World News
Like Olympic athletes, everyone can glorify God, archbishop says
Published: July 30, 2012
MANCHESTER, England (CNS) -- Athletes competing in the 2012 Summer Olympics serve as a reminder to all people to use their bodies to glorify God, the president of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales said during a Mass of thanksgiving for the games. Archbishop Vincent Nichols of Westminster said during the July 28 Mass at Westminster Cathedral that the games can help people to understand the link between spirituality and sport. The archbishop's homily echoed the theme of the July 29 annual Day of Life of the Catholic Church in England and Wales on the importance of using one's body to praise God. He told the 900 Massgoers, some wearing national costumes, that the human body is beautiful in the eyes of God, even as it grew old, and always should be used to honor God, the creator of all. "We will see many fine sports (where) men and women use their bodies, their minds and their spirits in the quest for glory," Archbishop Nichols said. "But the message of the Gospel goes deeper. It reminds us, vividly, that our bodies are for the glory of God. Indeed our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit. This does not detract from that physical achievement of sport, with its beauty, symmetry, harnessing of speed, finesse and power," he said. "Rather it enhances those achievements and gives them their deepest purpose -- that of giving glory to their Maker."
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