*cries*

As soon as I have any idea what a Sports Mass is, I'll volunteer helpful suggestions.

Is it supposed to be something like the Blue Mass or the Red Mass?

At the risk of being accused of being the newbie I am, I submit that nestled deep within the rancid mush of this idea is a grain of theological truth. Sports at their best impart virtue, something that Catholics understand. I would guess that this is what the priest in question would like to promote.

The whole thing makes the baby Jesus cry and it's only October 20th.

I suppose anyone who disagrees with him and objects is guilty of "roughing the pastor"?

Anna,

I like your valiant effort to read the "Sports Mass" in the best possible light. We may not have much company, but you're not alone.

To provide the serious assistance you requested, I thought that perhaps under the Roman Missal's Masses for Various Needs and Occasions, For Holy Church, #10: For the Laity could be used. Seemed to me to be the closest set of Mass texts to the sports "theme" and might salvage the Mass by orienting it towards the laity being evangelizers in the world via sports. Attached.

For Lectionary readings for that Mass, go here and scroll down to #9 for the specific readings in Lectionary ##862-866:
https://catholic-resources.org/Lectionary/2002USL-Masses-Various.htm

But instead of the recommended readings I suggest 1 Corinthians 9:24ff ("every athlete exercises discipline... but we to win an imperishable crown); Psalm 115 ("not to us, O Lord, but to your name give glory); and any of the Gospels suggested in Lectionary #866 would be good and fit with the alternate readings I proposed.

As for music suggestions, can you provide some guidance about the style of music that you think would fly at this sports Mass? What I can think of right now:

"We Are Many Parts" (Haugen) -- unity, teamwork
"Be Thou My Vision" -- God surpasses every earthly delight or reward
"Lift High the Cross" -- triumph
"Seek Ye First" -- aiming for the highest things
"The Servant Song" -- service and teamwork
"One Bread, One Body" -- unity, teamwork

I know a priest in my diocese who does "Sports and Adoration." He invites the athletes from the district high schools to come to adoration, and maybe they play a game afterwards. It isn't anything that requires much preparation and it gives the students a chance to have some fun with a priest who is also an accomplished athlete.

This is where the youth of the church are. They play sports. You ask them any theological question you get one of two answers "Jesus" or "God". If we are going to be intentional about saving the church for the next generation, we need to find the youth in this journey and bring them along.

I take 15-20 minutes of every children's choir rehearsal to stop in church and do some formation. This week they got to visit with the deacon who showed them the high altar and tabernacle. He also showed them a monstrance too.

I asked my children why they enjoy choir. One of the answers was "because it helps me talk and pray about God, which isn't an easy thing to do nowadays." This quote is from a 7th grade boy. He said, "nowadays" which implies at some point in his life, he could speak freely about his faith, but it changed somewhere. I dare say, these attitudes that put down the athlete's Mass could be a contributing factor.

When someone thinks outside the box at how to be pastoral to the youth, I think we all should take time to look at it spiritually. When we immediately shut these kinds of ideas down, it is exactly what Satan wants from us, to exclude youth, to make no effort to bring youth into the fold, to assume everyone is where we are in our understanding of the faith and if they aren't then we ignore them and move on.

You can get caught up in the liturgy aspect if you want, but why not just have a regular Sunday Mass, bless the athletes, then after Mass have some spcial time for the youth. Get the priest involved. Remember that saying, Actions speak louder than words. If you want youth in the church minister to them where they are. If playing some games after Mass is how you get to them, do it. Take action to save the youth and their souls. Christ said, Let the children come to me. Never scoff at these ideas, it is exactly what the devil wants us to do.

Keep in mind. I am making a correction. If the purpose of the "sports Mass" is done for the youth. I support it. If the Sports mass is for self indulgent reasons, to use Bears altar linens, I'm Serviam. I'd strip the altar myself.

The priest I know would never use memorabilia as Altar linens. He is very orthodox. He just also likes to play sports when he isn't saying Masses.

Rant over.

When the church has been proliferating the idea of a "Blue Mass", a "Red Mass", a "Children's Mass", a "Youth Mass", etc., "Sports Mass" (or "Sport Mass" for those in the Commonwealth) is just a logical progression, another anthropocentric gimmick to get tuchuses in the pews. If it were me, I'd write "conflict" on every page of my calendar, that way when he says "we're having the Sports Mass on such-and-such a date" I can reply "I'm sorry, I have a conflict in my calendar and I can't cancel; but I will find a substitute."

Do this in Saskatchewan on a football game Sunday and women will wear watermelons on their head for their head covering. A priest once asked the children why he wears green vestments. The kids thought it was because it was Riders season.

I suggest you program sacred music by Vivaldi and Hasse. It's all about athletics.

I would see nothing wrong with having a regular liturgy then having sport-themed activities and events afterwards. However, I remember well the entire church being turned upside down doing music and liturgy "for the youth" and to be relevant and keep the young. The end result is that most of the youth left, anyway and the church was stuck with bad liturgy and even worse music. There has to be an end goal in sight that is clearly articulated and planned.

I remember when I was in the Toledo diocese (and I think they still do this) the bishop celebrates Mass with student-athletes from the diocesan Catholic schools at the Cathedral, but the only thing that one might find "silly" about it is the athletes wearing their game jerseys and perhaps the bishop making athletic allusions in his homily. Otherwise, it was the Mass of the day, with all the requisite dignity of a pontifical Mass. I would hope a "sports Mass" would simply be this and not resorting to desecrating "decorating" the church with team banners and colors and silly cheers (like what I saw in one church that shall remain anonymous when the local pro football team reached the Super Bowl).

I keep thinking of the Roman Coliseum displaying a banner proclaiming "Christians vs Lions" - for which, of course, the appropriate music would be "The Entry of the Gladiators", the military march composed in 1897 by the Czech composer Julius Fučík.

Extreme purple/... throws a Hail Mary at the recessional.., /please end the extreme purple

Mass should be done the normal way with Athletes present. There may be special prayers for them and their season, but a Mass said the proper way. With proper antiphons for the day.
The only thing that I would suggest is that St. Sebastian is the Patron saint of Athletes so there could be something in honor of him at such a Mass.

A few years ago I did the Mass for “Catholic participants in the Super Bowl” when the SB was held in Phoenix. The Diocese gave me a budget that was only good for like 2 singers, but when I announced it 2 other professional singers in the area who were football fans agreed to come as volunteers - they wanted to see the football players.

Not one player attended.

But I’m sure the stagehands and coaching staff appreciated having polyphony.

We used the Mass of the day (I believe it was a Friday).

Select the readings and hymns for a "Sports Mass" after reading about a 20th-century Saint, Pier-Giorgio Frassati. He grew up in a well-to-do aristocratic family (mother very pious, father almost anti-clerical). He was an athlete but also did volunteer work for the poor. Died very young. Ignatius Press has a biography of him by Siccardi.