EDMONTON — At the height of the Edmonton Oilers dynasty in 1980s, a banner hung at a balcony edge at old Coliseum that read, “On the 8th day, God created Gretzky.”
Today, On the Eighth Day is the title of University of Alberta religious education professor Matt Hoven’s latest book, which takes a comprehensive look at what it means to be faithful humans in sport.
“(The title) plays off the idea that it is a new day, calling on Christians and others to think about sport in a new way,” he said, adding, for Christians, the eighth day is the fulfilment of the seven days of creation, marking Christ’s resurrection.
“There’s a major connection between sport and higher ideals and values that can get lost or forgotten when sport is highly commercialized and uber-competitive.”
What was not lost was the grace that Hoven felt while presenting the book to Pope Francis in the fall while attending a sport conference at the Vatican.
“I said, ‘Holy Father, this is our book,’” recalls Hoven. “He was momentarily puzzled by the image of a ball on the cover. Then I pointed to the subtitle, A Catholic Theology of Sport, and he went, ‘Ah! Bene!’ His face lit up and he smiled cheerfully.
“It was touching for me. The Pope has given dozens of speeches to sport groups, but to hear it from his lips that he was genuinely enthused and thought (the book) was a great idea meant the world to me and to my co-authors (from Creighton University in Nebraska).”
The book — which is now included in the Vatican Library — calls people to reflect on the relationship between faith and sport.
“It’s about looking more deeply at life and at sport. We hope religious people will savour sport more and get more involved in it, that theologians will take sport more seriously, and that any reader can reflect on a new day for their relationships with one another.”
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To speak with Matt Hoven about his study, please contact:
Michael Brown
U of A media strategist
mjbrown1@ualberta.ca | 780-977-1411