“We are gathered here to begin with a prayer. Last year, we did not begin the Sports Fest with a mass. We were more concerned with having a cheering team, the color of the shirts, and making sure there were snacks and enough water for everyone. As for this year, we have a better way to start because we are starting with the very center of our lives as disciples of the Lord and as Catholics: the Eucharist. What a better way to begin,” Bishop Ryan promulgated to the members of the church.
Over a hundred athletes, chaperones, and volunteers were invited to receive a Word and the Eucharist at a 9am mass Mt. Carmel Cathedral in celebration of St. Benedict of Nursia and to open the 2nd Annual Chalan Kanoa Diocesan Sports Fest.
San Roque, Santa Remedios, San Vicente, San Antonio, Kristo Rai, San Jose in Oleai, Mt. Carmel Cathedral, and San Jose from Tinian were the eight parishes that were present in the mass. It was a concelebrated mass with all eight parish priests and Bishop Ryan who led the assembly.
“Ora et labora,” which is in Latin and roughly translates to “Prayer and work,” is a famous quote from Saint Benedict the Abbot which was very fitting for the Sports Fest.
Sam Santos, a representative from saint Jude, served as the Master of Ceremony and organized the mass. His role was for the preparation of the mass.
He said, “The goal was to have every parish involved since the sports fest is a diocesan event, I wanted the mass to be as inclusive as possible. One thing I wanted to emphasize was that Tinian had to fly in to Saipan that morning and they were the defending champions from last year’s Sports Fest. They did the presentation of gifts as a tribute to their hard work. They’re here full force and you have to give that to them.”
Before the mass ended, Bishop Ryan had a blessing of athletes.
The four day event officially began with the mass, followed by an opening ceremony and the lighting of the torch where Bishop Ryan ran laps around the Mt. Carmel center quad, holding the torch, signifying the official start of the games.
The bishop concluded his homily saying, “Really this is a wonderful gift for us from God. The gift of physical self. The different gifts that God gives each one of us. Wherever that gift is, we are grateful to Him, and whatever that gift is, we use it for good. We always want to do better, but even better than that is that we develop who we are with God’s given gifts to us. So in this Sports Fest, we pray we may practice virtues and we try to perfect the gifts God gives us. May we do well and have fun, and may the best team win. God bless you all.”
