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Many millions will watch the Super Bowl today. Many Christians might even feel guilty for doing so – afraid that watching sports is nothing more than a “waste of time”. As a big sports fan myself, I’ve heard that one over and over from friends and relatives who, intentionally or not, make me feel guilty for enjoying athletics.

Sports fans, I have some good – no, make that super – news for you! As it turns out, watching sports can actually be a form of contemplation, according to Father James V. Schall, SJ. In his marvellous book of essays, “Reasonable Pleasures” (Ignatius Press), Fr Schall argues that something similar happens to us when we watch a great game, something that’s quite similar to what happens when we contemplate the Almighty. We’re taken “out of ourselves”. Aristotle, writing in the 4th century BC, noted that sport, or play in general, is actually the closest many people ever get to this highest plane of human activity, contemplation. And that similarity makes sense. C.S. Lewis once wrote that “play is the serious business of heaven”.

Enjoy “contemplating” the game, everyone!

I have written elsewhere in these pages about Tim Tebow, and let me say on record that I’m a fan. To say that Tebow is the most polarizing athlete of our time is no understatement, and much of this is due to the way he articulates his faith. Robert Mixa, over at the fantastic Word on Fire blog, makes some very thought-provoking comparisons between the way Tebow speaks about his beliefs, and the new English Mass translation – both of which are making some people very, very uncomfortable. You can check it out here. Be sure to leave your thoughts in the combox below. Big HT to Jasmin Lemieux-Lefebvre (@jasminll) for alerting me to this story.