Archive for the ‘Sports & Recreation’ Category

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Team Christ

Friday, July 25th, 2008

I have never run a marathon in my life.  One year I began my “training” for the Boston Marathon in July.  I had new sneakers and a new dream.   Well, my training ended in November when it got much too cold for me.  So much for that.

Some of you may have run a marathon, and know better than I do that it is hard.  Now let me ask you to picture yourself at age 65 running a whole marathon.  Close to impossible .  Yeah, there are some who can do it, a few genetic outliers or running professionals.  But now picture yourself a 65-year-old man finishing the marathon in four hours.  OK, let me change that to a 65-year-old man who has had a heart attack 5 years earlier.  Now are you starting to say, “OK, that’s pretty tough to imagine”?  But, OK, one last thing: how about finishing the Boston Marathon in 4 hours as a 65-year-old man, having had a heart attack five years ago, pushing your 46-year-old quadriplegic son in his wheelchair?

Impossible?

Not so for Team Hoyt.  Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-son team.  Dick is an ordinary guy.  Rick is also an ordinary guy who was born a paraplegic.  See, when he was born, the umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck and he was starved of oxygen.  His doctors had given up on him as a baby, had told his parents to put him away.  His father said, “It’s been a story of exclusion ever since he was born.”

But you know what?  They have been running marathons for 27 years.  But not only have they run 66 marathons over that time, they have also completed 6 ironman triathlons.  That means that they swam two and a half miles, biked for 112 miles, then, as if that weren’t enough, they ran a whole marathon.  They have competed in 224 shorter triathlons, and … well almost 1,000 events.  They’ve also climbed mountains together and once traveled almost 4,000 miles across the country.

Impossible.

So why?  Why does his father take Rick on all these races?  Why does he basically give up his life and do the impossible with his son?  Does he crave fame and power?  No.  Is he a man who wants to prove a point to the doctors?  I don’t think so.  Is he a great athlete who wants his son to join him in doing what he loves to do?  I’m pretty sure that’s not it either.  Dick himself tells us why, when he describes the night after they competed in their very first race thirty years ago: “Rick told us he just didn’t feel handicapped when we were competing.”

When he races, Dick knows his son is free from his handicaps.  Dick does the impossible with his son, because it sets his son free.

That is the only reason he races.

You and I have handicaps in life.  We each have weaknesses, frailties, bad habits, wounds.  Life can seem impossible sometimes, like a race we can’t even enter.  Plus, there’s  death that eventually comes and puts an end to everything we do on our own.  How about living an eternal life?

Impossible?

Not so for Team Christ.  When you join Christ’s team, He takes you into a race you can never run on your own.  “Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” (Mt 20:22)

He takes you into a race where you do the impossible with Him.

Why?

Because it sets you free.

“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. Wherefore he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he has sent me to heal the contrite of heart, to preach deliverance to the captives, and sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of reward.” (Lk 4:18-19)

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The Lord Is the Best Guide

Monday, July 7th, 2008

For a while I volunteered at an assisted living facility in Boston and I had the privilege of taking one of the residents, Jack, for a walk. Now, Jack was blind, so I had a big responsibility. He would wait for me, and I would meet him in the lobby and guide him out the door to the sidewalk. Then, we would begin our walk around the block.

One of the things I learned early on was that he sometimes just wouldn’t listen. What do I mean? Well, for example, he would slide his stick back and forth sideways on the ground to make contact with whatever was on the edge of the sidewalk, to get his bearings and guide him as he went. Well, it happens that there isn’t always something on the edge of the sidewalk. Sometimes it opens out into someone’s front yard or walkway. And then sometimes, a little further up the path there is an edge on the sidewalk: like a thick bush or a wall, neither of which are a pleasure to walk into. Well, as he would veer off the sidewalk, I would tell him, “a little more to the left Jack … turn a little more to the left, Jack … Jack, to the left!” I would grab a hold of him and gently but firmly steer him out of trouble. You can image what happened at street corners.

Now one stretch of sidewalk was Beacon Street in the Back Bay. That’s easy street. Nice, smooth, wide sidewalks. The other stretch is Marlborough Street. This street is primo real estate in Boston: unless you’re a blind man walking down the sidewalk. The street is lined with enormous trees with giant roots. The sidewalk is paved with red bricks. Put the two together and what do you get?  You get an Olympic-class obstacle course for your average walker. For a blind man? Forget it.

