During the Jubilee of May 31st, more than 30 “Cenacle Encounters” were held in Chile. These were instances in which we wanted to reflect on how Schoenstatt and faith were called to permeate reality in its most diverse scenarios. In this context, the idea emerged of focusing one of these encounters on the topic of sports and faith. I was in charge of that meeting, and it is within this context that I am writing now.
I have always thought that, from the perspective of evangelization, it is a great challenge to find where the interests of contemporary men and women lie and to try to capture their hearts from there. And it seems that nowadays sports is an area where many invest a significant part of their lives. What is it about sports that captures the human soul so powerfully? What makes it capable of awakening such a deep passion in men and women of all ages?
It seems that in our time, sports occupy a prominent place in many people’s lives. Whether as spectators or practicing a particular sport, nowadays there is an increasing amount of room given to the various existing sports. It only takes having a look at the relevance that sports have in schools or the strong presence they have in the media. Soccer, tennis, basketball or simply running. Everywhere we find people who are enthusiastic about these sports and devote a lot of their time to them.
In the days leading up to the Olympic Games and seeking to put into practice this characteristic Schoenstatt exercise of trying to unite faith andq life, I would like to share some reflections on sports and faith. Being such a broad topic, I will limit myself to develop only three dimensions in which sports contribute to our life of faith: community, competition and nature. There are many other aspects to elaborate on! They will be left for another time.
Sense of belonging and community
Participation in any sport, whether as a spectator, but especially when it is practiced, usually produces a strong sense of belonging. People become passionate about a particular sport and feel united with all those who share their interest, creating a true community. How human it is to want to belong, and how human it is to want to feel part of a community that shares a common identity!
And what about sports played as a team? What good it does for people when they learn to play together! Collective sports teach you to trust each other and also to accept the mistakes of your teammates; it shows you experientially that “together we are stronger” and that it is possible to find harmony as a whole when each part plays its part. This sense of belonging provides a genuine development on a psychological and personal level, but also constitutes a preamble that prepares you for a religious experience.
Following the pedagogy of Father Kentenich we could say that, just as we need to have previously experienced ourselves as wanted and loved on the natural level in order to learn to recognize the love of God in our lives, I believe that the sense of community that sports offers prepares us for the possibility of experiencing ourselves as a community before the Lord, as the people of God. If we do not have a previous experience on the human level of belonging to “something” greater than our own particular interests, it will be difficult to connect with the sense of community that faith gives us. Of course, there are community groups and instances in the most diverse fields that give us a certain sense of common identity, but I think that, in our contemporary world, sports is a privileged field that is capable of giving us this experience.
Competition that promotes excellence
I think that sports bring into play a very interesting dimension of human coexistence, which is competition. Most sports are organized by generating leagues and tournaments in which there is competition and the quest for a winner. This is the dynamic involved in the development of most games.
Competition is a reality that generally gets a bad press, especially from a Christian environment, where -thank God- we are more accustomed to talk about solidarity and collaboration. But even though competition has complex aspects, I believe that sports allow us to grasp the best out of it, thus helping in the development of authentic human values which can elevate the spirit.
When competing, the aim is to see who can do things better or achieve a better result under equal conditions. Often, and most times, it is simply a matter of comparing oneself to oneself and overcoming one’s own limits and obstacles. In any case, competing drives a person to bring out the best in him/herself, always seeking to go a little further in terms of commitment and effort. Competing demands playing with honor and loyalty, and also brings about discipline and perseverance. Thus, by comparing oneself with others or with oneself, one acquires an impulse to strive for excellence, a motivation to strive to bring out the best version of oneself. How good it is for us to place our talents and abilities in dialogue with those of others! Healthy competition enhances virtue. This dimension of sports reminds me of St. Paul’s words in which he invites us to fight the good fight, to finish the race and to be victorious in fidelity.
Nature, sports and an encounter with God
In recent decades, people have been abandoning the countryside to live in the city. We live in the era of the big cities, and it seems that nature has moved away from our daily lives. Does this have something to do with the secularization that our “modern” countries are experiencing? Normally it is said that the development and industrialization of nations goes hand in hand with a certain degree of secularization. I have the impression that, as we move away from nature, the human soul loses a little of its capacity for contemplation and some of its sensitivity to the encounter with God is lost.
What does this have to do with sports? Quite a lot, I believe. It turns out that many sports are practiced outdoors and this already offers a bit of the sky, air and trees surrounding us. But there are some sports that have a special accent on the contemplation of the surrounding nature. I’m thinking of hiking, nature walks or the simple exercise of going for a run in a beautiful place. We are made for the wind and for the sun, for the sea and for the mountains, and sometimes we spend entire days in which we only see walls, cement and more cement. How many people find in the practice of these sports a moment of pause, of introspection, of connection with the spirit? I believe that many people have been approaching trekking or hiking because they are instances in which they experience something like a retreat, because of the possibility they give to connect with the beauty of God in creation and to connect with their inner self.
Each country has a particular richness in terms of nature. Visiting these places as tourists does, of course, help. Creation and its beauty can capture the soul in almost any way and at any time. But the practice of sports that immerse you in nature often provides an even deeper experience. They give us the opportunity to contemplate, to be silent, to enjoy beauty. Creation is a small window into the heart of God and sports allow us to get closer to it.
Translation: Maribel Acaron
