There have been a good deal of coaches on my weekly "Catholic Sports Radio" show, and as NFL training camps got underway I couldn't help but think of that fateful moment that all players hope to avoid at all costs. It's when they tell you, "Coach wants to see you. And bring your playbook."
There are other times when a player gets called into a coach's office, but as we've heard on "Catholic Sports Radio," coaches also want to be *there* for you. They can and should be viewed as someone you feel comfortable going to for a one-on-one discussion that YOU initiate, where you need to confide something in them. A coach wants to help you and wants to see you improve.
And isn't that the same case with our Catholic priests, and, in particular, where the beauty of the sacrament of reconciliation can be seen?
We don't have to fear bringing the playbook that is the sins we've committed since our last confession. Instead, there's an opportunity for us to be renewed and get that motivational speech from our "spiritual coach," so to speak.
In Leviticus chapter 19, verse 22 tells us, "With the ram of the reparation offering the priest shall make atonement before the Lord for the wrong the man has committed, so that he will be forgiven for the wrong he has committed."
Friends, contact the church office at your local parish. Ask how confession is being made available during the ongoing pandemic, and seek absolution so that your priest can send you back out through the victory that Jesus won for us on the cross.
Bruce Wawrzyniak is the host and creator of "Catholic Sports Radio," a weekly podcast that helps listeners find the right balance and priority when it comes to their faith life versus their sports life. Interviews are done with guests who are Catholics in sports -- current or former athletes, coaches, referees/umpires, clergy, administrators, and more from the pro, amateur, and scholastic ranks. The show can be heard at www.CatholicSportsRadio.net or via links there for most podcast apps/platforms.