Catholic Perspectives on Sports


Book Description

According to author Patrick Kelly, Catholics have always engaged in play and sports. During the Middle Ages, games and sports were played on feast days and Sundays, and these activities are shown in prayer books, in woodcuts, and on stained-glass windows in churches and cathedrals. Contrary to the view of some sports historians, pre-Reformation Christians did not "loathe the flesh" but instead insisted on the unity of body and soul. Book jacket.




Youth Sport and Spirituality


Book Description

Unsportsmanlike behavior by student athletes or parents at youth sporting events happens with regularity these days. Much recent research reveals that young people are dropping out of sport at alarming rates due to the often toxic elements in the culture of youth sports. The timely, innovative essays in Youth Sport and Spirituality present a wide-ranging overview that draws on resources from Catholic spiritual and theological traditions to address problems such as these, as well as opportunities in youth sport in the United States. The book consists of two sections. In the first, prominent scholars in philosophy, psychology, theology, and spirituality reflect on how youth sport contributes to the integral development of the person and his or her grasp of spiritual values. The second half of the book consists of chapters written by coaches, athletic directors, and specialists working with youth coaches. These practitioners share how their approaches to working with youth in sport contribute to the integral development of their players and their openness to transcendent values. The essays examine coaching as ministry, youth sport and moral development, and how parents can act as partners in youth sports, among other topics. The book will interest coaches, athletic directors, and youth ministers in Catholic elementary and high schools in parish settings, as well as undergraduate and graduate students in education who are preparing to teach in Catholic schools. Contributors: Patrick Kelly, SJ, Daniel A. Dombrowski, Nicole M. LaVoi, Mike McNamee, Clark Power, David Light Shields, Brenda Light Bredemeier, Richard R. Gaillardetz, Kristin Komyatte Sheehan, Dobie Moser, Jim Yerkovich, Sherri Retif, James Charles Naggi, and Edward Hastings.




Sports and Christianity


Book Description

This interdisciplinary text examines the sports-Christianity interface from Protestant and Catholic perspectives. In addition to a "systematic review of literature," field-pioneering contributors such as Michael Novak, Shirl Hoffman, Joseph Price and Robert Higgs address a wide range of topics from the sporting world, including biblical athletic metaphors, disability, evangelism, professionalism and celebrity, humility and pride, genetic enhancement technologies, stereotypes, sport as art and British and American historical analyses of sport and Christianity. Insightful chapters from Scott Kretchmar, one of the world’s leading philosophers of sport, and Father Kevin Lixey, the head of the Vatican’s ‘Church and Sport’ office (2004-), add further depth and breadth to this book, making it accessible and interesting to academic and practitioner audiences alike. Within the context of this relatively new and rapidly expanding area of inquiry, this collection provides a unique and important addition to the current literature for both undergraduate and postgraduate students, and serves as a point of reference for scholars of theology and religious studies, psychology, health studies, ethics and sports studies. The book may also be of interest to physical educators and sports coaches who wish to adopt a more "holistic" and ethical approach to their work. As modern sport is often intertwined with commercial and political agendas, this book offers an important corrective to the "win-at-all-costs" culture of modern sport, which cannot be fully understood through secular ethical inquiry.




Champions of Faith


Book Description

Through the words of such Catholic athletes as Sammy Sosa, Tara Lipinski, and Dave Wannstedt, this book reveals that heroes still exist. It also reveals that for many of those who take their role-model status seriously, faith plays a major part in their success and their witness.




As Leaven in the World


Book Description

Offers illuminating essays by passionate and well-recognized American Catholic intellectuals on the interaction between faith and work. By envisioning Catholicism as a cultural force that shapes morality, the arts, creativity, cultural conversation, social justice, spirituality and vocation, the authors invite educational leaders and intellectuals to take seriously their holy work -- of teaching others how to understand and engage the world from a Catholic perspective. Stemming from nearly a decade of conferences sponsored by Collegium, a consortium of sixty Catholic colleges and universities, this book offers new ways of connecting the content and concerns of Catholic faith to intellectual life across academic disciplines. This book helps form a community of inquiry around the issues central to Catholic intellectual enterprise.