Since Jack was slow to respond to my promptings, I had to look ahead at which obstacle was coming, and apply pressure early on. I had to maneuver him through the safest path, and call out the unavoidable as it approached, so there’d be no surprises.

There was one spot in the center of the path that was like a mini Rocky Mountain range with a narrow pass through it. Each time, though, we navigated through the pass without a glitch, and after several times, it became no problem. You know what? I was a good guide.

I thought one day: Jack never sets out for the walk without his guide. He’s completely dependent on his guide. He knows he’d never make it without his guide. He puts his trust in a good guide.

The Lord doesn’t expect us to see clearly. He doesn’t expect us to be great achievers on the way of life. He doesn’t expect us to stay put, either. No, He wants us to wait for Him, to let Him be our guide on the road of life.  He wants us to be ready to hear the words, “Follow Me.”  “And I will lead the blind in a way that they know not, in paths that they have not known I will guide them.  I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground.  These are the things I will do, and I will not forsake them.” (Is 42:16)

It’s then that even the toughest obstacles on the way become no problem. Why? Because He’s the best guide.

Posted in Luminous, Serving Others, Sports & Recreation | 8 Comments »

We Have the Ball

Thursday, May 1st, 2008

When I played basketball in high school, our team didn’t win much.  In my last year, we won only twice in the twenty games we played.  But there was one thing we were good at.  It’s called “taking the charge.”

What is “taking the charge”?  Well, let’s say that the other team has a very good player that can dribble to the basket and score every time.  How do you stop such an offense?  You might try a little force, you know, and push him back from the basket.  But, the referee will gladly blow his whistle and give you a reprimand, and your whole team will pay the price.  Or, you could just step aside and give up and hope something changes this time.  You know, like a matador with a bull.  We all know that never works.

But there’s something else you can do.  You can plant yourself firmly in his path and let him run right into you.  Now, let me tell you, this can hurt.  But, you know what?  After you and the charging, unstoppable force fall to the ground together, our friend the referee will blow his whistle.

And then, he will give your team the ball.  Now, you’re on the offensive.

Sin and death used to be charging, unstoppable forces.  But when the Lord embraced the Passion, He took the charge from sin and death.  He took it head on, without flinching.  And just before He ascended to heaven, He gave the apostles a very important piece of information and a mission that goes with it:

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and behold, I am with you always, to the close of the age.” (Mt 28:18-20)

Now, Our team has the ball.  Now, We are on the offensive.

Happy Solemnity of the Ascension.

Posted in Sports & Recreation, _Glorious | No Comments »

The Right Play

Saturday, April 26th, 2008

Since I was a young boy, I loved sports, especially basketball.  I even read the sports page every morning when I was a little kid.  I think I learned all about fractions from batting averages and earned run averages.

As I got older I really worked hard at basketball.  I loved the game.  Sometimes, as a teen, I played twice in a day.  I played all year round, and it became my only sport.

I ended up playing in high school for 4 years.  Pretty impressive, huh?  But there was one problem: I could never get comfortable in the plays that we ran.  I don’t know what it was, but I never seemed to get into full synch with the offense that we ran.  I always felt like something was off.

One day at practice, we ran through a play, and when I caught the ball, I turned to the basket and in one really quick and smooth motion put up a three-pointer: swish.  The coach blew the whistle.  “Next play,” I’m thinking.  He says to me, “That’s a great shot, Jerome…

But that’s not the play!”

You know, I think that’s the sense that the disciples had at the time that the Lord called them.  Peter and James and John with their fishing boats.  Matthew sitting at the customs booth.  I think they had put a lot of work into what they were doing.  In a way, they liked it.  But, inside they had a sense that they were running the wrong play.  They needed the Coach to blow the whistle and tell them.

Do you have a sense that you’ve taken a great shot, but it’s not quite the right play?  If so, it’s a good time to listen to the Coach.

