WAKEFIELD — Sacrifice, discipline, and commitment are all part of being a great athlete. Those qualities also go hand-in-hand with being a great champion of faith.
To view more photos, please click here.
Chase Hilgenbrinck retired from a professional soccer career in 2008 to enter Mount St. Mary's Seminary in Emmitsburg, MD. Even after originally devoting 25 years to soccer, most recently as a professional player for the New England Revolution, Hilgenbrinck was at peace with the decision he made to enter seminary. He knew that God was calling him to fulfill his vocation, enter the priesthood and dedicate his life to the church.
“It’s a reflection of God’s will in my life,” he said. “As many plans as you make and as many hopes and dreams that you have, it will never fulfill you unless it is God’s will for you.”
Hilgenbrinck recently told his story to a group of 130 ninth and tenth grader parishioners of St. Francis of Assisi Church, during a required retreat in preparation for their confirmation.
Kenneth Graves, a young parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi, said that he was moved by Hilgenbrinck’s presentation.
"The impact has made me make connections between the gifts God gave me and the situations I face in my everyday life," Graves said. "Chase's optimistic thinking and his explanations on being an active athlete of faith has affected the way I view these situations and has opened my mind."
If you want to be a successful athlete, Hilgenbrinck said, you have to be more committed than others. Showing true commitment is showing up an hour early and leaving an hour late, to be committed to your team and affecting others in a positive way.
“An athlete of the faith shows that same great sacrifice and perseverance,” he said. “You show perseverance when you fail at a goal. You don’t give up, you refuse to give up.”
Diane Castro, of the parish’s religious education department, said that she felt it was God’s timing that the former professional athlete could join them for the retreat.
“Every year we try to emphasize vocations,” she said. “I was excited because many of the kids here have a background in soccer. To me it all kind of fell into place perfectly.”
Castro added that it was also a good opportunity for the teenagers to start thinking about what God is calling them to.
“Each of us is called to some vocation,” she said. “For their age they don’t think of their lives as a vocation. Part of becoming an adult is finding what God’s will is in our life.”
Hilgenbrinck, who is in his second year of seminary, shared that the lessons he learned from soccer prepared him to be a better Catholic. He added that he has looked to the lives of the saints for guidance. The 28-year old, who will be ordained in 2014, explained that Pope John Paul II was a great example to him as a man dedicated to the church and athletics.
“There are so many saints that are athletes of the faith,” Hilgenbrinck explained. “John Paul II encouraged sport. He instituted the Office of Church and Sport because he realized that it was a huge area that we can use for evangelization.”
Retreatant Maria Zonfrillo shared that Hilgenbrinck's story was very powerful.
"He gave up his career to follow God’s plan," she said. "To be faithful you need to be dedicated and persistent just like in athletics."
Mike Simonelli said that he liked how Hilgenbrinck described the relation of faith and sports.
"I found his story interesting and I think he made the right choice," said Simonelli. "Timing is everything."
Father Joe Upton, assistant pastor of St. Francis of Assisi Church, explained that the retreat was a chance for the teenagers to be reminded that God is alive and active in their lives.
“That’s what a retreat is about,” he said. “Putting everything aside and trying to listen to what God is trying to say and being mindful of what God is trying to do. We often don’t realize that the things we learn in life are the things we need to apply to our faith.
Mary Kate Clossick explained that it was easy to relate to the seminarian because of his love of soccer.
"He connected in a great way to us teens because of his soccer playing," she said. "He gave us ideas on ways to be closer to God in our everyday lives."
Hilgenbrinck's last professional game with the New England Revolution was in the summer of 2008 at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass., but it will not be his last competition.
“We are always competing against ourselves, against sin,” he said. “We must be ready for the challenge. Look at your life as a competition against evil.”
In his experience, Hilgenbrinck has seen virtue transcends sport. He told the teenagers that the gifts he received from his years as a professional athlete have helped him in his journey to be a faithful Catholic.
“The Lord wasn’t forcing me to give up soccer, he was forming me, preparing me for these gifts,” Hilgenbrinck said. “I was being prepared as a man, not only as an athlete of sport, but as an athlete of faith.”
