Watching football on cool and colorful Fall Sunday afternoons is one of America’s favorite things to do.
We’ve all seen and enjoyed plenty of end zone celebrations after an amazing catch or an exciting run. The player who scores the touchdown becomes a magnet; everyone rushes toward him. He becomes the center of attention without becoming selfish.
Isn’t it funny that every player on the team celebrates with just as much enthusiasm whether or not he happens to be the one who scored the touchdown?
What’s even more amazing is that the fans in the stands celebrate just as much, if not more. And that’s not to mention the millions of fans watching on TV or listening on the radio.
Like the effect that throwing a stone into still water has, the accomplishment of one person radiates joy to countless other people.
Hidden in the celebration are the numerous hours of training and sacrifice that went into scoring that touchdown.
One of the reasons we can admire the achievement is precisely because the athletes devote so much of their time to getting their bodies ready.
Not one of the moments of training is seen as a waste of time because there is a clear goal in mind and reaching the goal is what is important.
If this is true for preparing the body for a football game, I would say it is equally true for our preparing our souls
All of us likely have seen statistics about the percentage of time that we spend sleeping, or eating, or relaxing.
These things, of course, are good and necessary. How well we take care of our bodies determines how long our bodies last. How much time, though, do we spend each week focusing on the health of our soul? The health of our soul determines how we will spend an eternity.
A wise man once said: ‘The time we best make use of is the time transformed into what endures; the time we receive from God and give back to God.?
Some of the precious time that God gives us we have to use for the good of our bodies, but even more important is the time we dedicate to building a healthy soul.
Sunday is a great day to watch football, but it is also a day we should spend giving time back to God.
Worshiping God is a celebration and helps prepare our soul for heaven. The time we ‘give back to God? has eternal significance. Pretty important, wouldn’t you say?
Father Daniel Pajerski is formation director for Everest Academy.