It is with great joy that I welcome all runners and visitors to Utica for this year’s Boilermaker Road Race! Whether you have traveled from across the globe or just down the street, you are most welcome here at Mary Mother of Our Savior Parish.
One of the greatest inspirations for Catholic athletes is Saint John Paul II. A lifelong sportsman and avid hiker, skier, and runner, he often spoke about how the human body and athleticism can glorify God. He believed that sports are not merely recreational they are a school of discipline, virtue, and perseverance. He once said, “Sport... can make an effective contribution to peaceful understanding between peoples and to establishing the new civilization of love.”
Saint Paul understood this connection well. In 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, he urges us to run the race of life with purpose and self-control: “Every athlete exercises discipline in every way. They do it to win a perishable crown, but we an imperishable one.” Today, as you race through the streets of our city, know that your striving mirrors the spiritual race we are all called to run one marked by endurance, courage, and hope.
As we cheer you on, we also look to the words of 2 Timothy 4:7, which beautifully reflect the finish line of faith: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” Whether you are a seasoned runner or running your very first Boilermaker, your determination today reminds us all to stay the course in life’s most important race the journey toward God.
On behalf of our entire parish family, I offer our prayers for your strength, safety, and joy this weekend. May your time in Utica be filled with the kind of fellowship that Saint John Paul II so often celebrated a communion of body and spirit that points us toward something eternal.
Remember, you are not alone on this journey. You are surrounded by a “great cloud of witnesses,” both here and in heaven. Run with purpose. Run with faith. Run knowing that you are deeply loved by God.
Your Servant in Christ,
Father Jason C. Hage, Pastor
Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us!
Our Lady of the Rosary, pray for us!
Mary, Mother of Our Savior, pray for us!