Posted in Luminous, Sports & Recreation | No Comments »

Victory

Saturday, April 19th, 2008

For Boston sports fans, this year has been an incredible year.  First, you’ve got the Red Sox winning the World Series.  Then, you’ve got the Patriots winning every game (OK, except the big one).  The Celtics have been the best team in basketball.  Now, Boston College won the NCAA hockey championship.  What more?  How much better could it get?  I think the mindset of Boston sports fans could be described by one word:

Victory.

When I began as a Minister of Holy Communion at a local Boston hospital, I started green.  I didn’t have any experience in a hospital environment, and so the diseases and sicknesses were a new thing to me.  Also new was the idea of walking into a stranger’s private room, a stranger who has who knows what going on .  It can be intimidating – for me and for the patient.  All in all, it took great faith and trust.

Well on one of my first times making visits, a nurse took me aside and told me that I should go into a particular patient’s room.  “She’s dying, and she asked for Communion.”

I was thinking, “What? wait, did you say dying, what do I, you know, wait a minute …”  But I went.

When I entered, I saw an elderly woman propped up in a hospital bed.  She was breathing heavily and with labor, with a fixed stare of discomfort and fear in her eyes.  Her son was seated next to her on a chair, holding her hand and crying.

For the first time in my life, I saw death.  Death was really and truly present.  I was scared.  And I felt the helplessness that I think everyone feels in the presence of death.

After a brief greeting and introduction to her son, I noticed that the woman could not communicate well.  I couldn’t think of anything to say, so I just walked around to the other side of her bed to quickly begin the Communion rite.

When it came time to open the little container that carries the Hosts, something began to happen.  I gently took out one of the Hosts and elevated it for all to see.  “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world …”  As I was saying these words, I suddenly understood.

Someone greater than death was now truly and really present.  It was Him.

Jesus Christ and death are enemies, but there was no fight.  There was no contest.  Why?  Because the battle is already won.  “Death is swallowed up in victory.” (1 Cor 15:54)

Immediately, all my fear left me.  All thoughts of helplessness and despair evaporated.  Now the tables were turned, and it was death that was left helpless.  “O death, where is your victory?  O death, where is your sting?” (1 Cor 15:55)  The dying woman received the Lord, and as I quietly left her with her son, her eyes never left me.

The Lord wants to give us the one thing that gives us power: Himself.  When we have the Lord Jesus with us, when we really know His power, our mindset in life can be described by one word:

Victory.

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Trust Him and Go

Sunday, April 13th, 2008

After I first learned how to scuba dive, I decided to go diving with my friend, Ron.  Why?  Well, the first reason is that, in order to dive, rule number one is that you do not go alone.  You use the buddy system.   That way, if you have a problem with your air supply, you can share with your buddy.  If you get caught on something, your buddy can help you out.  If one of your guidance instruments stops working, you can share your buddy’s.  Well, I think you get the point.  The second reason I decided to dive with Ron is because he is a dive master.  In the diving world, that means that, among other privileges, he is such an expert at scuba diving that he is licensed to teach and train other people to scuba dive.

So I would meet him at his house, and he would start with the checklist.  “Don’t have a breather?  I know where we can rent a good one cheap.”  Then, we’d head off in his truck with his boat to the dive spot.  “We’ll go to this spot because the depth will be just right for you, and it won’t get too cold.”  We’d launch the boat and he’d head out into the bay to the location, and when we pitched anchor, we’d start to suit up.  “You go first, because I can get set up pretty quickly myself.”  And so he’d help me out with everything.

He’d give me a summary of where we’d be going under water, but it really didn’t make sense to me.  I would just follow him.

Everywhere he went, I would stay within eyeshot, sometimes helping with pointing out some lobsters or flounder, sometimes holding the lobster bag while he wrestled under a rock to pull out a big one.  Me?  I was lucky to pluck out a small lobster with small non-threatening claws.  Hey, you can lose a finger grabbing one of those things!

Well, by the time we got back to his house, we had a good catch and good stories.  While we had a snack and a drink with his wife, he would clean the flounder and package the lobsters.

And then, he would give them to me.

I thought, why?  I know why.  Because he just loves to dive.

I got all the goods, and he did all the real work.  I got to live the adventure of diving under the sea, see a lot of amazing things, get a great workout, and all I did was follow him.  When I got home, I looked like a diving master with fresh lobsters and flounder!  Let me tell you, I really like diving with Ron!  He loves to dive.

