Sport and St. Paul – A Course for Champions (by Father Kevin Lixey, LC and Edio Costantini, John Paul II Sports Foundation, Rome, 2011) is a must read for Christian coaches, educators, and athletes alike. This book serves as a guide to understanding the integral drives and attitudes, the goals of an athlete and athletic competition in spiritual terms by using scriptural quotes from St. Paul, and references from the Popes’ about athletes and athleticism. It is not written in the language of sport philosophy, but looks at athletics and spirituality of sport from scripture using an applied, point-by-point structure that could be adapted to a structured course. This book would be a welcome addition to the book shelf of anyone seeking to embrace body and soul, coaching, athletic performance, and competition as an expression of serving and celebrating the Creator. As a Ph.D. in Kinesiology, I appreciated the authors’ research— i.e., I learned that gymnasts in 1908 performed for Pope Saint Pius X and that he not only enjoyed their performance but encouraged and celebrated their bodily achievements in a surprisingly “modern” testimony. These types of examples throughout the book are refreshing and remind the reader that the Church is not on a single unilateral plane of spirituality alone, but that body and spirit are both called to glorify God. The book reminds us and gives us the scriptural foundation to assure us that we as coaches and athletes and educators have an integral calling and responsibility to serve the Body of Christ.
-Susan Saint Sing
Author of Spirituality of Sport: Balancing Body and Soul
