"Joy is a net of
love by which we catch souls."
- Blessed Mother Teresa of
Calcutta
"One night before a big game in the east, I was nervous and
worried about the outcome of the game the next day and was
unable
to
sleep. I tossed and rolled about the bed, and finally decided that I'd get up
and dress, then go down to the lobby and sit in a chair and tried to get that
football game off my mind by engaging some bellboys in
conversation.
Along
about five or six o'clock in the morning I started pacing the lobby of the
hotel; when suddenly I ran into two of my players hurrying out. I asked them
where they were going at such an hour, although I had a good
idea.
Then
I retired to a chair in the corner of the lobby where I couldn't be seen, but
where I could see everyone who went in and out of the door. Within the next few
minutes, my players kept hurrying out of the door in pairs and groups, and
finally when they were all gone, I got over near the door so I could question
the next player who came along. In a minute or two, the last members of the
squad hurried out of an elevator and made for the door. I stopped them and
asked them if they, too, were going to Mass, and they replied that they were. I
decided to go along with them.
Although they probably didn't
realize it, those youngsters were making a powerful impression on me with their
piety and devotion, and
when I saw all of them walking up to the Communion rail to receive, and realized
the several hours' sleep they had sacrificed in order to do this, I understood
for the first time what a powerful ally their religion was to those boys in
their work on the football field.
This was when I really began to see the light, to know what was
missing in my life, and later on, I had the great pleasure of being able
to join my boys at the Communion rail."
Knute Rockne
Famed coach of Notre Dame
Excerpt
from Hidden
Treasure:
The
Riches of the Eucharist (pg
63-64)
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