Matt Hoven
Episode 190
19 SEP 2022
He is a professor and Kule Chair at St. Joseph’s College, a Catholic college at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton, Canada. Three months ago marked the release of a book he co-authored, called, “On the Eighth Day: A Catholic Theology of Sport,” and three years ago he was the lead editor of a book titled, “Sport and Christianity: Practices for the Twenty-First Century.” He even has another book that he is working on, which is talked about in this interview. As part of his higher education, he studied at The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. As a student-athlete he played high school basketball and in his adult years has done some coaching and has played recreational sports.
Notable guest quotes:
“We grew up next to the local Catholic church… it was a small little mission church and we cut the lawn and had the priests over for a drink after confessions and the whole bit. So, my life as a kid, active in schools and whatnot, but also the church played a prominent role in it. And sport, of course, was important too.”
“Like anything in this life, we need moderation and balance, and for my family it was always making sure we’re at Mass on Sunday and participating in other things in life that sport never took over.”
“If sport isn’t managed correctly… it can become idolatry where we lose our balance.”
“Each one of us have to ask questions about, ‘What are my priorities in life? What are my foundational values? And how do I live accordingly?’ And for people of faith, it’s important to make sure that worship and time in prayer, that that takes a priority over other things.”
“Obviously, if you’re daughter’s the captain of her flag football team and is an incredible athlete, it’s hard not to be proud of that… But when it comes to the sacraments it’s about being dedicated. It’s about realizing what’s most important in life and having that balance.”
“The human spirit longs for something more. It longs for order. It longs for something beyond just the surface of our daily lives.”
“There’s a lot of good work amongst Catholic philosophers and thinkers about what play means.”
“Freedom, connectedness, and transcendence… start to tell us about the power of play and an element of human experience that we really need to pay close attention to.”
“Fundamentally, play is tied to worship, it’s tied to prayer.”
“Popes dating back to, like, Leo XIII, around 1900, have given speeches about sport.”
“Father David Bauer… was a really good hockey player growing up in the 1940s. He played at the highest level as a teenager and won a national championship, but then he became a priest.”
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