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October 27, 2021How do you encounter Christ?
Encountering Christ should be an everyday sort of thing. Like, for real, He is working all around us—we just have to be still and look for it. Personally, I like to look for Him through the game of football, as it means I have very long days through which to encounter Him. Any given day, I wake up at 5:45 AM for workouts, meetings, and practices that will last until about noon. From there, I have 5 hours of classes, as I intend to major in biomedical engineering. On top of that, I have an extra 2-3 hours of homework. This leaves about 2 hours of free time, mostly used for Catholic Hoos events.
Now, by saying this, I am not trying to brag or complain about the stresses of being a first-year football player. Rather, I intend to show that although my days may be crazy, I always try to find ways to encounter Christ—even if it is through a seemingly insignificant event.
For example, during warmups, we do forward lunges with a backward arm reaching to the sky. Whenever it’s my turn, I do the sign of the cross and point to the sky when reaching back. This reminds me before every practice that I am not just playing for myself or my family—I am playing to glorify God above all. Likewise, after every practice, I take a knee at the corner of the end zone and pray in thanksgiving, regardless if it was a good or bad practice for me. Then, throughout the day, I listen to worship music when driving from class to class. Finally, before I go to bed each night, I read Scripture, read a book by Bl. Pier Giorgio Frassati, and pray the Chaplet of Divine Mercy. These small encounters throughout the day are not the only things I do to practice my faith, but they are examples of how in the midst of a crazy midseason schedule of a Division I football player, I still find time to encounter Christ—even when He is not obvious.
We must look for Christ even in the most routine events of our lives. We see Him through teammates, coaches, friends, professors, parents, and priests. There is a common misconception that to encounter Christ, you must have some great big conversion moment. But not all of us will have that moment in our lives as St. Paul did. The Lord will guide you towards what you truly desire: Himself. “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11 ESV). Often when things are hard or I am stressed by the craziness of my midweek schedule, I read that quote to remind myself that although I should try my hardest in everything I do, the Lord will make the final decision on where my life goes next.
I am truly blessed that He chose the University of Virginia as a part of my story, and I look forward to continuing spreading His love and allowing others to encounter Christ through football and Catholic Hoos.
My name is Joey Kagel, and I’m a first-year from Virginia Beach, VA. I like to fish, play football, and listen to country, and worship music.
