Week 260
Positive post Sunday, February 13, 2022- Week 260.
Today is Super Bowl Sunday and yes, I will be cheering on our local team the Rams (sorry Frank Coyle but I know you will appreciate this PPS 
). We’ve been planning for days and Michele and I are up early preparing for family coming over to watch the game.
Oh, and by the way, today is also the day many of us are privileged and blessed to attend Mass or other religious gatherings. Seeing all the Super Bowl hype during this past week and watching all the football fans prepare for their parties and events (including myself) made me think about the priorities we set in our lives. How many people will miss Mass today because they’re too busy preparing for and watching the big game? How often do we place special interests, like sports, ahead of our faith?
It turns out that I’m not the first person to wonder about this. At Mass last night, Fr. Gino shared a blog written by Monsignor Charles Pope back in 2015 titled “Compare and Contrast: The Super Bowl and the Mass, Football and Faith”. Here’s the link: https://blog.adw.org/…/compare-and-contrast-super-bowl…/.
Although admittedly written a bit “tongue in cheek”, Monsignor Pope certainly made me pause and think beyond Super Bowl Sunday and deeply into the priorities I set in my day-to-day life, especially when it comes to worldly vs. spiritual matters. Do I put my faith and pursuit of eternal life ahead of earthly interests? Am I as passionate about my faith as those energetic fans we see all decked out in the stands at sporting events supporting their team? Do I prepare for Mass and more broadly for eternal life to the same level sports fans prepare for games (planning days ahead, arriving early, tailgating)? If I were to grade myself, I’d get a C. I definitely have room for improvement!
I encourage you to read Monsignor’s blog. It might prompt you to reflect on the priorities in your life, challenge you to strike a better balance on how and where you spend your time and motivate you to better prepare for spiritual events like Mass. As they say, you only get out what you put in, so prepare better and put in more, the result could be life changing.
Do you put your faith and spiritual health ahead of earthly desires?
Do you prepare for Mass, or spiritual gatherings, to the extent you prepare for sporting or social events?
Do you focus on what you can put into rather than what you can get out of Mass or religious services?