As we journey throughout the Lenten season we await the day that we celebrate the resurrection of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

We must always remember in our daily life that this sacrifice was done for us to save us from our sins. Every day we must live in thanksgiving in everything we do for this amazing, unmatched gift from Jesus.

With baseball season soon to start there are a few pitchers who “save” in a different way.

Many pitchers at some point in their career are put into a position of protecting the lead and saving the win for their teammates. In the game of life this type of save is very low in importance compared to Jesus’s save for mankind, but in the game of baseball the significance of the save is very high.

Some pitchers have even made a career out of saving games and some of these are Catholic relief pitchers who seem to have that attitude of gratitude to Jesus that we all need.

David Phelps has played for the Miami Marlins, Seattle Mariners, and the legendary New York Yankees. Despite attending the very Catholic University of Notre Dame on scholarship as a pitching prospect he still found his Catholic faith wavering.

He even attended other Christian fellowship gatherings until he met his future wife Maria. As is so often the case, the athlete’s future wife played a big role in bringing him back home.

Once Phelps was determined to get to know his faith more strongly he became friends with a priest on campus who became his spiritual adviser and he went to confession after many years. He once again fell in love with the beauty of the Mass that he grew up with.

When he was at Mass he was amazed that he was taking part in something that Jesus himself started and the apostles, popes and bishops have maintained to this day.

He found every Mass in every city he played in gave him a sense of unity and community. One of the aspects of his Catholic faith that he has become deeply knowledgable about and fond of is Pope John Paul's Theology of the Body.

“To know the significance of what it means to be a man and what it means to be a woman is incredibly helpful in a relationship," he said.

Eventually Phelps started making the Rosary an essential part of his warm-up before games.

When younger he was very hard on himself after a poor performance, but that has changed as he has come to understand how much more to life there is than baseball. He thinks about heaven and the scriptural quote “What God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Cor 2:9).

Craig Stammen has been a reliever and a starting pitcher for the Washington Nationals and the San Diego Padres. After growing up in a very small, very Catholic town in Ohio, Stammen maintained his faith in college but he compartmentalized it. He didn't bring his faith into his baseball life at all, playing only for his teammates.

However he eventually came to understand that he must bring his faith into his ordinary everyday activities and work. So before turning pro Stammen said he “started to trust God more and put everything in God’s hands” once the ball left his hand. “He knows what is best.”

Since then he feels far less pressure on the mound and grateful for the opportunity he has. Through his involvement with Catholic Athletes for Christ he speaks often to groups about his faith and feels that every time he gives his testimony his own faith is further reinforced.

He greatly admires St. Paul as his favourite saint, since Paul had such difficult apostolic ventures but stayed positive by putting on the “armour of God.” He now tries to put on that same armour when he tries to save and win games.

Being elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame is an incredible honour for any pitcher or player, but for devout Catholic Trevor Hoffman it is not nearly as big as getting a chance to meet Pope Francis. He actually gave a San Diego Padre jersey with Francis on the back to the Pontiff during their meeting.

The now-retired Hoffman was one of the most feared relief pitchers in the history of the game in which he pitched for the Miami Marlins, Milwaukee Brewers, and mostly the San Diego Padres.

He had 18 years of coming into the game from the bullpen in the ninth inning to save the game, becoming known as a great “fireman” (relievers usually put out the fire, cleaning up the trouble that the previous pitcher left). In his career he saved 601 games.

Most of his career was with the Padres whom he now works for in the front office. He was always more of a man of actions than words, but his faith was especially apparent to teammates, coaches and opponents in the way he treated people.

It didn't matter if it was a janitor or the owner of the team; he respected everyone and showed kindness to them. Fellow pitchers found that Hoffman always took extra time to help them beyond the call of duty when other pitchers often just took take care of themselves.

He also helps young kids at a Catholic baseball camp in San Diego in the summer. Hoffman's induction to the Hall of Fame was partly due to endurance and courage under pressure with the game on the line. He always brought God with him out of the bullpen in order to “save.”