Dear Parishioners and Friends,
During the month of August and the beginning of September most of us enjoyed watching the Olympic Games being played in Paris. They were a great spectacle of sporting prowess, a coming together of many nations, to encounter each other and compete at sporting events, ranging from athletics to horse riding to water sports, and much more. Athletes suffering disabilities engaged each other in the paralympic games, and that’s an even greater feat.
The games are not a modern invention. They were founded in 776BC and were played every four years in Olympia in Greece till 393AD. The French Baron Pierre Coubertin was instrumental in the revival of the Olympic Games in 1896, and they are now a major feature in the sporting calendar.
Many young people are inspired by these athletes to take up some sporting activity and devote time and energy to achieve the best they can, and even surpass their limitations.
This week, at mass we were reading from the first letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians. Paul says: all the runners at the stadium are trying to win, but only one of them gets the prize. You must run in the same way, meaning to win. All the fighters at the games go into strict training; they do this just to win a wreath that will wither away, but we do it for a wreath that will never wither.
Taking the hint from the athletic games organised in his time, Paul encouraged the newly converted Christians, and still encourages us today to take our faith seriously, never losing momentum. We hope to win as we compete, not against other people, but against lethargy, our sinful inclinations, and the temptation to give up hope in a loving and compassionate Father.
The way to Jesus is not an easy one. It is a narrow road. Like the athletes in the stadium or the Olympic Games, we cannot afford to give up. Being more fortunate than the athletes, we are assured of God’s grace, which will give us a head start and a push when difficulties arise.
God bless you
Fr Silvio
