With Michael Phelps swimming in the pool below, a group of young swimmers is listening to a former football player say that good relationships are really the key to success. Returning to the University of Michigan, former Wolverine Chris Godfrey is inviting his audience to not only emulate the work ethic of Michael Phelps, but to join the over 300 professional and Olympic athletes in making the Life Athletes Commitment:
- I will try to do what is right, even when it is difficult.
- I will give myself only to that special person who I marry as my partner for life.
- I will respect the lives of others especially the unborn and the aged.
- I won’t quit or make excuses when I fail. I will try again.
Commitment is an important element of any success. It served Michael well in his winning eight gold medals in Beijing. And it served Chris and his New York Giants teammates well in winning Super Bowl XXI. But Chris stresses that winning athletic competitions isn’t everything. “The happiness of winning Super Bowl XXI was great, but it wore off after a while,” said Godfrey. “It did not totally satisfy me, nor did it make my life perfectly happy.”
Life Athletes believe that the only thing that lasts forever is love, and that love can only be found in relationships. “Therefore it makes sense to develop good ones,” says Godfrey. “The goal of Life Athletes is to be like a high-jumper who sets his or her bar high, and then makes the sacrifices necessary to get over it.”
But Godfrey is quick to point out that Life Athletes are not all pros or Olympians, and that many of them are not even athletic at all. “We are all made up of two things: talent and heart. Our talents are God-given, but our hearts (or character) is something we make for ourselves through the choices we make. We might not have a Michael Phelps talent, but we can have a Michael Phelps sized heart or even bigger. It is totally up to us,” says Godfrey. Life Athletes is a fellowship of the heart, and open to all who make the Life Athletes Commitment. You can register your commitment on their website, http://www.lifeathletes.org/.
While you are visiting them you may discover the identities of some of the other athletes involved and their stories. You might even be interested in the Life Athletes on-line cartoon curriculum, videos, or their many excellent resources, many of which are being used in homes, parishes and schools around the country.
Their new series See I Make All Things New begins with a 38-minute DVD entitled Know Yourself meant for parents and children to watch together. Chris takes his viewers on a road trip that visits many interesting people and places to convey Church teaching about many important issues such as: puberty, freedom and love, chastity, sex, marriage, family life, sexual abuse, sexually-transmitted diseases, drugs and alcohol, internet viewing, just to name a few.
This curriculum is currently being used in the Archdiocese of Boston at the invitation of Cardinal Sean O’Malley where it has been a hit — and not just because a Boston Red Sox is among the many athletes who appear in it!
More likely, its success is due to the fact that young people want to know the truth. They do not want propaganda or opinions. They simply want to know the way things really are, and the freedom to make their own choices. During his visit to the United States this spring, Pope Benedict said that people need to be reminded of the ultimate purpose of their lives, and helped to recognize the deep thirst for God implanted within them. “In an age that is saturated with information, the importance of providing sound information in the faith cannot be overstated,” said the Pope.
Pope Benedict made the strengthening of marriage and family life a priority, and insisted that every level of ecclesial life reflect the authentic teaching of the Gospel of life. Godfrey was pleased to hear this affirmation of the group’s central mission. “It is nice to know you are barking up the right tree,” said Godfrey.
He was also pleased to hear the Pope emphasize the “shielding” of young people from predators, rather than expecting them to protect themselves. “His Holiness also directed that sexual abuse policies and programs be placed within the wider context of healthy sexuality and relationships, said Godfrey. “He especially noted that children ‘should be spared the degrading manifestations and the crude manipulation of sexuality so prevalent today.’ This is exactly the approach we have taken.”
Bishop Arthur J. Serratelli of the Diocese of Paterson and USCCB Committee on Doctrine summed up the work of Life Athletes nicely when he said, “Life Athletes is a creative, imaginative and exciting program to reach our young. It is steeped in Catholic tradition and provides a very practical guide to understand the faith and to live a morally good life. It highlights the virtues as a way to become a well-integrated individual and as a way to build genuine Christian commitment.”
Once the program begins in the home, schools and parishes continue to support families by offering the second installment of this series entitled Build Yourself. This 10-lesson, full-color text emphasizes the virtues and character-traits useful to developing good relationships and preparing for marriage and religious vocations. It has a well-developed instructor manual complete with lesson plans and resource materials.
In closing, Godfrey acknowledged that even though we have sinned, we should not to give up. “The only difference between a winner and a loser is that a winner gets up again after a loss,” said Godfrey. “The last point of the Life Athletes Commitment is most important.”
So the message of Life Athletes is to strive for more than just a gold medal, or a Super Bowl ring. Love is more valuable and accessible than athletic achievement. “I like Mother Teresa’s saying that love is a fruit that is always in season, first with God, and then with others. I think we could even say that love is a sport that is always in season,” said Godfrey.
Let the games begin.
