Theology on the Rocks Akron mixed things up a bit for the July 18 program.
Instead of meeting at an Akron restaurant a has been the custom, about 50 people turned out at St. Paul Parish in Akron to hear the pastor, Father Matt Pfeiffer, talk about “The Most Liturgical Sport – The Spirituality of Baseball.” He said the topic was timely with the MLB all-star break underway. In addition, it was lighter fare than what usually is shared with the group, he said, noting the previous two sessions dealt with the devil and exorcisms.
Keith Johnson, parish catechetical leader at St. Sebastian Parish in Akron, – which sponsors the event -- served as emcee. He gave the group a brief biography of Father Pfeiffer, a 1997 graduate of Archbishop Hoban High School in Akron who was ordained in 2009. Prior to becoming pastor of St. Paul’s in 2014, Father Pfeiffer served as a parochial vicar at St. Sebastian Parish and St. Augustine Parish in Barberton.
Father Pfeiffer said he was happy to address the group, but he suggested moving the event to St. Paul’s since he conducts faith formation programs at the parish on Mondays. He thanked the parish volunteers who spent part of the day setting up tables and chairs and arranging for refreshments.
“I want to make a disclaimer,” he said as he began the program. “I’m not an expert in sports but I do enjoy baseball. I am better trained in spirituality, but I’m still not an expert in that,” he quipped.
Father Pfeiffer borrowed from a piece on Baseball and Catholicism written several years ago by John Allen Jr., a Catholic journalist and editor of the website Crux.
In his piece, Allen listed nine reasons why Catholicism is to religion what baseball is to sports:
- Both venerate the past.
- Both feature obscure rules that make sense only to initiates.
- Both have a keen sense of ritual in which pace is very important.
- Both generate statistics, arcana and lore.
- In both, you can dip in and out, but for serious devotees, the liturgy is a daily affair.
- Both are global and especially big in Latin America.
- Both have been tainted by scandal with the legacies of superstars ruined.
- Both have a complex farm system.
- Both reward patience.
Father Pfeiffer shared his thoughts on each point and invited the audience to chime in, which many did.
Regarding the past, he noted the Church has the communion of saints, shrines and holy cards while baseball has statues, collectible baseball cards for players and other memorabilia, including the Baseball Hall of Fame.
The obscure rules in baseball include things like tagging out, what’s a foul ball, the infield fly rule, designated hitter, etc. In the Church, he wondered aloud why we sit, stand and kneel at certain times in the liturgy. The way a priest holds his hands while praying and even the clothing (vestments) he wears were noted. There also are unwritten rules in both, Father Pfeiffer said, including it’s OK to hit a batter as “punishment,” don’t walk across the pitcher’s mound and curbing celebration after a big play. Some audience members suggested not chewing gum in church, not sticking it to the bottom of the pew, not arriving late/leaving early, not sitting in the back of the church, “don’t sit in my pew” and a homily should not exceed 10 minutes as some unwritten Catholic rules.
“And Father can’t talk about politics,” he quipped, drawing chuckles from the group.
Baseball affects our lives, he said, noting how some of the terms have seeped into our language such as batting .1000, throwing a curve ball and striking out.
The same is true of Catholicism, which Church-related things finding their way into everyday life such as bowing our heads at the name of Jesus, blessing our food, the use of holy water, responding to God’s word/blessings and praying.
Reflecting on the previous Sunday’s Gospel, which featured the story of Mary and Martha, Father Pfeiffer said sometimes people will refer to someone as a Mary (who sat at Jesus’ feet listening) or a Martha (who wanted to get things done and was anxious).
He also drew a comparison in the use of sets of three in both baseball and Catholicism.
“In baseball, there are three outs and nine innings, a multiple of three. In Catholicism, there are three persons in one God, we repeat the Kyrie three times (nine times in the extraordinary form) and we repeat the Sanctus and Agnus Dei three times. We need the repetition; it helps engrain things in our mind,” he explained.
Father Pfeiffer also noted the baseball term “immaculate inning” in which there are nine pitches and nine strikes. And umpires can eject a player or coach, which is similar to being excommunicated from the Church, he added.
When mistakes are made in the liturgy – a wrong note, the wrong reading, etc. – the liturgy continues to move forward, he said. During a post-game press conference, players and coaches may talk about the mistakes that were made, how they need to learn and move on.
Patience is important, Father Pfeiffer said, pointing to the patience of saints like St. Paul who lived in the desert for three years before going out on his mission, and St. Teresa of Calcutta who toiled for years among the poor and sick in the slums of India.
“You can’t force faithfulness. We have to stay humble. In baseball, you don’t try to be a savior because you can strike out. In our faith, we’re not the savior – Jesus is. We can plant the seeds and let others do the harvesting. Perseverance is primary in spiritual life,” he said.
Father Pfeiffer also alluded to the future, noting that baseball has minor leagues while grandparents are like the bullpen providing a way to pass on the faith to future generations. He also said spring training is like Lent, a time to prepare for the “season.”
When asked who would be on his all-star team of saints, Father Pfeiffer listed Saints Matthew, Edward, Robert, Paul, Sebastian, Augustine, Thomas More, John Vianney, Dominic and Thomas Aquinas, noting each had an impact on his life.
Another analogy he used was that we don’t go to Mass to be entertained. It’s important to put some effort into the liturgy, just like baseball players work at their game.
“The primary reason we go to Mass is to worship God. We owe it to him,” Father Pfeiffer said.
Theology on the Rocks Akron will resume its normal meeting schedule at 7 p.m. (program starts at 7:30 p.m.) Aug. 22 at El Rancho Mexican Restaurant, 1666 W. Exchange St., Akron.