Pope Francis Gives 3 Rules to Athletes saying "... teaming up and collaborating can be an example..." FULL TEXT
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SPEECH OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE VATICAN AMATEUR SPORTS ASSOCIATION
Hall of the Consistory
Thursday, February 9, 2023
________________________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
I thank the President for his words and I greet all of you, who work in various fields of the Roman Curia and the Vatican State and are also athletes and men and women, members of the Amateur Sports Association "Sport in the Vatican". On this occasion we recall the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Vatican football championship, organized for the first time in 1972. From those first experiences, and even earlier from that distant 1521 in which the first Florentine football match was played, in the courtyard of the Belvedere, in the presence of Leo X, we arrived at the current Association, which includes other sports.
During the various championships, as when you travel for solidarity demonstrations, you are called to bear witness to your bond with the Holy See. This is why I would like to reflect with you starting from that image that St. Paul uses in the First Letter to the Corinthians, where he says: "Do you not know that, in stadium races, everyone runs, but only one wins the prize? Run too in order to conquer it! But every athlete is disciplined in everything; they do it to obtain a crown that withers, we instead one that lasts forever" (9:24-25). Again Saint Paul, in the Letter to the Philippians, adds: «I have certainly not reached my goal, I have not reached perfection; but I strive to run to conquer it, because I too have been conquered by Christ Jesus" (3:12). These two passages allow us to read healthy competition as an activity that can contribute to the maturation of the spirit. In particular, they outline three fundamental rules for the athlete: training, discipline, motivation.
First, the training. One immediately thinks of the effort – training is effort –, the sweat, the sacrifice. At the base of this is the passion for one's sport. A gratuitous passion, the one called "amateur", as an amateur, which really expresses the love for a certain activity. In Italian it is said "dilettante", which has sometimes taken on a reductive sense, but which derives from "diletto", that is, from the pleasure with which one does an activity. And if there is this attitude, competition is healthy; otherwise, if interests of various kinds prevail, competition is spoiled, sometimes even corrupted. Amateurism is decisive in sport!
Then there is discipline, which is an aspect of education, of training. A disciplined athlete is not just one who follows the rules. Of course, this is important, it must be there. But discipline calls a "disciple", that is, one who wants to learn, who does not feel "arrived" and able to teach everyone. The true sportsman always tries to learn, to grow, to improve. And this requires, in fact, discipline, that is, the ability to dominate oneself, to correct the impulsivity that we all have, more or less. Discipline then allows everyone to play their part, and for the team to express the best of the whole.
Finally, the motivation. Saint Paul writes: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2Tm 4,7). It is the perfect seal of adherence to the call, even for a sportsman. In a race, what gives the push, which leads to a good result, is motivation, that is, an inner strength. The verification is not done on the numerical result, but on how faithful and coherent we have been to our call. And, speaking of motivation, I would like to add something for you who are Vatican sportsmen: your way of teaming up and collaborating can be an example for work in and between departments of the Curia, as well as in state directorates Vatican. Once again sport is a metaphor for life.
Dear friends, I thank you for this visit and I urge you to go forward. I bless you and your loved ones from my heart. And please don't forget to pray for me. Thank you!
TO THE MEMBERS OF THE VATICAN AMATEUR SPORTS ASSOCIATION
Hall of the Consistory
Thursday, February 9, 2023
________________________________________
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!
I thank the President for his words and I greet all of you, who work in various fields of the Roman Curia and the Vatican State and are also athletes and men and women, members of the Amateur Sports Association "Sport in the Vatican". On this occasion we recall the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Vatican football championship, organized for the first time in 1972. From those first experiences, and even earlier from that distant 1521 in which the first Florentine football match was played, in the courtyard of the Belvedere, in the presence of Leo X, we arrived at the current Association, which includes other sports.
During the various championships, as when you travel for solidarity demonstrations, you are called to bear witness to your bond with the Holy See. This is why I would like to reflect with you starting from that image that St. Paul uses in the First Letter to the Corinthians, where he says: "Do you not know that, in stadium races, everyone runs, but only one wins the prize? Run too in order to conquer it! But every athlete is disciplined in everything; they do it to obtain a crown that withers, we instead one that lasts forever" (9:24-25). Again Saint Paul, in the Letter to the Philippians, adds: «I have certainly not reached my goal, I have not reached perfection; but I strive to run to conquer it, because I too have been conquered by Christ Jesus" (3:12). These two passages allow us to read healthy competition as an activity that can contribute to the maturation of the spirit. In particular, they outline three fundamental rules for the athlete: training, discipline, motivation.
First, the training. One immediately thinks of the effort – training is effort –, the sweat, the sacrifice. At the base of this is the passion for one's sport. A gratuitous passion, the one called "amateur", as an amateur, which really expresses the love for a certain activity. In Italian it is said "dilettante", which has sometimes taken on a reductive sense, but which derives from "diletto", that is, from the pleasure with which one does an activity. And if there is this attitude, competition is healthy; otherwise, if interests of various kinds prevail, competition is spoiled, sometimes even corrupted. Amateurism is decisive in sport!
Then there is discipline, which is an aspect of education, of training. A disciplined athlete is not just one who follows the rules. Of course, this is important, it must be there. But discipline calls a "disciple", that is, one who wants to learn, who does not feel "arrived" and able to teach everyone. The true sportsman always tries to learn, to grow, to improve. And this requires, in fact, discipline, that is, the ability to dominate oneself, to correct the impulsivity that we all have, more or less. Discipline then allows everyone to play their part, and for the team to express the best of the whole.
Finally, the motivation. Saint Paul writes: "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" (2Tm 4,7). It is the perfect seal of adherence to the call, even for a sportsman. In a race, what gives the push, which leads to a good result, is motivation, that is, an inner strength. The verification is not done on the numerical result, but on how faithful and coherent we have been to our call. And, speaking of motivation, I would like to add something for you who are Vatican sportsmen: your way of teaming up and collaborating can be an example for work in and between departments of the Curia, as well as in state directorates Vatican. Once again sport is a metaphor for life.
Dear friends, I thank you for this visit and I urge you to go forward. I bless you and your loved ones from my heart. And please don't forget to pray for me. Thank you!
Source: Vatican.va
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