Caring for our physical bodies often includes some form of exercise. While that may be carried out alone, for many it comes by way of participating in sports. 

 

There are multiple ways in which these can positively impact not only our physical health, but our mental, emotional and even spiritual health as well. Christianity has long recognized this and has seen parallels between athletic and spiritual endeavors. 

 

Just ask St. Paul who uses such metaphors himself (1 Cor 9:24-27, 1 Tim 4:7-8, et. al). In fact, several weeks ago, Sister Miriam Heidland and Father Chase Hilgenbrinck, both accomplished athletes, were in the Diocese of Rockford speaking to young people about some of these very things. 

 

There really is no question that athletics can be a positive and healthy thing in our lives and can not only help us care for the gift of our bodies, but can also be a very real means through which we learn and develop virtue. 

 

And yet, as we saw with other areas of our physical health, an overemphasis of any good thing can become morally problematic. The Catechism of the Catholic Church (2289) points this out when it notes that like other pursuits, “success at sports” can become an idol unto itself. 

 

This is an especially prevalent temptation given the cultural context we find ourselves in where sports are such an omnipresent and dominant fixture of American life. 

 

Again, there are many, many potential positives from participating in such activities, so long as they remain a means to an end, and not an end in and of themselves. This is what the catechism is reminding us of. Namely, that athletics should be approached in such a way that they help us to be better, or otherwise add positively to our lives, without becoming the goal or too high a priority. 

 

There are some easy ways to evaluate if their importance has become misplaced. To use Jesus’ image from Matthew 7:17-18, we can simply look at the fruits being borne in our lives because of them. There may well be a moral problem if we recognize for example, that we’re failing to live up to other responsibilities or if our pursuit of sports keeps us from acting charitably to others in the process. 

 

One such problem that has unfortunately become increasingly common is when we miss Sunday Mass because of an athletic event — either as a participant or a spectator. Unless one’s livelihood is dependent upon participation, this is very morally problematic. 

 

While participating in sports can help build virtue, sports cannot give grace, certainly nowhere near the way the Eucharist does. And while one may feel committed to a team, no commitment is to be greater than to Christ. 

 

If we freely skip Sunday Mass due to a sporting event, then clearly that sport has become not only an obstacle to our growth in holiness, but truly an attachment that needs immediate correction. In fact, it is a sign that the keeping of not one, but two Commandments, has been jeopardized. 

 

Playing sports on a Sunday is not in itself problematic, but missing Mass to play most definitely is. This is an area where we as Christians must take a step back and ask Whose day Sunday really is, and to make it a day which reflects that. Fortunately, with modern means of transportation and technology at our disposal, fulfilling a commitment to a team or a sport doesn’t necessarily preclude fulfilling our commitment to our Lord, even if it may mean a little extra effort on our part. 

 

At the end of the day, while sports can be a tremendously good gift in our lives, they cannot promise us the gift of eternal life — only God does that. 

 

Keeping this basic truth in mind will help guide the relationship we have with athletics to ensure it is fitting, proper and most importantly, Christian.