Bishop: To be champion, you need discipline, dedication, divine help

Published: 2004-06-15

COLUMBUS, Ohio (CNS) -- Being a champion in life demands the three Ds: discipline, dedication and divine assistance, according to Bishop James A. Griffin of Columbus. Great victories require self-discipline and dedication, he said, and if such victories do not come with great effort, seldom do they "give us satisfaction in a sweet way and make us feel like champions." Champion athletes as well as everyday champions realize they all need divine assistance, he added. "Nothing succeeds in this world without God's help," said Bishop Griffin at a "Breakfast With the Bishop" in downtown Columbus in May. "At athletic games, they stop to pray. A batter in the batter's box will stop to bless himself," he added. "Life is like an athletic contest. We run as if to win, and we do everything for the glory of God." He told the gathering of 500 that "champions are people with a special vision. You are champions in your profession or vocation ... in concern for your own community ... in your own family life or personal life. You are champions only in a way known to yourself, by overcoming some limitations in your own life."

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