Most North American sports fans see this as the best time of the year. The National Hockey League (NHL) and National Basketball Association (NBA) seasons are just getting started, Major League Baseball (MLB) has reached the league finals, the National Football League (NFL) season is well underway with all its drama while Major League Soccer (MLS) and Canadian Football League (CFL) playoffs are around the corner.
For Catholic athletes there have been many interesting stories within these sports, including some of persecution, courage, conversion, and tragedy.
Gratitude through tragedy: Prior to the NHL season opening, Catholic hockey star Johnny Gaudreau and his brother Matthew were killed by a drunk driver while cycling in the New Jersey area where they grew up.
It was the day before their sister was going to be married. Both brothers were married and their widows are expecting. Johnny and Meredith were expecting their third child when he died. Matthew and his wife, Madeline, were expecting their first.
Devastating for the family and a big loss for the hockey world, particularly the Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Calgary Flames, this tragic event was yet another reminder that life is fleeting.
We just celebrated Thanksgiving and should every day live with immense gratitude to God our Father, thanking him at all times for every gift we have. Matthew’s wife Madeline did this during the funeral, stating how thankful she was to God for the time they had together. During the funeral at St. Mary Magdalen church in Media, Pennsylvania, the brothers were described as being full of love and kindness. The Gaudreaus have been seen as role models both in their church and school communities.
After the Mass, their friend, Tom Iacovone, stated, “If we all could learn from Matt and John and live our lives with that kind of love for others, this world would be the better for it.”
Courage despite persecution: The International Judo Federation (IJF) has suspended Olympic Serbian judoka Nemanja Majdov for five months for, in part, making the sign of the cross after a match.
The IJF Code of Ethics forbids athletes from making religious signs “before, during or after the fight or during the formal ceremonies.” That’s an even tougher prohibition than the Olympic Charter’s Article 50 which states: “No kind of demonstration or political, religious, or racial propaganda is allowed in any Olympic sites, venues, or other areas.”
Despite these dampers on religious expression by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the IJF, numerous Olympic athletes still, thankfully, went ahead and showed their love for Jesus.
Majdov for his part has said he will never apologize even if it affects his career. Making a sign of the cross is a simple, quiet, yet powerful prayer that, as Catholics, we all should be prepared to do in public.
Conversion and truth: Recently-retired former NBA player Gordon Hayward became a Catholic on Oct. 1.
He received his first Communion at the Basilica of St. Sebastian Outside the Walls in Rome. In his announcement, Hayward used the term Nunc Coepi, which means Now, I begin. Hayward chose Sebastian as his confirmation name after the patron saint of athletes.
His successful career began in Utah and included stops in Boston, Charlotte and Oklahoma City. He and his wife have four children. During his playing days, Hayward often stated he played basketball “For the glory of God.” After much prayer and investigation, he saw beauty in the Roman Catholic Church and courageously converted from Protestantism.
Do we as cradle Catholics really understand the depth of beauty and truth in our Catholic faith?
Perseverance through conversion: In his previous career, Olympic gold medalist Jason Read had been a first responder in New Jersey.
When his unit was called into duty during 911, he witnessed a Catholic priest ministering to a dying individual.
“It provoked me to want to become a Catholic,” he has reportedly said.
In the aftermath of the pain and confusion of that terrorist attack, Read started attending a Catholic church. With the spiritual guidance of the Catholic chaplain of the Princeton rowing team on which Read was at the time, he began his journey to the Catholic faith.
He credits his conversion with helping him persevere. He ultimately graduated from Princeton and its rowing team to the U.S. Olympic team where he won gold in Athens.
The actions of that Catholic priest at Princeton set in motion a process that had a great impact on Read’s life – and so we, too, must be aware that our actions can also very much affect the lives of those around us. In our homes and workplaces – or when we are shopping – the small things we do can make a difference.
So many people around us are in need of joy, perhaps a smile. Always be aware that the love of Jesus runs through you to others.
Charity, concern for others and detachment: Maria Andrejczyk survived a battle with bone cancer only two years before winning a silver medal for her native Poland in the javelin at the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympics – only to then have to sell it to raise money for her eight-month-old child’s heart operation.
The devout Catholic mother’s readiness to part with her hard-won, treasured silver medal allowed the auctioneer to raise $125,000 for the operation for her child, Miloszek Malysa.
“I believe everything happens according to God’s plan,” said the Olympian. “A medal is only an object but it can be of great value to others.”
During this Thanksgiving period, we must remember to be grateful daily and to use the things that the Lord has given to us for the good of others.
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