I was out playing golf with my friend Henry this past week and it was brutal. I could not hit my driver at all. It was terrible for the nine holes we played. Seven of the holes needed a driver and yet for the first four it was impossible. (and even worse, Henry was driving great that day) On the fourth hole, after two more miserable attempts, I put the driver away and pulled out my three wood and began from there…the first ball I hit, was straight…not as far as with the driver but it was going in the right direction. At that point I could almost feel the frustration that had been building with each failed drive fall away and the day was a little bit better.
The hard part was, the last time I had played my driver worked really well and even the “bad drives” were workable. I couldn’t self-correct this time. I went through the mental check lists, did my talk before each drive and yet nothing was working…in truth I am admittedly an awful golfer who enjoys the walk and the company more than the scores on the card and yet when it is going that bad…and it was that bad…it is very hard to even enjoy the walk and the company. Over the next few hole, on the par 4 and 5’s I pulled out the three wood and life was better when we reached the ninth and the day was almost done, I pulled out the driver once more and like magic it worked again…why?
Well, the easiest answer was that I let go of the frustration for a little while. I chose to set aside what was causing the aggravation and pick up a different tool. And, when I was ready, to try again. I kept playing the game but I changed how I would start. This I believe is where sport can teach us lesson in work, play and our spiritual journey.

Pope Francis in his recent Apostolic Exhortation, “Gaudete et Exsultate: Rejoice and Be Glad” reminds us “The Holy Spirit bestows holiness in abundance among God’s holy and faithful people, for “it has pleased God to make men and women holy and to save them, not as individuals without any bond between them, but rather as a people who might acknowledge him in truth and serve him in holiness”.”(#6)

You may ask: why holiness? Why golf? And why frustration? There is a direction that flows from God through our lives and directs us back to God and this is the gift of holiness and the grace of the Holy Spirit. Our spiritual journey is a walk and conversation with Jesus Christ as we seek holiness. God blesses us with great abundance and spiritual gifts to assist us on this journey. Sometimes I see someone wielding the prayer of the Rosary, the blessing of Lectio Divina, or the silence of meditation on the “Jesus Prayer” with such great affect my stumbling use of these spiritual gifts can raise frustration in my soul. We love to compare and gauge our spiritual life and gifts against others don’t we? The point is…”There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God work. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.” (1 Cor 12:4-7)
St. Paul wrote this almost two thousand years ago and we still fight the same spiritual battle.
If we get back to the golf analogy…every once in a while it is important to look at what we are doing in the spiritual life, look at what the goal is….Jesus…try to refocus and pickup a different club…and then begin to go towards the goal without the old frustration in your hands.
God bless
Fr. Mark