Australia wins gold in the women’s rugby sevens Source: The Daily Telegraph
The 2016 Rio Olympics have just come to an end, so n
ow is an ideal opportunity to reflect upon what it means to be a good sport, and how sporting events can be fair and just for all involved, and how sport can bring us together, rather than divide us.
The 2014-15 Social Justice Statement, “A Crown for Australia: Striving for the best in our sporting nation,” is available to read via the ACSJC website. We encourage you to read and reflect on both the statement and the below “Prayer for Sport.”
A Prayer for Sport
God of all sports (and none):
From our small minds,
how amused you must be
when our prayers about sport
are about our own success or our team’s.
Whose side are you on?
How do you choose
When supporters from both sides
implore your divine intervention?
Remind us that in prayer
our hearts are opened to you
and our minds lifted beyond ourselves.
Just as prayer changes us,
not you, O God,
so sport too, can lift us beyond ourselves.
So, we pray:
We give thanks for the gift of our bodies,
For the ability to run, walk, jump,
swim, catch and throw.
We pray for patience and discipline,
that we may learn the joy of mastering new skills:
achieving success, and cheerfully bearing failure
in the company of others.
We pray that our relationships be enriched
through the friendships we form.
May we learn to include others across borders
of language, colour, gender and religion.
We pray that we care for others.
May we especially look out for those
who are differently abled,
and those often left on the boundaries.
Through our vigilance
may we always play fair,
and ensure that no one is abused or exploited.
We ask this through Jesus your son. Amen.
Source: Social Justice Statements – Australian Catholic Social Justice Council
