Florida Catholic | Editorial

Faith lessons from the boys of summer

Published: 03.28.08

Spring training winds down this week and the teams of the Grapefruit League prepare to head to their home fields to begin the regular season. This rite of spring usually coincides with Lent, and, as reported in this edition of the Florida Catholic, many priests around the state take advantage of proximity to ballparks and practice fields by tying in homily messages to the game.

For example, Father Michael O’Brien in Seminole uses spring training as a metaphor in his Lenten homilies. Lent is a time of preparation for Catholics, just as spring training is a time of preparation for professional baseball. “We hone our skills with our praying, almsgiving and fasting,” he said. “What typically happens is people say, ‘Hey, Lent is over,’ and stop (focusing on growing spiritually). … (I tell them) Lent has been our spring training and the triduum is the opening game, so come out and play!”

We can learn more lessons from the ballplayers. Among them is that even with a busy schedule or when you’re on the road, you can and should find time for Mass. Several Catholic players talked with our newspaper about being grateful for the availability of Catholic parishes near the stadium so they could attend Mass during spring training far from their homes.

Bigger life lessons can be found in the friendly confines of baseball, too.

Ballplayers may have several months off from playing the game, but they don’t stop working on their game during that time. They stay in shape and train. We need to do the same with our prayer lives. We cannot put our faith and spiritual lives into gear only during Advent and Lent, or attend Mass only at Christmas and Easter. We have to train our spiritual muscles throughout the year — all during ordinary time. The Christmas and Easter seasons and the preparatory times leading up to them are important, but we can’t choose to be Catholic only when it’s convenient or only when it’s exciting. Our faith must be something that strengthens all year long.

The baseball season is a long one — 162 games in the regular season. More than any other professional team sport, the diamond calls for marathoners, not sprinters. So too, our faith. Our journey toward heaven calls for dedication throughout our lives. A team may be able to make it to the playoffs with a final burst at the end of the season, but it’s far easier if they play winning ball consistently throughout the season. In the same way, though we know we will sin, it is far better if we confess our sins regularly and find sustenance in our prayer life over the long haul. That way, if we are well-prepared, we won’t have to rely on a “wild-card” berth to get us into the purgatory playoffs.

Baseball is a team sport, and so is life. Just as strong hitting and good fielding skills are individual talents, belief in the Lord is a personal choice and personal prayer is essential to strong faith. A baseball team needs to work together to move the runners around the bases, make the cut-off from the outfield and turn the perfect 6-4-3 double play. In a similar way, we must work and pray together as Christians; we do that by performing good works toward our neighbor and by participation in Mass, the communal prayer of the church. These will lead us home.

When the season begins this week for the Rays or the Marlins or your favorite team, pull up a bleacher seat and grab a hot dog. Enjoy America’s pastime and look a little deeper at the game the boys of summer enjoy. Baseball could be a metaphor for your faith life. Play ball.

Return to the Florida Catholic Home Page

Faith lessons from the boys of summer

Other Articles