Seminarians bond over hoops, prayer, and Mass

By Jay Copp OSV News

The outcome of the championship game near Milwaukee was in doubt until the final seconds of overtime. Clutch shooting, crisp passing, and a swarming defense finally enabled St. Francis de Sales, the home team, to prevail over St. Paul of Minnesota 51-48.

Never in doubt was the postgame ritual the rite that followed each of the 24 games of the 12-team basketball tournament. After the traditional handshake line between the teams, players from the St. Francis and St. Paul seminaries intermin-

Religious continued from page A10 gled around the center court circle, knelt, and bowed their heads in saying an impromptu prayer or the Hail Mary. Seminary basketball is just basketball, and something else, too. Sports are celebrated for bonding teammates. The 2023 De Sales Invitational, hosted by St. Francis de Sales Seminary, bonded players on competing teams.

In its third year, the tourney brought together 150 seminarians for three days in late February. The seminarians ate together, shared dormitory accommodations, and prayed together at vespers and Hoops continued on page A22 known as Candlemas or the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

The day of prayer was established by Pope John Paul II in 1997.

In his message, Pope Francis said the mission of consecrated men and women is enriched by the unique charisms of their communities, in addition to the fundamental gift they have each received.

“In their stupendous variety, [charisms] are all given for the edification of the Church and for its mission,” he said. “All charisms are for mission,

Bishop continued from page A3

3. Examine your thoughts, words and deeds of the day;

4. Ask God for forgiveness;

5. Resolve to amend your life with the help of God’s grace, and pray an act of contrition.

Grace of vigilance . It is always recommended to conclude our examen with the Lord’s Prayer. For when we pray, “And lead us not into temptation,” we ask for God’s help to resist choosing “the way that leads to sin”—we ask for the “grace of vigilance,” which is necessary for the protection or “custody of heart,” and for “proper Spirit of discernment and strength” to not yield to temptation ( Catechism of the Catholic Church , nos. 2846, 2849, 2863)

Resistance training . Remember, while temptation is itself not a sin unless we consent to it and open the door of our heart to act on it, our struggle to resist it actually helps to strengthen us spiritually and build up our fortitude.

Athletes, such as sprinters and weightlifters, know the great value of “resistance training.” The principle is very simple—you strengthen your muscles and build endurance by making them work against something that offers resistance, such as weights.

The same essentially applies to the effects of “resisting” temptation. God permits temptation because by resisting it, we grow stronger in holiness than if He were to shield us completely from it.

Turning temptation into Satan’s punishment . But consider this. Because our temptations can actually serve our greater sanctification, Satan’s temptation of us can turn into a terrible affliction for him.

Father Chad Ripperger, a noted exorcist and author of books on the subject, explains, “Just as Satan is now stuck tempting man as a punishment for having enticed and they are precisely so with the incalculable richness of their variety; so that the Church can witness and proclaim the Gospel to all and in every situation.”

Keeping God in the game Players and coaches from St. Francis de Sales Seminary in the Milwaukee Archdiocese and St. Paul Seminary in the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis gather in prayer and solidarity after the championship game of the 2023 De Sales Invitational near Milwaukee. The tournament brought together 150 seminarians for three days in late February.

He prayed that the Virgin Mary would obtain for consecrated men and women the grace to bring the light of Christ’s love to all people. He also entrusted them to Mary Salus Populi Romani the title of a Byzantine Marian icon housed in the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

In his homily at the Mass, Archbishop Carballo, who is a religious in the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor, said “we want, especially on this men to fall, so the demons of the air are stuck af flicting man so they might be better. Demons become the instrument of man’s betterment, and that afflicts them” ( Dominion , 426-7).

Gaining from our weaknesses . While we may think of our spiritual weaknesses only in their negative sense (and that is what Satan wants), they should instead be understood as the very avenue for God’s grace to work in us, as St. Paul explains.

In asking God to take away a “thorn in the flesh” that he struggled with, God replied to St. Paul, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness. I will rather boast most gladly of my weaknesses, in order that the power of Christ may dwell with me” (2 Corinthians 12:9) St. Augustine . In conclusion, I offer St. Augustine’s reflection on the temptation of Jesus in the desert (Matthew 4:1-11). May you ponder these words of wisdom so as to be more attentive in watching and praying with Christ.

