A little over a year ago, I committed myself to creating a youth football program that was different than the others in the area. A program where our players would witness Jesus' love through the coaches, players and parents actions. The journey, at times, was tiring but spiritually refreshing. However, the purpose of our organization is to F.I.G.H.T. To live through the FIVE Core values outlined at the outset of the program. Faith - Integrity - Generosity - Humility - Trust
Pope Francis,elected as our Pope on March 13, 2013, is a perfect example of
F.I.G.H.T He selflessly gives of himself to the causes of human rights. As Archbishop of Argentina, he would go out at night, sit with the homeless, break and share bread with them, to show that God's love is merciful. It is rumored, since being installed as Pope, he has done this in Rome as well, sneaking out dressed as an ordinary priest to show God's love and compassion to the homeless of Italy.
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He regularly prays over people with disfigurements that may seem scary to most, but to our Pope, his cause, Jesus' cause is to show love, compassion and mercy to everyone. A few months ago, he prayed over a man with Neurofibromatosis, a rare skin condition.
Another noteworthy moment came when a young boy ran up onto the alter with Pope Francis. Instead of shooing him away or having his security team remove the boy, he played with the boy, even putting him on his chair while he preached the homily.
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As a football program, the love, the compassion, the mercy that Pope Francis has seemingly effortlessly shared with the world, is something we need to do as well. We need to teach our young athletes that Jesus' love is everlasting and that beyond football there is something great to look forward to. We need to teach them that our faith must come first and football is just another means to put our faith into action.
As we forge our football legacy, St. Ann Football wants to be known as the program that not only teaches F.I.G.H.T but expects our athletes to live it. Simply put, if we are going to talk the talk, we better be able to walk the walk.
Fly like an Eagle in 2014. See what F.I.G.H.T is all about.
God's Peace
John Krenkel
