In the Second Reading St. Paul encourages us to “compete well for the faith.” We might be surprised that he compares the spiritual life to sports and athletics. In fact, St. Paul uses athletics in multiple places.
      What does it take to be an athlete? What does it look like? I think it can be boiled down to 3 points: 1) sacrifice, 2) opposition, and 3) end goal.
  To be an athlete takes sacrifice. We have to sacrifice our time to get good, sacrifice relationships, and sacrifice our own wants and desires. How did Tiger Woods get to be the greatest golfer in his prime? How did Michael Phelps become a human fish and the greatest swimmer in Olympic history? How is Drew Brees a top 5 quarterback all-time statistically? These and other athletes become the best by putting in the time it takes, and this means sacrifice. Sacrificing their bodies as well is necessary. Every athlete encounters soreness and pain along the way.
  The second thing is opposition. Every athlete is competing against others. There is another player or another team who is trying to prevent them from winning. This opposition, including both winning and losing, purifies the athlete to make them better. Rising above opposition and defeat elevates the athlete. There is also internal opposition. We all have that voice inside of us that we have to master. That voice that discourages and deflates us needs to be slain. This is why motivation is important, and why a very motivated team or athlete is very dangerous in competition. Major upsets in competition and sports centers around this. On paper the Miracle on Ice should never have happened, but they were extremely motivated to beat the best hockey team in the world.
  Lastly, athletes have a end goal. For Olympic athletes it’s a gold medal, for other sports it’s hoisting the championship trophy. But to accomplish the ultimate victory there are smaller victories that lead up to it. Athletes and competitors, in order to be successful, need to be victorious, whether against one’s self, or against the opponents. The desire to be champion brings focus to the athlete. The athlete knows the sacrifices that are necessary to make, and will prepare well for each competition.
  All of these apply to the spiritual life. There are sacrifices that we have to make, whether fasting or other forms of mortification. There is opposition, which firstly means the devil and his minions who are actively trying to bring us away from heaven and into hell. We are also fighting against ourselves, which is probably the most difficult for human beings. And we have an end goal, which is getting to Heaven. This should focus everything that we do. Everything we choose and do should get us closer to Heaven. What we avoid and remove should be that which lead us away from Heaven.
  So all of you spiritual athletes out there compete well for the faith, that you may be found worthy to receive the crown of Heaven.