HOMILY FOR PRAYER SERVICE AFTER ARCHBISHOP’S AWARDS FOR STUDENT EXCELLENCE
ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL SYDNEY, 23 AUGUST 2024
The motto of the Olympics is ‘Citius, Altius, Fortius’, Latin for ‘Faster, Higher, Stronger’. It was proposed in 1894 by Pierre de Coubertin, the French educationalist, historian, and founder of the modern Olympic movement.[1] De Coubertin was inspired to revive the ancient Games after witnessing the good effects sport can have on individual health and wellbeing, moral formation and as a social glue. In a speech given at the old Sorbonne in Paris in 1892, he outlined his vision for a modern Olympiad, arguing that sport is an important tool for developing character, bringing people together, even building world peace.[2] As it turned out, the audience was unenthusiastic and the speech a fizzer. But Coubertin was undeterred and eventually he achieved his dream. Recently the manuscript of that speech sold for over AUD14million.[3]
Coubertin’s motto “Faster, Higher, Stronger” was actually borrowed from a friend—the Dominican friar, school principal and promoter of school sports, Henri Didon OP, who coined the phrase for a youth sports carnival.[4] Punchy and motivating, Coubertin thought there was no better motto for the modern Olympiad. Yet in 2021 it was modified. The International Olympic Committee added the word ‘together’, to better capture the unifying goal of the games so central to Coubertin’s vision but deserving re-emphasis in a highly individualistic and often divided world, and in the face of a pandemic that forced the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics.[5]
So ‘Faster, Stronger, Higher—Together’ represents excellence but also unity. It ties the pursuit of athletic glory to the realities of our shared humanity, indeed vulnerability. It reminds us that whilst rivalry in sport is healthy, harmony regardless of abilities and differences is even more important.
We are rightly proud of swimmers Se-Bom-Lee and Olivia Wunsch; hockeyroo Grace Young; water poloists Angus Lambie and Matthew Byrnes; rugby players Bridget Clark, Dietrich Roache and Mark Nawaqanitawase—all alumni of Sydney Catholic schools and competitors at the Paris Olympics—along with para-Olympian Holly Warn.[6] There were many alumni of Australian Catholic schools there, some of them medallists. Some of you might have wished I was handing out Olympic medals today! No, but there were indeed awards, recognising another excellence, in this case in the spiritual sport of Christian discipleship. In your many contributions you have demonstrated commitment and generosity of Olympian proportions. In your witness to the Gospel your spiritual training has been every bit as gruelling as some physical training. In our reading from the Prophet Ezekiel (Ezek 37:1-14), we heard that the prophet got “carried away”—not by the excitement of the crowd cheering some high-flyer in Paris—but, as we heard, “the hand of the Lord was laid on me, and he carried me away by the spirit of the Lord to the valley of dry bones”. There Ezekiel prophesied to the bones that God would one day raise us to new life in the Resurrection of the Dead. It’s a strange but ultimately wonderful image of our hope for ourselves and all those we have loved and lost. The arena for your evangelising and consoling, leading and serving, might not be as exotic as Ezekiel’s or as dramatic as the Paris stadium, but like Ezekiel’s prophesying and our Olympians’ competing, they have given hope to others.
The highlights reel of your service, presented by your teachers and peers, was nothing short of spectacular. And impressively, your discipleship skills were every bit as diverse as the physical skills we witnessed at the Paris Olympics. Among you are altar servers, lectors, extraordinary minsters, cantors, musicians, youth group leaders, prayer warriors, social justice champions, fundraisers, helpers of the marginalized, poor, disabled and refugees, and more. You have achieved Faster, Higher, Stronger together, in the virtues of Faith, Hope and Love (1Thess 1:3; 5:8; 1Cor 13:13). Your Catholic faith in God drove you to serve Him in word and deed; your prophetic hope in the future God has in mind for us meant you persevered when the going got tough; and your Gospel love animated your service of humanity. Like Ezekiel you too were carried away by the Spirit to give witness to faith and hope through your service of love in your communities. Long may it be so!
Your stories so far have given me great confidence for the future of our Church and society in Sydney and beyond. We are in safe hands. If Australia ranked fourth in the world at the Paris Olympics—ahead of many countries with far greater populations and resources to draw upon—today’s spiritual gold-medallists are also a cause of immense pride for the families, peers, schools, Church, archbishop. And so, to all of you whom we celebrate today—and so many others who might also have been worthy of recognition—I say thank you! Thank you for being young people of faith, hope and love, thank you for striving for faster, higher, stronger spiritually, thank you for giving of yourselves to others and to God. More than any sports carnival, that is the most effective unifier, the greatest bringer-togetherer, the best Church maker, as we reach forward to that finishing line when God will gather the nations and even the dead into His kingdom of everlasting life. God Bless you all!
[1] George Hirthler, “Pierre de Coubertin: The colossal legacy of a forgotten hero,” Olympic Review 122 (June 2024) 76-79.
[2] See the website of the Comité Internationale Pierre de Coubertin (CIPC) for his life, speeches and commentaries:
https://www.coubertin.org/. See the site of the Internal Olympic Committee for its principles: https://olympics.com/ioc/principles
[3] Tom Page, “The story behind the $8.8 million speech that fizzled, then set the Olympic movement ablaze,” CNN Sports 22 July 2021.
[4] Nicolás de Cárdenas, “French Dominican friar created the motto for the Olympic Games,” Catholic News Agency 26 July 2024.
[5] Spyros Capralos, “Faster—Higher—Stronger / together,” in K. Georgiadis (ed.), Olympic Games and the Pandemic: Opportunities, Challenges and Changes (Athens: International Olympic Academy, 2022), 23-30.
[6] Catholic education alumni go for gold (australiancatholics.com.au); https://www.catholicweekly.com.au/olympic-rugby-dreams-come-true-for-two-scs-alumni/; https://sydcatholicschools.nsw.edu.au/scs_news/sydney-catholic-schools-alumni-on-australian-swim-team-at-paris-olympic-games.
INTRODUCTION TO ARCHBISHOP’S AWARDS FOR STUDENT EXCELLENCE - ST. MARY’S CATHEDRAL HALL, SYDNEY, 23 AUGUST 2024
Welcome everyone! I’m delighted to present the Archbishop’s Awards for Excellence to the outstanding students from each of our Catholic secondary schools (systemic and congregational) here in Cathedral Hall beside the mother church of Australia. With joy and gratitude we gather to recognise and congratulate the leadership and witness our award-winners and so many other young people in our schools have given—your role, in fact, in the Church’s mission in the twenty-first century. I salute the Interim Executive Director of Sydney Catholic, Schools, Mr Peter Turner, along with directors, principals, staff, chaplains and students from our systemic secondary schools; clergy and religious from the Archdiocese; leaders and students of our congregational schools; proud family members and peers of our awardees. Above all, I welcome you our award recipients: congratulations!