A Catholic Perspective on Sports

Even as an observer, most of us have felt the exhilaration of a sharp header goal or a last-second jump shot that won the game. Sports are organized play. They are an integral part of modern life, but they have been a part of Catholic life since the Middle Ages. Catholic colleges have long promoted the concept that sports are necessary for fostering community building, an active lifestyle, and the spiritual life. The Immaculate College “Mighty Macs” (Pennsylvania) won the first women’s national basketball championship in 1972, and the next two years as well! In our parishes today, we have young people playing softball for Purcell High School and football for Wayne, and old guys riding long bike rides and running marathons! Sports provide an excellent combination of personal discipline and play, and play is a forerunner of contemplation, lifting us out of ourselves into a world of transcendence. Indeed, St. Thomas Aquinas felt that “it was possible to sin by having too little play in one’s life”.  It is only when sports becomes a job or a business, or becomes out of balance with the rest of one’s life, that it is no longer a virtue. Anything that leads us to wholeness also leads us to holiness. Play in joy; pray in joy! - - - Fr. Jim