I’m going to get a little personal here. Croatia has a new world heavyweight boxing champion, Filip Hrgović. Bravo, champ! These were his first words in front of the London crowd when he was handed the microphone after winning: “Thank you. I want to tell you something. That wasn’t me — that was Jesus Christ in me. The Holy Spirit. I was losing every round, I was losing, and I don’t know where that energy came from. It wasn’t my energy; it was the energy of the Holy Spirit. He brought me together with my excellent coach and manager, and they changed my life. I’ve never been in better shape. I had a perfect training camp. Thank you, Jesus Christ.” You could tell from the crowd’s reaction that no one expected that, especially in London. And when you’ve spent ten rounds taking punches to the head and that’s still the first thing on your mind, you know that God truly comes first in your life.
He also comes from the region near Medjugorje — or rather, his parents do. As a country, we have been through many wars throughout our history, but perhaps, as a kind of blessing, God has given us some of the finest athletes in Europe and the world, especially in team sports as we are very tall, an avarage height is about 188 cm or 6 ft 2 ( soccer, basketball, handball, waterpolo..). The vast majority of them openly bear witness to their faith in God in their everyday lives. National team coaches often go on pilgrimages before major competitions, teams attend Mass together, and players pray the Rosary together in the locker room, and so on. This is what Hrgović said before the fight: “The most important thing in life is to preserve your soul. If you don’t save your soul, nothing else matters. Jesus said, ‘What does it profit you to gain the whole world if you lose yourself?’ (Matthew 16:26). With so much fame, money and pressure, you can slowly begin to lose yourself, your soul and your life. Look at all those superstars — they have lost their souls, and then nothing else matters. It is different for me because I have been through a lot. Whatever happens to me, the most important thing is to remain connected to God and to remain in His grace. I don’t care about money or fame; I care only about my relationship with God. I am ready to deal with fame and money. God is the most important. Your relationship with God is the most important thing in life. Everything else is vanity. Money and fame are empty things. I read the Bible every day, I pray every day, and I go to Holy Mass on Sundays. That is how I stay connected to God, to His presence, and remain in His grace. That is the only way you can stay grounded and humble. Everything else is ultimately unimportant. We are all going to die anyway, whether in 20, 30 or 40 years. Life is short, and what matters most is where you are going after this life,” the Croatian boxer concluded.
On the other hand, it’s 3 a.m. here and I still haven’t prayed the Rosary. I’m really sleepy, and I have to get up early for Sunday morning Mass. But if he can take 100 punches to the head, each with 400 kg of force, and still thank God afterward, then I can stay awake for another half an hour and pray the Rosary I promised to pray... And if nothing else, the stars are visible again tonight. God always gives you a little nudge. ))
I am always surprised and delighted to find a good Devout Catholic in these dark days. Especially a boxer which is even more unexpected. In the monastery little retreat groups turn up, often with a priest to lead them, very devout and each with their own charisms and spirit. They teach me not to be too cynical and to understand that the Light of Christ still burns brightly, even if a little hidden, in what are now Pagan, secular societies.
Well, thank God, we have quite a lot of athletes who give thanks to God first and foremost, like Modric, Kovacic and all the others world best football stars. I know Brazilians and Argentinians do that too, and there are many others as well. Sport requires a lot of sacrifice and self-denial, and sometimes people are pushed to their limits. He lost his father and went through many difficulties in his family life, and in situations like that, the only place you can truly find strength is in God. And of course, where we come from, family and upbringing are the foundation, especially love for God and for our homeland. I used to play matches on Saturdays and Sundays, and if I had a match on Sunday morning, I would travel 25 km farther away to attend Mass in the evening. My parents would drive me because there was no public transport. I don't think I ever missed Sunday Mass, even though I trained and competed at a fairly high level for quite a long time. Once, I attended Mass on Saturday evening, and our priest explained to us that it counted as Sunday Mass because the Sunday liturgy was already being celebrated. He actually had that Mass especially for us athletes so that we wouldn't have to miss Sunday Mass, and the church was packed. God comes first, and then sport, fame, and everything else, because ultimately we owe everything to God. By the way, this is the speech I was talking about. A lot of people made fun of him, including because of his English, since he started learning it quite late and could barely speak it until he was around 20. But in the end, in my opinion and English isn't my native language either—he actually speaks it quite well, especially for a non-native speaker. He's also extremely humble and down-to-earth. You can often see a smile slipping through even though he has to play the "tough guy" and look dangerous, because that's part of the sport and the image expected by sponsors.
Re the sun, while that all makes sense from our piddly human comprehension, it strikes me as putting limits on God within the realms of physics and rules of astronomy. Gloriously, God is outside of time, astronomy & all of our understanding. I'm of the mind, God would do whatever he chooses with the cosmos, even if only those within 100km would witness it. I'm sure that was all part of His intention.
And what a fight it was! I started watching as a Moses fan but I was a Hrgovic fan by the end. I began to wonder if a bulldozer could knock him down. It's always heartening to hear boxers praise and thank Jesus and a surprising number of them do. Congratulations to Hrgovic and Hrvatska!
