Stepping Into The Arena
July 16, 2025
Fr. John Riccardo
Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
One of our core values in ACTS XXIX is striving to be authentically human. This value is operationalized in a few different ways, but one of those ways is by shutting down for the first two weeks of July. This gives everyone in our ACTS family a chance to let the Lord refresh us in order to engage again on mission.
One of the many graces the Lord gave me these past few weeks was stirred by a homily from Pope Pius XII at the canonization of Saint Maria Goretti. I’ve long been taken by the heroic witness of this twelve year old girl, and of the story that surrounds the conversion of the man who tried to force himself on her and when rebuffed violently took her life (his name is Alessandro Serenelli — please look it up!). Once, while serving in a metro Detroit parish, we were fortunate to welcome her relics in the Church for a day; close to three thousand people came to both learn more about her — and Alessandro — and to ask her intercession for courage and virtue.
Pope Pius XII preached in his homily that parents can learn from Maria’s life to train their children such that when put to the test they will come through “undefeated, unscathed and untarnished.” What a triad! As I lingered with this thought, the Holy Spirit led me to remember the speech by Theodore Roosevelt entitled, “The Man in the Arena.” He further held in front of me how fiercely competitive I can tend to be, especially in sports, and certainly when I was young. Putting these together, the Lord has given me a new image that has been very helpful in my morning prayer and perhaps will stay with me for quite some time.
The image goes like this: each day, as I arise, I am competing. Not against another human being, of course, but against myself; the enemy of our race (the devil); and the spirit of the world that is hostile to God, His love and truth. Much like a great athlete engages in whatever “pre-game” rituals will help him to focus and prepare, part of my prayer each morning has been becoming very aware that I am ”stepping into the arena.” And the conscious request to the Lord is that, inspired by St. Maria and those other heroes that I regularly ask to pray for me, I might arrive at the close of day “undefeated, unscathed and untarnished.”
In all candor, it hasn’t happened yet. It doesn’t for most of us, I don’t think. While we should all be aspiring to be saints, there is a reason why people like Maria Goretti are heroes. Most of us, from my experience, get kicked in the gut a few times each day, or get down on our knees at the end of the day with more than a little grime on us. However, as Monsignor James Shea from The University of Mary is fond of saying, “Whenever we fall, so long as we get back up, so long as we refuse to stay down, so long as we come to the Lord with repentant hearts, we always win!”
The Church has another great young saint, Aloysius Gonzaga, one of the early Jesuits. In the opening prayer for Mass on his feast day, we pray: “O God, giver of heavenly gifts, who in Saint Aloysius Gonzaga joined penitence to a wonderful innocence of life, grant through his merits and intercession, that, though we have failed to follow him in innocence, we may imitate him in penitence.”
May the prayers of our patron saints, and those other friends of God that inspire us, rouse us to live good lives for the glory of God. May we never take for granted the precious gift of life, or the fact that we woke up today because God graciously gave us breath. May we encourage and help each other in the arena such that we can emerge, like St. Maria Gorettti, undefeated, unscathed and untarnished. Or, at the least, repentant and forgiven.
ACTS XXIX Prayer Intentions | JULY 2025
For Pope Leo XIV and all his intentions.
For the restful repose of the soul of Archbishop Michael J. Byrnes. Father, may he, who served you so faithfully in this life, inherit his eternal reward.
For God's continued protection upon Fr. John Riccardo and the ACTS XXIX missionaries, as we come away with the Lord seeking His refreshment for two weeks of vacation.
For our time at the St. John Bosco Conference at Franciscan University, that we would be docile in God’s hands as we seek to speak His words to all those who will attend.
For our offsite, that God would bring us clarity in all He’s inviting us to do for Him as we strive to renew the human family and transform it into the family of God.
For those joining us for our Leadership Immersive from dioceses across the country, that our time together may renew them in hope as they seek to restore the initiative to God in all they do.
For our Board of Directors, our Episcopal Advisory Council, and our faithful partners, that God may richly bless them for their generous support and bless them with a restful summer.
For more information visit: https://www.ctscentral.net/travel-tours/acts-xxix-land-and-sea-pilgrimage-to-greece