St. John Paul II believed the Olympics can be an inspiration for our spiritual life, encouraging us to aim for perfection.
Every few years the world becomes fascinated by the Olympics, watching in awe the physical perfection that each athlete has accomplished.
St. John Paul II was a big fan of the Olympics as well, and he saw great spiritual lessons to be learned.
In his sports message during the Jubilee Year of 2000, he pointed to the Olympics as an encouragement to all of us in our spiritual lives.
He then goes on to quote St. Paul, who similarly pointed to athletes as a model for the spiritual life.
When watching the Olympics and recognizing the athletes' remarkable physical strength, may we look at our own lives and see how we can imitate their example, saying with St. Paul:
