Pope Francis speaks to the Olympics

And we should all join him in praying for peace and a wonderful celebration of endurance and dedication.  This year it’s already been ugly, and the torch hasn’t made it to the stadium.  It’s easy to be dismissive, especially if you’re not a fan of sports.  In our day and age, it’s also easy to be partisan, seeing in the myriad problems a chance to score bonus points on that +5 story of agenda validation.

But these folks have spent their lives for this.  Some events have a very small window.  Given the time span between the Olympics,  some athletes will have this chance and this chance alone.  We obviously don’t want anything bad.  We don’t want another Munich.  We don’t want a Zika pandemic.  We pray that all who are there are safe, healthy and have the time of their lives.

As I always did before my sons competed in sports – especially my third boy who played football – I pray that there will be no injuries, no harm, good sportsmanship, goodwill and at least one area of life that can transcend the squabbles and divisions of the world.  Go teams (and yes, Go USA!)