Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers
Episode 119
10 MAY 2021
He was a wrestler for Saint Benedict’s Prep School – ranking #2 in his senior year, when he was undefeated in dual meets – and then went on to become the coach of their freshmen and JV wrestling teams. Earlier on he had played baseball and basketball. Presently he is a deacon in the Catholic church and travels across the U.S. and around the world speaking at conferences, workshops, retreats, parish missions, high schools, and young adult events. He has a Master of Theological Studies Degree and, among other works, is the author of the best-selling book, Behold the Man: A Catholic Vision of Male Spirituality.
Notable guest quotes:
“I had a heart condition, heart murmur… So, the doctors wanted to play it safe and told my mom, ‘Let’s not let him play football, but he can do pretty much any other sport.’ And so, I was not allowed to play football. So, when I got to high school, I wrestled.”
“Any good athlete knows that ten percent of the sport is physical, 90 percent is mental.”
“Part of the reason why I was coaching (was) ’cause I was also discerning monastic life at the time. So, I was actually a postulant in the monastery, in the very early phases of joining the monastic community.”
“It was great to be a mentor for those kids and not just ‘Here’s how you do this move,’ but also be like a big brother or in some cases maybe even a father figure to some of those kids.”
“I’m actually the first baptized Catholic in the history of our family.”
“If you ever come from a household where alcohol is an issue, I don’t have to tell you about the hurtful and the painful and the embarrassing moments when you come from a household like that — often when you wished you lived in your friend’s house than have to go home to your own house.”
“She had been praying a rosary every day for twenty years.”
“In 2012 I left my job in law enforcement — I was in law enforcement for 23 years — left my career to start speaking and writing full-time on the Catholic faith.”
“How could people not believe in God? When you hear how God can work in someone’s life; the power of God’s grace, when they’re open to receiving what God wants to give them.”
“Even as an athlete, I tacitly wanted my father’s approval. I wanted him to be proud of me, and the things that I was doing on the (wrestling) mat. But even more, to be proud of the man that I’d become.”
“Malaysia… it was actually illegal for me to come there and talk about Jesus publicly.”
“What I’ve found in countries where they have to fight for their faith — where their faith is under some oppression — that’s where the faith is most alive.”
“God’s the musician, I’m just an instrument.”
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