Praised be Jesus Christ! I read an article recently that spoke of the importance of a good hobby. One of the points mentioned that having a hobby is helpful for all of us, but especially for priests is this true because we often struggle to make the transition from work to retirement. Do you have any hobbies? My Dad loved baseball so as a kid I grew up playing a lot of our national pastime. I enjoyed the game but really found football and basketball to be a lot more exhilarating. Only now that I’m in my 40s (have I mentioned recently that my birthday is August 9th?!) have I grown to truly appreciate the sport that meant so much to my Dad. Every now and again I think of James Earl Jones’ famous quote from the movie “Field of Dreams”: “The one constant through all the years, Ray, has been baseball. America has rolled by like an army of steamrollers. It has been erased like a blackboard, rebuilt and erased again. But baseball has marked the time. This field, this game: it’s a part of our past, Ray. It reminds us of what was once good and it could be again.” In the event that you have not already intuited it, baseball has become one of my hobbies, albeit a somewhat seasonal one. I’ve made it my goal to see a new stadium from time to time and two summers ago it was Fenway in Boston. That was a magical night that I’ll never forget – you could feel the history in a building like that and the fans were as kind and personable as any crowd I’ve ever experienced. Last summer I made it to Detroit and took in a game at Comerica Park. By the way, next door is Ford Field, home of the Detroit Lions and the venue where Father Solanus Casey will be beatified on November 16th. Back to baseball now, and my recent trip on the 4th of July to Baltimore where I intended to watch a game at Camden Yards – sadly the friend who set the trip up had the schedule mixed up, so we ended up in Nationals’ Stadium in Washington D.C. It was a hot, sultry night but the game was well played and the home town pulled it out in dramatic fashion in the 9th inning. For the record, this summer will be exceptional because I’ll visit not one but three stadiums that I’ve never seen before: Father Sedlacek and I are going to Target Field in Minneapolis in late August for a Twins game (the Diocese wants me to spend more time with Father and they even gave me a modest stipend to do so... I’m kidding). And because I have a good friend who is a Poor Clare nun in Kokomo, Indiana, I thought I might as well make a little road trip to Cincinnati and take in a game there (Brewers vs. Reds on September 4th) and then visit the Sisters on the way home. Oh yes, hobbies are a good thing because they remind us that “All work and no play makes us dull boys.” One of the goals of our life is to learn to balance our work with some time for leisure; some tend to work too much while others tend to be lethargic, listless, and just plain lazy. One insight that comes from the 20th century author Josef Pieper is that true worship is the perfect blend of work and leisure. And for those who attend Mass regularly, we do sense the beautiful blend of our sacrifice of time meriting the joy that can only come when we praise God from Whom all blessings flow. Yes, it’s good for us to have some hobby so as to better enjoy life. But the greatest source of happiness is still the Mass: “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever,” (Hebrews 13:8).
May God give us the peace that comes from order in our lives of worship, work, and play! Your friend in Christ, Father Martin
0 Comments
Your comment will be posted after it is approved.
Leave a Reply. |
MASS SCHEDULE
Tuesday - Friday: 8:00 AM Saturday: 4:00 PM Sunday: 8:00 AM & 10:00 AM RECONCILIATION
Saturday: 3:15 - 3:45 PM OFFICE HOURS
Monday - Thursday: 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM Friday: 8:30 AM – 12:30 PM Stay Connected with Our ParishWelcome from Our PastorWelcome to Christ the King Catholic Church! Ever since 1938 this parish has been assisting souls in their quest for deeper union with God. Our mission statement is essentially found in the stained glass window above the main altar: “For Christ our King.” Insofar as God made us and we belong to Him, we have come to... Read More
Archives
February 2021
Categories
All
|