When the Lord calls us to follow Him in life, it’s because He loves life and wants us to also.  “I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly.” (Jn 10:10)  Trust Him and go.  You’re really going to like living with Him.

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He Will Give You the Keys

Wednesday, April 9th, 2008

For over 10 years I tutored high school students in my local town in math and physics.  It is a privilege to help out young people who are struggling with their studies.  I would go to their home and help them with their latest homework.  I met some wonderful families, and some were friends already.

One time, a family friend asked me if I could help her son Byron in physics.  He was going to Boston Latin, a very competitive high school, and although he was a B student, he was really struggling with this class.  It was an introductory class, and science wasn’t his thing.  “Sure,” I said, “I’d be glad to, free of charge.”

So after that I began coming by once a week to help.  Now winter time is the time that science students have to start thinking about the science fair.  For a kid who doesn’t particularly care about science, this is a time of confusion and frustration.  “Science fair?”  Usually, they want someone to just tell them what to do, so they can get it over with – fast.

Now Byron likes sports, and it occurred to me that there are some simple physics ideas in sports.

“How about this one: sports equipment like baseball bats and tennis racquets have a sweet spot.  There’s some simple physics behind it that I think you could understand.  And it’s related to what you’ve studied so far.”  “OK,” he said.  He always trusted me.

So I wrote up some stuff to help him out, a short description of the key physics concepts with a couple of simple key equations.  I met with him and explained these keys to him.

After that, he just ran with it.  He decided he would look at different types of baseball bats.  He would try to determine whether sweet spots matched with different types of bats.  He made ideas for testing, setting up a plan, finding and buying equipment, carrying out the tests, and taking measurements.

He has a good gift for presentation, and so he presented his project with his engaging personality at the classroom science fair.

He won the classroom science fair.  Everyone was surprised.  His family could hardly believe it.

Now it was on to the school fair.

Now, he was in the introductory Physics class – you know, the class for the kids that have to take a science class.  He was going up against the entire school now – that includes all the AP physics and chemistry and biology students.  All the students headed for Harvard and MIT and all the other Ivy League schools that Boston Latin sends so many of its students to.

But he won that too.  He won the science fair for the whole Boston Latin School.

Impossible.  His family couldn’t believe it.  His friends in school couldn’t believe it.  The school couldn’t believe it.  He couldn’t believe it.  No one could believe it.

How did this happen?  How did he do the impossible?

Because he believed in his tutor.  And his tutor gave him the keys.

The Lord promised Peter that He would give him the keys to do the impossible because he believed in Him: “And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.  And whatever you shall bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven, and whatever you shall loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.”  (Mt 16:19)

If you listen to the Lord, He will give you the keys.  Why?

So that you can do the impossible.

Posted in Family & Friends, Science & Technology, Serving Others, Sports & Recreation, _Glorious | No Comments »

The Little Way

Saturday, March 22nd, 2008

Picture 40 little second graders running around outside at recess in a schoolyard.  Picture a basketball hoop.  Picture a basketball on the ground.  Who wants to take bets on whether any of the little ones can get that basketball through the hoop?  Good luck!

Now, picture a 36-yr-old former high-school basketball player and coach, now postulant Franciscan friar, standing in the middle of the children.

Are you thinking shooting drills and sprints? … No ….

“Who wants to be lifted up to the basketball hoop?”

A little one grabbed a basketball and literally ran to stand in front of me – and just wait.  I lifted her up as high as I could, and she took her best shot – and missed.  Suddenly, there were 40 children surrounding me, cheering wildly for each other and having so much fun while, one at a time, me and my no-longer-18-year-old back lifted each one up for a shot – that missed.  And no one cared that the shots missed!

Everyone had so much fun, and I tell you, I’ve never received so many hugs than I did that day during recess.

St. Therese of Liseux is a Doctor of the Church.  That means she is a great teacher of the Church’s doctrine, and her way of describing it is called her Little Way.  “Suffer the little children to come unto me and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God.” (Mk 10:14)  All these little ones get a perfect A in St. Therese’s school.

When God gives you something that seems impossible in life, remember that He is going to raise you up.  He’s not going to train you to do it yourself; He’s going to do it with you and He’s going to cover for you.  Just grab the ball and quickly run to Him – and wait.  You’ll have so much fun, you won’t care if you miss.  That’s the Little Way.

