By Dennis Kellogg
OMAHA (SNR) – Five-time Kansas City Royals All-Star Mike Sweeney shared his Catholic faith with more than 450 people who attended the 12th annual Thomas More Society banquet in Omaha Aug. 12.
The Thomas More Society describes itself as “a national public interest law firm focused on restoring respect in law for life, family and religious liberty.”
Royals All-Star
Sweeney shared stories of his life in Major League Baseball, including times he was mocked in front of his team and attacked by some members of the media for his Catholic faith. He said one of his nicknames on the Royals was “reverend” because he was “always going to Mass on Sunday, leading Bible studies and baseball chapel.”
Sweeney told those attending that like St. Thomas More, we’re all called to martyrdom. He said it may not be “red martyrdom” of blood like More, but it could be “white martyrdom,” meaning “your reputation will be crushed. Your name will be smeared. Your job title will be taken away from you.”
He added, “If you have not endured white martyrdom, then maybe we’re not living bold enough. If your name is great and everybody loves you, then you’re probably not living as boldly as you should be.” He said some of his favorite Catholic priests and bishops are not afraid of “Monday morning emails,” drawing a round of applause from the crowd.
After baseball
After a 16-year Major League Baseball career, Sweeney retired from the game in 2011. He had a vision to start Catholic Baseball Camps, where teaching baseball skills and faith formation would take place side by side.
“We’re going to teach (them) what it means to know who shows up in the Eucharist. It’s not a what, it’s who. It’s Jesus Christ. Body, blood, soul and divinity. We’re going to teach them that praying the rosary is actually holding hands with the Mother of God and worshipping her Son. Going to a Catholic Baseball Camp is going to teach you about virtue and playing baseball and getting dirty and going to confession on the baseball field. We did it.”
Since the Catholic Baseball Camps started in 2012, thousands of young baseball players have participated in camps now held across the country.
Sweeney closed his talk by quoting 2 Timothy 2:22: “Run from anything that stimulates youthful lust. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.”
Sweeney said we should run from anything that would hinder us from being the man or woman God calls us to be, run towards the things God desires of us, and run with those who will help you get to heaven. He said he is part of a Bible study group with 39 other men in San Diego who “every day are praying for me and helping me to live out my vocation to become a saint.”
Sweeney said all are called to be saints. He gave credit to the faith and sacrifices of his parents for his strong Catholic upbringing. He said his favorite time of the day is praying a rosary together with his family in the evenings. Sweeney lives in San Diego, Calif., with his wife Shara and their six children.
Sweeney was inducted into the Kansas City Royals Hall of Fame in 2015. He now serves as a special assistant for the team.
Real Presence
In an interview with the Southern Nebraska Register before his talk, Sweeney said he enjoyed his success on the baseball field, but it will never compare to the joy he finds in his Catholic faith.
“The homerun with the crowds and the Gatorade buckets and the interviews, it pales in comparison to the beauty and the fulfillment and the richness of the Mass,” he said.
Sweeney also praised the Catholic Church for its current three-year Eucharistic Revival. He said surveys have shown a great number of Catholics don’t believe in the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, and even if that number is one percent, “it’s one percent too many.”
“There’s only one church in the world that believes in the true presence of the Eucharist that was taught by Jesus to his disciples and lived out in the Gospel of John Chapter Six and that’s the church that Jesus Himself founded, the Catholic Church,” Sweeney said. He added if as Catholics we truly believe who we are receiving in the Eucharist, “then it will change how we live our lives.”
Religious liberty
The evening also included updates on key religious liberty cases the Thomas More Society is working on, including legislation stemming from the historic Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization U.S. Supreme Court decision this summer, overturning Roe v. Wade. Peter Breen, vice president and senior counsel for the Thomas More Society, said the Dobbs decision means abortion is now a fight in all 50 states.
“Even the pro-life states are now being invaded by the abortion forces,” Breen said.
Father Gary Coulter is the chaplain for the Catholic Lawyers’ Guild of the Diocese of Lincoln and attended the Omaha banquet. He said he supports the Thomas More Society because they are on the front lines of defending life and liberty in courts across the land.
“While all Catholic laity are called to live their faith as a leaven in the midst of the world, it is even more important for members of the legal profession to integrate their Catholic faith in their professional life,” Father Coulter said. “We need attorneys who are equipped to defend religious liberty, the sanctity of life, marriage and family.”
Organizers said more than $275,000 has been raised so far from the event to aid the work of the Thomas More Society.
Editor’s Note: Watch Mike Sweeney’s full presentation at the Thomas More Society Banquet in Omaha and his interview with the Register on the Catholic Diocese of Lincoln YouTube channel.
