with created things so that you seem to be thinking of nothing and desiring nothing, you should know that then your soul in unconsciously occupied with God and in God.” Father de Caussade   It is only when I allow myself to be fully exposed and broken in my “Encounter” in Christ, I find myself open to grace, and one with God and others. 

Let us be conscious of our daily “Encounter” with Christ so that He may shape our encounters with our players, teammates, friends, parents, spouses, children and co-workers.  Let us not pray that we be shielded from suffering, which can be losing a big game or striking out with the game on the line, but we do so with grace, dignity, forgiveness, and humility in and through Christ.

“The greatest tragedy in life is not suffering.  The greatest tragedy in life is wasted suffering.”  Cardinal John O’Connor

— Thomas Merton

Scholarship Program
The Message of Hope Foundation Scholarship/Award is a $1000 scholarship given to a high school senior who demonstrates and understands the importance of living their lives for others. The scholarship/award is not based on academic or athletic achievement, rather on the capacity to view your own individual successes based upon your relationships, life’s purpose, character, and connection to the community.

We believe that we can start to change the culture from apathy, silence, and indifference to a culture filled with HOPE by creating a community of young adults who are secure with their own identity, filled with empathy, and have a desire to positively change the community.

Join us as we move towards our goal of providing a scholarship to every public school district in the Philadelphia Area.

Current and Past School Districts:

Phoenixville School District
Coatesville School District
Owen J. Roberts School District
Great Valley School District
Spring-Ford School District
Lower Moreland School District
Council Rock School District
Upper Darby School District

Meet past Message of Hope Foundation Scholarship Recipients…Click Here

The complete list of colleges and universities are scholarship winners have attended ….Click Here

For complete scholarship details… Click Here

The Goal of the Message of Hope Foundation: To Propose the Hope of Jesus Christ in common and uncommon places.

Are we athletes/coaches/fans/parents who are trying to fit our faith into sports?

Or

Are we children of God participating in sports?

The Message of Hope Foundation understands the importance and positive influence that sports can have in today’s culture, yet we also believe that at its root, there is a great contradiction that reflects the inner turmoil found in many who take part in sports. On one hand, we recognize that sports can give us a sense of discipline in our work ethic and a sense of community by being part of a team despite our race, religion, or socio-economic background. While on the other hand we recognize that the same culture of sports can sometimes fuel a sense of unhealthy power and dominance over others, while promoting and embellishing an unhealthy and unclear definition of competition which often times leads to the exploitation of others and the erosion of our ability to make moral and ethical decisions on and off of the field.

Proposing a “Message of Hope”

Join us in the conversation to renew the athletic culture. Join us as we invite hope in our young athletes, propose a sense of purpose to our coaches, and to help promote the unconditional love in words and deeds from the parents on the sidelines. Join us as we propose Christ’s “Message of Hope” to the stands and playing fields of our communities. 

With your support we can continue to provide these services to the community.

Presentations:

Sports from the Heart:

A comprehensive workshop and seminar that: looks at the current present day realities of today’s sports culture, discusses cultural issues at the root of much of today’s sports negative issues, while providing a foundation to build a healthy athletic community for coaches, parents, and players. For more information…Click Here

Coaching from the Heart:

A comprehensive workshop and seminar that: highlights the important role and impact of being an athletic coach in today’s American culture, while providing ideas and practical tools to create a healthy atmosphere for your players and parents. For more information… Click Here

Summer FCA Scholarship Program:

The Message of Hope Foundation is teaming up with The Daniel Foundation (www.danielfoundation.net) to co-sponsor a scholarship program so that any interested young man from Phoenixville high school can attend a summer sports camp run by ‘The Fellowship of Christian Athletes’ (FCA). For more information… Click Here

Proposing Christ to Sports (Website) Coming Soon:

An interactive place full of prayers, introspection, ideas, conversation, and thought-provoking discussions on ways we can live out our faith in today’s sports culture.  This will have resources for coaches, players, and parents who are “wrestling” with trying to be faithful to their Christian ideals as they participate in sports.  More details will be coming soon.

Baseball Lessons: (Coming Soon)

Founder/Director of the Message of Hope Foundation, Brett Illig, will be offering baseball instruction with a faith and community component.  More details will follow.

Publication:

Integrating Faith and Sports

A weekly reflection that dissects today’s sports culture and its relevance to the Gospel. Click Here

If you would like to receive updates on our work within today’s Athletic Culture, please contact us to receive our monthly E-Newsletter.

St. Ann Parish (Phoenixville, PA)
Founder and Director, Brett Illig, has been very blessed to be working with the people at St. Ann Parish to help develop and expand their youth programs within the parish for the last two years. Much of the work has consisted of running their Junior and Senior High Youth Groups and interacting with the CYO Athletics Program. It has been a great learning experience, as well as a way for the Message of Hope Foundation to provide services in conjunction with our goals and mission…. Click for More

“Message of Hope” (Youth Ministry Presentation)
A presentation and/or round-table discussion that dissects today’s teenage culture and proposes the Hope of Christ, in the lives of today’s teenagers…. Click for More

Christ-Centered Life:
To help young teens to understand and internalize how to live their lives in a Christ-like manner through teachings, small-group discussions, videos/music and interactive activities… Click for More