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Watch

Thursday, March 20th, 2008

Mark McGwire is one of the greatest home run hitters in baseball history. Me, I played two years of Little League and never put on real cleats in my life. So what do Mark McGwire and I have in common? Let me explain.

One summer I worked as a parking attendant in the parking garage behind the Green Monster at Fenway Park. Now, this garage has a level that is not covered. As you may know, sometimes home runs go over the Green Monster. So, as you might guess, sometimes cars parked in our garage would get a free souvenir – you know, a broken windshield or a nice big, white dent in the hood. But whether the ball hits a windshield, a new Mercedes hood, or the cement, it makes a loud noise – and all the parking attendants make a mad dash for the ball.

One weekend, Mark McGwire was in town with Oakland to play against the Red Sox, and he hit 3 homers on Saturday and by Sunday mid-game he had already hit another one. This tied the record for homers in a weekend. So on his next at-bat, we in the parking garage were waiting…

We stood waiting gazing at the back of the left-field screen, even though it’s impossible to see the ball when it comes. Then he hit one good … you couldn’t see anything, but you could hear the crowd. We watched and listened. All of a sudden: thud! The chase was on. I slipped around a car and fell to the ground, and swiped the ball out of a little puddle beneath the car. I was so excited.

A few minutes later, a sports reporter from the Providence Journal-Bulletin approached me and interviewed me. You know, a few days later, he wrote an article in his paper all about Mark McGwire – and me. I couldn’t believe it. Mark McGwire did all the real work. All the hours of practice, all the games, the injuries, the time away from family, the dealing with the media, the heavy price of fame. He had to actually swing the bat, strike a small ball going 90 mph in the right spot, and hit it hard enough to knock it 400 ft. All I did was wait for a ball that practically landed on my head, and I got 50% of the glory with Mark McGwire. I cut out the article and couldn’t wait to show everyone…

So often in the Gospel the Lord tells His disciples to watch: “And what I say to you, I say to all: Watch!” (Mk 13:37)  He performs all His miracles and marvelous works so that we’ll watch. He knows we don’t quite know what’s coming and when, but it will come and when it does, it will make enough noise so we can seek it and find it – if we‘re watching.

The Lord doesn’t want us to miss out.

On what?

Our 50% of the glory.

Are you watching?

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Remember Who Is Here

Tuesday, March 18th, 2008

For a time I worked at the parking garage behind the Green Monster at Fenway Park in Boston.  One night I was working collecting fees from cars as they came into the garage, and this brand-new big Mercedes Benz came rolling to a stop next to me and the window dropped down.  Staring at me was one of the greatest Boston Celtic basketball players of all time.

Now, I must explain, that as a kid in the 80’s, I was a fanatical Celtics fan, and I watched this player in so many games on TV.  The Celtics players from the championship teams in the 80’s were heroes to me.  So, you can imagine how stunned I was.  I didn’t know what to say.  I was discombobulated.  I told him not to worry about the fee.  I pointed him to the prime parking space that we reserved for “special” customers.  I was just so amazed and excited to be in his presence.

I couldn’t wait to tell my family and friends about it.  One of my friends asked, “What did he say?”  I said, “Not much.  Just, ‘Thanks, man.’  Come to think of it,” I said, “he basically ignored me.  Not only that, he got in free, he got the best space – and now that I think of it, he didn’t tip me at all!  He didn’t offer to sign anything, not even a polite word or conversation!”  I was so starstruck at the time, I didn’t notice anything else.  He was there!  It was him!

You see, I was so in awe of his presence, I forgot about myself and what I got out of it.  His presence was enough.

When Mary followed Jesus into the cold, forbidding cave at Bethlehem, there was nothing in it for her but His Presence.  When she followed Him all the way to Calvary, there was nothing in it for her but His Presence.  And so, she was with God in His greatest hours, in the greatest moments in human history.

The very last words of Matthew’s Gospel are a promise: “And behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” (Mt 28:20)  When we really remember just Who is here with us in the Blessed Sacrament, then His Presence is enough.  And we too will be with God in His greatest hours, in the greatest moments of our time.

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