“In Christ you were tempted, for Christ received His flesh from your nature, but by His own power gained salvation for you; He suffered death in your nature, but by His own power gained life for you; He suffered insults in your nature, but by His own power gained glory for you; therefore, He suffered temptation in your nature, but by His own power gained victory for you. If in Christ we have been tempted, in Him we overcome the devil.

Do you think only of Christ’s temptation and fail to think of His victory? See yourself as tempted in Him, and see yourself as victorious in Him. He could have kept the devil from Himself; but if He were not tempted He could not teach you how to triumph over temptation. ” ■ day, to say our thanks to the Lord and, using the words of Mary, the consecrated woman par excellence, sing our Magnificat to him who is the Good, the All Good, the Supreme Good.”

God, he said, “has made us sharers in a beautiful inheritance and a mission no less beautiful: that of representing in us the historical form of the obedient, poor, and chaste Jesus.”

“Let a song of thanksgiving rise from our lips and from our hearts, today and always, because Jesus has bent over our littleness and has given us the grace to follow Him in the various forms of consecrated life, despite our littleness,” he said. ■ basketball. They hit it off right from the start.

“We could talk about anything,” said Sister Irene in an interview with Florida Catholic Media, a multimedia communications services provider in Florida. “We were dedicated Catholics and would go to daily Mass together on campus. Even on road trips, the two of us would go to Sunday Mass. Our coach was Catholic, and he always found a nearby Catholic church for us.”

Both were excited to be part of the school’s class of 1983 and the Lady Rattlers.

“We easily became friends,” said Sister Margaret Ann. “We shared almost everything. She shared her meal card with me, and I gave her a set of keys to my car. We did not talk a lot about God or our faith. We just lived it together.”

On the court, both women played the post position and often had to play opposite each other during practices.

“We were co-captains — her brains and my brawn,” said Sister Irene jokingly. “She is the reason I became such a good player. Many times, we had to practice against each other, with all the elbowing and bruising that goes with that, and we’re still friends.”

They helped each other with their game.

“She was an amazing basketball player. She was strong under the basket and played with great determination. I was not the athlete. I was more of the student of the game,” said Sister Margaret Ann.

The Lady Rattlers won two games and lost 18 that first year, but the losses did not dampen the women’s spirits. “By the time we were juniors, it was completely reversed,” said Sister Margaret Ann.

In their final year, the girls were the only seniors on the team, and both were selected by the coach to serve as co-captains. Then their relationship became even closer.

The doctors discovered a malignant tumor near Sister Margaret Ann’s third rib, and reports were not good. During a long surgery, the medical team removed the tumor along with half of her second, third, and fourth ribs.

“Sister Irene was a huge help,” said Sister Margaret Ann. “She helped me think about living and not so much about preparing to die. With Sister Irene’s help, one month after surgery, I played — really just made a showing. Sister was the strength I needed. She really helped me carry the cross.”

Sister Irene initially majored in engineering but switched to physical education thinking it was a better fit, but not aiming at a specific career. Upon graduation, she returned home to look for a job.

“I remember being interviewed for a job at a Catholic high school,” she said. “The religious sister interviewing me took me over to the convent. I thought that was funny because I was interviewing for a job, not a convent.”

Sister Margaret Ann initially majored in math but switched several times before settling on English. “I decided to be a basketball coach and teacher. I had done some coaching with young children and really enjoyed it.” ball and taught English for four years in large public high schools.”

Sister Irene continued her search. She found out the Archdiocese of St. Louis was holding its first vocation retreat for young women. That’s where she met the Daughters of St. Paul — also known as the Media Nuns.

“I felt like the congregation was a perfect fit. I didn’t find a job, I found a community,” she said.

She entered Nov. 1, 1983, in Boston and took her first vows in 1987, with her good friend cheering her on.

“She may have had an inkling that I would enter religious life,” said Sister Irene about her teammate. “Near the time we graduated, she told me that our coach wasn’t worried about my future. He told her that I would probably be a pilot or a Sister, and that either way I’d be close to God.”

Sister Margaret Ann continued coaching and teaching — her dream jobs — at public schools but felt something missing. She continued to discern God’s will. “I wanted to do and be whatever He had created me to do and be.” vows in 1993, with her good friend there lending support.

