John Paul II on Sports
St. Paul, who had been acquainted with the sporting world of his day, in the first Letter to the Corinthians, which we have just listened to, writes to those Christians living in the Greek world: "Do you not know that in a race all the runners compete, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it!" (1 Cor 9:24).In the library:
Here we see that the Apostle of the Gentiles, in order to bring the message of Christ to all peoples, drew from all the concepts, images, terminologies, modes of expression, and philosophical and literary references not only of the Jewish tradition but also of Hellenic culture. And he did not hesitate to include sport among the human values which he used as points of support and reference for dialogue with the people of his time. Thus he recognized the fundamental validity of sport, considering it not just as a term of comparison to illustrate a higher ethical and aesthetic ideal, but also in its intrinsic reality as a factor in the formation of man and as a part of his culture and his civilization.
In this way St. Paul, continuing the teaching of Jesus, established the Christian attitude towards this as towards the other expressions of man's natural faculties such as science, learning, work, art, love, and social and political commitment. Not an attitude of rejection or flight, but one of respect, esteem, even though correcting and elevating them: in a word, an attitude of redemption.
And it is precisely this idea of Christianity accepting, adopting, perfecting, and elevating human values - and thus as a hymn to life - which I would like to pass on today to you and to all those who in whatever way and in every country of the world practice or are interested in this human activity called sport.
According to the Olympic Charter, which sees sport as the occasion of "a better mutual understanding and friendship for the building of a better and more peaceful world," let your meetings be a symbolic sign for the whole of society and a prelude to that new age in which nations "shall not lift up sword against nation" (Is 2:4). Society looks to you with confidence and is grateful to you for your witness to the ideals of peaceful civil and social living together for the building up of a new civilization founded on love, solidarity, and peace.
These ideals do honor to the men and women of sport who have worked them out and proclaimed them, but in a special way they do honor to the numerous champions - some of whom are here today - who in their careers have lived and achieved these ideals with exemplary commitment!
Sport is competitiveness, a contest for winning a crown, a cup, a title, a first place. But from the Christian faith, we know that the "imperishable crown," the "eternal life" which is received from God as a gift but which is also the goal of a daily victory in the practice of virtue is much more valuable. And if this is a really important form of striving, again according to St. Paul it is this: "But earnestly desire the higher gifts" (1 Cor 12:31), which means the gifts that best serve the growth of the Kingdom of God in yourselves and in the world!
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