The Pillars of Victory Sports

The motto of Victory Sports is “The beauty of the Faith through the beauty of sport.” But how do we articulate or spell out that beauty in an athletic context and how do we keep that athletic context tethered to our human destiny, which is to know, love, and serve God and to be happy with Him in heaven forever? That’s why we have established five pillars on which our catechesis and evangelization stand.

Solidarity

Pope St. John Paul II defined solidarity as “A firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good; that is to say to the good of all and of each individual, because we are all really responsible for all. (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, §38)”  In short, we like to say that solidarity is that conviction that, “We’re all in this together,” whether as a family, a team, a Church, or even as a species! Solidarity is first learned in the family where parents welcome life out of charity and donate their own freedom toward their children’s upbringing in faith and character. Children honor their parents with a reciprocal love in gratitude for that gift of life. This lasting familial charity is an example to the broader society of an “unwearying and generous love. (§41)” between parents and children. At their best, team sports—like those we’ve chosen for Victory Sports—allow their participants to experience in a visceral way the unity that characterizes the Mystical Body of Christ.

Holiness

The Second Vatican Council in Lumen Gentium teaches that holiness is, “that sanctity which is cultivated by all who are moved by the spirit of God, and who obey the voice of the Father and worship God the Father in spirit and in truth.…Every person must walk unhesitatingly according to his own personal gifts and duties in the path of living faith which arouses hope and works through charity. (§41)” Victory Sports will help parents and their children—the domestic church—to pursue this call to holiness that every Christian has by virtue of their baptism. Sports training, work on fundamentals, team camaraderie, and the natural ups and downs of competition will draw out of athletes and coaches their unique talents while committing them to hard work and hustle for the betterment of themselves and their team. Holiness keeps us rooted in the reality that even in the most mundane and seemingly ordinary pursuits—practicing free throws or washing the dishes—we pursue our vocation and work for the greater glory of God and for the love of neighbor.

Excellence

Excellence on the court or the field out of love for the goodness of the game predisposes you for excellence in every aspect of your life to give God the glory he deserves who is the author of all life and of all good things. We should strive for and desire excellent and beautiful volleyball serves, excellent and compelling football plays; excellent and right worship, excellent and upright moral action. Excellence is at work in the parable of the talents. Pursuing excellence is the opposite of burying your talents—especially out of fear of failure. In fact, as Pope St. John Paul II said, “Every Christian is called to become a strong athlete of Christ. That is, a faithful and courageous witness to his Gospel. But to succeed in this he must persevere in prayer, be trained in virtue, and follow the Divine Master in everything.”

Liturgy

As Catholics we tend to think of the Mass when we hear the term “liturgy,” but it is that and much, much more. Liturgy encompasses all of the other sacraments, the sacramentals (like the Rosary), the Liturgy of the Hours (the Church’s public prayer), the liturgical calendar with its seasons and feasts, and God. Liturgy is how we order ourselves and our families to the right worship of

the sacred music and art that turns our minds toward the contemplation of God. Liturgy is how we order ourselves and our families to the right worship of God and make sure that is Him who we are making the supreme good or the absolute center of our lives. Liturgy communicates God’s grace to us—indeed, his very self in the Body and Blood of Our Lord—so that we are living examples of Him in the world. Victory Sports will especially incorporate liturgy in its rhythm of competitive seasons by tying our catechesis and evangelization to the liturgical calendar and to the sacraments, especially Baptism, the Eucharist, and Confession.

Virtue

Participation in Victory Sports will help parents, coaches, and athletes become virtuous, that is, habitually choosing the good by cooperating with God’s grace—ordinarily dispensed through the sacraments—in order to live in God’s kingdom here on earth and be able to enjoy eternal happiness with Him in heaven. Virtue is always purposeful. and deliberate. Sport is useful for developing virtue because just as we must turn singular good actions into repeatable habits, true excellence in sports (“playing the game the right way”) requires us to form good habits and sound fundamentals with the goal, for example, that we be able to throw the football to the best of our ability nearly every time. In short, growing in virtue means desiring the good, choosing the good, and doing the good, not one time, but a hundred time or a thousand times.