Holy Goals for Body and Soul


Book Description

Hockey-playing Catholic bishop Thomas J. Paprocki has a message for teens and young adults: athletics and fitness provide daily ways to connect with God. Bishop Paprocki weaves his unique personal story with eight athletic topics and connects them with a path to wholeness. Holy Goals for Body and Soul: Eight Steps to Connect Sports with God and Faith links lessons from the world of sports and fitness—especially the experiences of a Catholic bishop who plays ice hockey—with concrete ways to live a holy life. In Bishop Paprocki’s view, everyone is called to holiness, which can be encountered anywhere: “I encounter holiness while training for a marathon. I encounter holiness during a workout at the health club.” He explores eight sports-related topics to help the reader navigate a life of holiness: Fear Frustration Failure Fortitude Faith Friendship Family Fun




Sport and Christianity


Book Description

Many people are passionate about sport, yet few give thought to its role and importance in their lives - let alone its relationship to Christian faith. This book examines the potential of sports and challenges readers to consider how it relates to their deepest passions, behaviours, and actions, while providing newcomers to the field with a framework to help consider the connection between sports participation and faith-based values. Featuring academic writers from a range of disciplinary fields, including philosophy, theology, sports studies and education, Sport and Christianity: Practices for the Twenty-First Century sheds insight into the meaning of sports for Christians as participants and as practitioners. Divided into practises for the mind, for the heart, and for moral life, the numerous topics include the value of play in sports, sports as a means for dialogue between faith traditions, sports as a place to cultivate virtue and the Christian spiritual life, and prayer and religious experiences in sports The result is a text that promotes new ways of thinking about the sports-Christianity relationship while at the same time developing a deeper understanding of the place of sports in our everyday lives.




Systematic Theology


Book Description

Unique among contemporary resources, the landmark Systematic Theology and its distinguished contributors present the major areas or loci of Roman Catholic theology in light of contemporary developments--especially the sea-change since Vatican II thought, the best new historical studies of traditional doctrines and scripture, and the diverse creative impulses that come from recent philosophy and hermeneutics, culture and praxis, and ecumenical contacts.




More Than Just a Game


Book Description

More Than Just a Game tracks the explosion of the sports industry in the United States since 1945 and how it has shaped class, racial, gender, and national identities. By examining both professional and intercollegiate sports such as baseball, football, basketball, golf, tennis, and stock car racing, Kathryn Jay looks at the impact of packaging, salary, hype, corporate sponsorship, drug use, and the presence of women and African American players. Jay also considers the persistent belief that sports encourage good citizenship and morality despite a rise in cheating and violent behavior and an unabashed emphasis on financial gain. More Than Just a Game is a fascinating exploration of a phenomenon that has engaged the American imagination and thrilled fans for decades.




Running for a Higher Purpose


Book Description

What if you could improve your physical health while deepening your spiritual life? In Running for a Higher Purpose, Most Rev. Thomas John Paprocki, Catholic bishop of Springfield--a marathon runner and hockey player--shares how the simple discipline of running can help you unlock profound spiritual benefits. Paprocki took up running as a teenager for his health; he ran his first marathon in his forties. Along the way he discovered that improving your physical health through running is a way to honor God and grow deeper in your spiritual life. Perfect for those who want to try running for the first time as well as for more experienced runners who want to set goals for a new challenge, Running for a Higher Purpose offers eight steps to reach spiritual and physical fitness. Review - Review where you are. Reform - Identify how to improve. Resolve - Resolve to put change into effect. Repeat - Don't quit. Renew - Renew your physical and spiritual wellness. Relax - Balance physical and spiritual exercise with the need to rest. Reward - Feel personal satisfaction and reward by achieving your goals. Rejoice - Integrating a sound mind in a sound body leads to eternal happiness. Each chapter includes an inspirational quotation, a personal promise statement, and a prayer.