A couple of
nights ago, Simone Manuel became the first African American to win an
individual gold medal in swimming. Outstanding! In her interview after the
race, she said: “All I can say is – all glory to God . . . I am so blessed to
have a gold medal.”
Divers
Steele Johnson and David Boudia told NBC – “Our identity is in Christ.”
Simone
Biles, the gold medal gymnast, carries a rosary with her to every meet and goes
to Mass with her grandparents.
Katie
Ledecky, the amazing swimmer, attended Catholic grammar school & HS. She prays
before every race, especially the Hail Mary. “My Catholic Faith is very
important to me. It always has been and always will be. It is part of who I am
and I feel comfortable practicing my faith. It helps me put things in
perspective.”
How
wonderful that these young people are willing to speak about their faith!
Jeremiah was
13 when he began as a prophet. At that
age, teens usually just want to fit in, get along and have the approval of
friends. Jeremiah wanted that too, but he also felt called to speak and live
his faith. Prophet is not a fortune
teller but a truth teller. The prophet hears the truth of God and speaks the
truth from God. It would have been much easier to tell everyone what they want
to hear. But sometimes, one must stand up for the truth.
Arthur Jones
was drafted into the Royal Air Force and found himself in a military barracks
with 30 other men. He had to face a big decision. Every night he knelt next to
his bed to say his prayers. Now what? Should he change because others were
watching? He asked himself - Am I going to begin my life away from home by
letting other people tell me what I should or should not do?
He decided
to kneel. When he finished, he was aware that everyone had seen him. And when
he made the sign of the cross, everyone knew he was a Catholic.
As it turned
out, he was the only Catholic in the barracks. Yet he continued to kneel, night
after night. Those 10 minutes on his knees led to hours of discussions.
On the last
day of boot camp, someone told him “You are the finest Christian I ever met.” “Well,
I might be the most public Christian you have met, But I don’t think I am the
finest. Still, I thank you for your words.”
So, just
like the Olympic athletes, the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that each of us are
running a race. We are being cheered on by a great cloud of witnesses. We are
not alone! So, let us keep running our race, keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus!
