OLYMPIC GOLD: THE BIGGEST DIFFERENCE IS MY FAITH

“They said, ‘Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? . . . How can he say, “I have come down from heaven”?’
“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. . . I am the living bread that came down from heaven. . . and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.’“John 6: 42, 45, 51

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What holds me back from believing that Jesus is the only “bread” that can satisfy my deep, inner longing – the hunger that nothing else can satisfy? What keeps me from experiencing the genuine joy, peace and success that stepping into His world would bring me?

How would seeing the people and happenings of my life through His eyes (“Listen to my Father and learn from Him.”) change “my world”?

AS LONG AS I PUT IN THE WORK. . .

Sydney McLaughlin, the recent Olympic Gold Medalist and Union Catholic High School alumna says that this is what made the “biggest difference” for her, “my faith, trusting God and trusting that process – As long as I put the hard work in, God’s going to carry me through.”

In the words of Sister Percylee Hart, Principal of Union Catholic High School, Scotch Plains, it was “extremely rewarding that Sydney McLaughlin had stretched her limits” to achieve gold, but, Sister added a commendation of Sydney’s character and faith which Sydney, in her own words, acclaims as the bedrock of her athletic accomplishments.

Sydney affirms that this in her post victory recorded NBC Sports interview:

“All the glory to God. I think the biggest difference this year is my faith, trusting God and trusting that process, and knowing that He’s in control of everything. As long as I put the hard work in, He’s going to carry me through. And I really cannot do anything more but give the glory to Him at this point.”

How true that is, “As long as I put the hard work in, He’s going to carry me through.”  How well Sydney learned that! And how fortunate that she was given the opportunity to spend so much time in the midst of the Union Catholic community – in an environment where everyone is striving to let God be the center of everything.

I know something about that.  Sister Percylee is a member of my religious community, the Sisters of Mercy of the Americas. I know her well as a friend and a mentor, one of my many Mercy sisters, true companions to each other as we journey through our individual, and also, communal life. One of the blessings of my 2019 broken ankle was my spending five months residing at Mount Saint Mary, Watchung, with many of these sisters in a community of truly God-centered persons. How lovely is a dwelling place where God is at the center of everyone’s existence!

I have two other God-centered “dwelling places” and they are right here at St. Michael’s. They are with those gathered in the Pat O’Keefe Room of the Parish Center on three Tuesdays each month from September through May. We gather there to learn as much as we can about the God who is the center of our lives. We watch, we listen, we share our thoughts and ideas. We let God’s graces flow. There together, we are nurtured, we nurture each other and we grow – closer to God and closer to each other.

I encourage you to strive to strengthen the God-centeredness of the many communities of which you now are members. And, if you and the other members of those communities have never thought of making those gatherings “God-centered”, take steps to move them in that direction. As Sydney, Sister Percylee, myself and our Tuesday session participants attest, it will make “the biggest difference” in your lives. For “As long as you put the hard work in, He’s going to carry you through.”

Sister Loretta