When you think of the current version of the Vancouver Canucks, names like Pettersson, Hughes, Horvat, Boeser, and Markstrom come to mind. The names Jay Beagle, Tyler Motte, or Troy Stecher probably don’t pop up, but these players have done their jobs well in helping the Canucks remain near the top of their division during the 2019/20 campaign.

Any coach or teammate in sports will tell you how vital it is that everyone on the team do their job well if the team is to experience success. Whether it is the holder for field goals in football or the middle inning relief pitcher in baseball who often faces just one batter. This is a message we need to understand as Catholic Christians in the world, out in the workforce. Through our baptism, confirmation, and sacramental life we are asked by God to be witnesses to the truth in our many different daily tasks and roles, be they small or very prominent.

Not all of us will be pope, bishop, or priest. We may not be CEOs or even managers. What we all are is a part of Christ’s body trying to help the team be victorious in letting Jesus be known in our corner of the world. This is something that perhaps is hurting many of our young people today who have lost the transcendent, who are missing God in their lives. For example, I believe they truly want to have a clear purpose in everything they do at work, but if they are not the boss deciding the direction of the company, they are frustrated.

In any work we do, we offer it to God, which is an amazing purpose. Also, the work that seems insignificant to you clearly plays a role in the operation, or else the company wouldn’t offer the job. Everything we do is important! Let’s consider a couple of examples of role players in sports.

While Trent Klatt did briefly play on a line with the Sedin twins in Vancouver, he was considered a third-line journeyman for most of his 15-year National Hockey League career, which took him to five different cities. He was considered a grinder who worked hard in the corners and the dirty zone in front of the net. He was also defensively reliable, finishing his career as a plus player when on the ice. Klatt’s teams were usually very successful, and he played a big part, though he was not a star.

“There is nothing more important in this world than cooperating with God’s grace,” Klatt told a Catholic men’s conference where he spoke about the strengthening of his once-waning faith. Klatt is involved in Catholic sports camps in the United States in which he spreads the faith and relates how God has impacted his life on and off the ice.

Have you heard of former Major League Baseball catcher Sal Butera? He was not a household name, yet he played a role in the Minnesota Twins winning the World Series. What’s more, his son Drew also won a World Series with Kansas City making them the incredibly rare father and son champion catchers. Like Klatt, Sal Butera also played for five different teams, including both Canadian teams (Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos).

Drew Butera, Father Richard Rocha and Sal Butera. “God gives us all different gifts, we did not give them to ourselves,” says Sal. (Courtesy of the Butera family and the National Catholic Register)

“Dedication and sacrifice are important to succeed in sports or in any walk of life,” Butera tells the National Catholic Register. He believes humility is an essential quality in daily activities: “one day you’re the star and the next day you are the goat. You have to take both equally.”

He believes that his Catholic faith has helped keep him humble and fully embrace being a catcher, a position often overlooked by many. He came to understand how to embrace his role: “Through prayer I came to understand that God gives us all different gifts, we did not give them to ourselves. That in itself should humble us.”

I highlight Klatt and Butera since they represent the view that no job or role is unimportant. We all must use our talents to bring God victory.