When some of the students in her school asked her to start a Bible class, she knew God was answering her prayers and working in her life. “My principal was willing to permit it as long as it was low key,” she said.

Sister Margaret Ann has served at Archbishop Carroll High for seven years, and during her tenure her dedication to her students and the school community has not gone unnoticed. The former Lady Rattler gained fame in 2017 when a video of her cutting down trees in the aftermath of Hurricane Irma went viral, amassing more than seven million views on Facebook. Her followers nicknamed her “the chainsaw nun.”

Her popularity continued after another video surfaced of her and her religious Sisters showing off their basketball skills in support of the Miami Heat. The Globetrotters spotted the video and made her and her team players honorary picks during their draft.

As one of the Media Nuns, Sister Irene’s ministry has taken her to Anchorage, Philadelphia, San Diego, San Francisco, Cleveland, Toronto, New York City, Chicago, Honolulu, Los Angeles, and now Miami.

Both women remain active and go on the courts from time to time to shoot a few hoops.

“A good friend is a gift from God,” Sister Irene said. “Even though we didn’t see each other for long stretches of time, just knowing that someone is out there praying for you and hoping for your good is a boost. As religious Sisters, we spur each other on to holiness.”

After graduating, she landed a job at Troy State University in Troy, Ala. “I was able to coach college basketball and get a master’s degree in 11 months. I then returned to San Antonio and coached high school basket-

Her Bible class was packed, the students engaged and interested. “It was the hunger for truth, goodness and beauty that I saw in their eyes that brought me to ask God what I needed to do to best help them. I knew that God had created me to be a religious Sister.”

She visited the Carmelites of the Most Sacred Heart of Los Angeles, and after discerning, made her first

“We started as teammates on the basketball court, and now we are religious Sisters — truly Sisters — helping each other on the road to heaven,” said Sister Margaret Ann. “Now our goal is much more than a basketball trophy. Someday we will spend eternity together in God’s heavenly court.” ■ April of Easter glory, and that must be the goal of our own journey, as we follow ‘Him alone,’” he said. “Lent leads to Easter: the ‘retreat’ is not an end in itself, but a means of preparing us to experience the Lord’s passion and cross with faith, hope, and love, and thus to arrive at the resurrection.”

Pope Francis compared the journey of Lent and the Church’s ongoing Synod on Synodality to a “strenuous mountain trek.”

While we hike up the mountain, we must keep our eyes on the path before us, but at the top, we are rewarded by the beautiful panorama that confronts us.

“So, too, the synodal process may often seem arduous,” he said,

“and at times we may become discouraged. Yet what awaits us at the end is undoubtedly something wondrous and amazing, which will help us to understand better God’s will and our mission in the service of His kingdom.”

The Vatican’s Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development announced Feb. 17 that it will hold a communication campaign based on Pope Francis’ Lenten message.

Beginning on Ash Wednesday, the dicastery will present every week, via its website, a new “step” on the journey of Lent.

The campaign, “With Him on the mountain: Lenten penance and the synodal journey,” will include reflection questions based on

Scripture passages and the pope’s message.

“The Lenten journey of penance and the journey of the synod alike have as their goal a transfiguration, both personal and ecclesial,” Pope Francis said. “A transformation that, in both cases, has its model in the Transfiguration of Jesus and is achieved by the grace of his paschal mystery.”

The pope also spoke about the newness of Christ and his fulfillment of the ancient covenant.

“In a similar way, the synodal journey is rooted in the Church’s tradition and at the same time open to newness,” he said. “Tradition is a source of inspiration for seeking new paths and for avoiding the opposed temptations

of immobility and improvised experimentation.”

Pope Francis said a Lenten penance “is a commitment, sustained by grace, to overcoming our lack of faith and our resistance to following Jesus on the way of the cross.”

“To deepen our knowledge of the Master, to fully understand and embrace the mystery of His salvation, accomplished in total self-giving inspired by love, we must allow ourselves to be taken aside by Him and to detach ourselves from mediocrity and vanity,” he encouraged. “We need to set out on the journey, an uphill path that, like a mountain trek, requires effort, sacrifice, and concentration.” ■