🏀 Michael Jordan and the Spiritual Game: Finish What You Started (Fr. Mark Beard)

Father Mark Beard delivers an incredibly motivational and challenging message about resilience and perseverance in the face of spiritual attacks and opposition. He contrasts the fear of failure with the commitment required to finish the race Christ has already won for us.

The Challenge of the Hit:
When the World Speaks Against You (0:00): Father Beard asks a direct question: When your boss, coworkers, or even your family speak against you, will you be resilient enough to take the hit and keep doing what you know to be the truth?

The Sign of Commitment (0:09): He challenges the audience to be bold by making the Sign of the Cross clearly and distinctly, rather than "short-arming it" out of embarrassment or fear of judgment.

The Judgment Day Choice (1:39): He offers a stark choice at the end of life: Will God say "Welcome to the table" because He saw you persevere, take the hit, and get back in the game? Or will He say "Depart from me" because you dismissed everything He gave you?

The Lesson from the Greatest:
Success Through Failure (2:10): Father Beard references a famous interview with basketball legend Michael Jordan, where the interviewer listed Jordan's many failures: over 9,000 missed shots, over 300 lost games, and 26 times losing the final shot.

The Definition of Success (2:47): Jordan's response, which Father Beard shares, is the spiritual takeaway: "That's why I'm successful... because I can take a hit."

The game is already won by Christ, but you and I have been given the right to finish it. You gotta persevere in your faith. Take the hit and get back in the game!