Can he still call himself a football player?

Fr. George Koeune has written the following for his parish bulletin to encourage parents to examine their attitudes toward Sunday Mass attendance. I doubt it will make any notable impact, but perhaps some will think about it. I do enjoy the manner in which he makes his point across and his willingness to bring up the Sunday obligation when so many priests and deacons are hesitant to challenge their parishioners.

A Football Player

A football player decided not to review any of the plays in the play book the coach had given him. The football player decided it was not worth his time to learn any more details involving the intricacies of the game. The football player then decided that he did not need to practice. After all, the practices were very repetitive, somewhat boring, and he wanted more entertainment and less structure.

The football player stopped exercising. A little while later he stopped going to the weekly games. Eventually, he went to the football stadium only for the yearly homecoming games. Before long, the football player stopped going even on those days. Weeks turned into months, months turned into years, and the football player never went to the stadium to see any games. The football player spent a lot of his free time criticizing the coaches and the rules of the game.

The football player was often heard saying: “I don’t need to be on a team. I don’t care for organized sports.” The football player never exercised. He never practiced. He never tried to learn anything new about the game. Yet, he still considered himself to be a football player. He also believed that he would do just fine if he were to step onto the playing field tomorrow.

After reading all of this, do you think he would really be a good football player? Do you think it is accurate to even call him a football player? He does not practice, he does not continue to learn, he does not exercise. He may consider himself a player, but what kind of a player will he be when he takes the field?

Yours in Christ, Fr. George