The theme for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team has been “Make ’em believe.”
When they lost to Kentucky in the Final Four last year, most of the team (minus Ben Brust who graduated) came back to try to achieve their dream of becoming national champions.
They wanted people to believe that they could win that title, along with other goals of being conference champions in the regular season and post-season tournament.
Working toward their goals
Their quest began last summer, as senior Josh Gasser said, when team members spent extra time in the weight room getting stronger.
It meant hours and hours of extra practice. For sophomore Nigel Hayes, it meant getting up early each day and working on his three-point shot, which has come in mighty handy this season.
Senior Frank Kaminsky — a pre-season All-American candidate — admitted that he wanted to develop better fundamentals. Even though he was named National Player of the Year, Kaminsky continues to talk about improving his play.
Making us believe
En route to the Final Four, the Badgers defeated Coastal Carolina, Oregon, North Carolina, and Arizona. Then came redemption: their Final Four victory over Kentucky.
Since our paper goes to press before the national championship game against Duke, I don’t know the outcome of that game. I do have confidence that the Badgers can win.
However, no matter what the result, I can say that the Badgers have made believers of many people throughout the country. It took plenty of dedication and teamwork to get to the Final Four again and maybe win a national championship for Wisconsin for the first time since 1941.
Same effort in sharing faith
The Badgers’ theme and commitment made me think: What would happen if each member of the Catholic Church put as much effort into living and sharing their faith as the Badger basketball team has done? What if we all worked hard on making others believe in our faith?
Jesus called upon all of his followers to be his witnesses “to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). We are asked to proclaim the Good News of our faith to all people.
Yet how often do we fail to be Christ’s witnesses? How often do we invite people to join us at Mass or reach out to help the poor, sick, and lonely with the love of Christ?
I found an excellent resource for Catholics wishing to learn more about sharing their faith. It’s a document called Disciples Called to Witness: the New Evangelization (found on the U.S. bishops’ website at www.usccb.org)
The document asks, “How do we, today, follow the call and summons of Jesus to seek out the stranger, heal the sick, and welcome the weary?”
The New Evangelization in the Catholic Church is a call to each person to deepen his or her own faith and to possess a willingness to share the Gospel message, which brings peace and joy.
And the final prize in this quest is life everlasting in heaven.
Shouldn’t we work just as hard or even harder than the Badger basketball team to win this prize for ourselves and others?
“Make ’em believe!” should be our motto, too! Let’s make it our Easter resolution.