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INTENTION : |
That sports may always be occasions of human fraternity and growth.
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For the Catholic Church, "the joys, hopes, sorrows and anxieties of the men and women of today, especially of the poor and suffering, are the joys, hopes, sorrows and anxieties of Christ's disciples. Indeed there is nothing truly human which does not find an echo in his heart." This beautiful teaching of Vatican Council II (GS 1) also applies to sport. As Pope Benedict XVI once said to an Olympic committee (17/12/2012), the Church is interested in sport because she is concerned with the whole human person, recognizing the effect of sporting activity on the person's formation, relationships and spirituality. That is why so many Catholic institutions have sports grounds.
Every sporting activity, the Pope goes on, demands loyalty in competition, respect for one's own body, a sense of solidarity, and leads to joy and festivity. Sport is an educational and cultural good, in which human beings are revealed to themselves, and understand the deep value of their lives. It is also a modern 'Court of the Gentiles', or a precious opportunity for meeting between different types of persons, believers and unbelievers, in which it is possible to experience the joy and challenge of sharing life with different cultures, languages and religions
An athlete who lives his or her experience to the full gives attention to God's designs for their life, learns to hear God's voice in the long periods of training, to recognize him in the team-mate's face, and the face of the opponent in the contest.
Sport has always been part of my life, and in my adolescence, surfing. When I became a priest I went to live by the coast, and returned to surfing. As it was not usual for a priest to engage in this sport, the fact was immediately noted in the press. It was a good opportunity to show the human side of the priest, who can do sport just like any other person. The beach and the sea are an opportunity to meet people beyond the parish boundaries. The fascinating beauty of the sea, the force of its waves and its infinite immensity evoke the grandeur of God, creator of everything. The peace and the sense of well-being given by sport in the sea are a blessing from the Lord, who wants our good.
Fr. Luis Correa Lima, sj
Professor in the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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