Soccer more than a game

It's been a while since I have been blogging. During the summer months our Sisters have the wonderful opportunity for visits with our families. I just returned from a visit with my sister and her husband in up-state New York. During that time I was able to watch several of the World Cup soccer matches! I was sorry to see the USA lose to Ghana and enjoyed the footwork of Germany as they defeated England. I learned a lot about the game.

There is a famous someone else who knows a bit about the World Cup Soccer games. Pope Benedict XVI, when he was Cardinal Ratzinger, gave the games a spiritual perspective. Writing in 1985 in his book "Suchen was droben ist" (seeking what is above) the Holy Father said that the world Cup matches, played regularly every four years, have an enormous impact on a vast number of people. “The fascination with soccer lies essentially in that it forces man to discipline himself, such that through training, he acquires dominion over himself. Through dominion, he achieves superiority. And through superiority, freedom.” Soccer, he explained, teaches the person the value of “disciplined cooperation” and demands an ordering of the individual within the group. “It unites through a common objective; the success or failure of each individual is tied to the success or failure of the group.”

"Soccer teaches us to play a fair game in which the common rules of play are the source of what binds and unites all players, even if when they face each other as adversaries."

(Taken from Catholic News Service and L'Osservatore Romano)