The following homily was given to scouts gathered for Mass in the Chapel of the Twelve Apostles at the H. Roe Bartle Scout Reservation in Osceola, Missouri.

Lots of people are talking about the World Cup of soccer. It seems these days we really love our sports. We might therefore be happy to see that apparently St. Paul did too. He frequently uses sports analogies in his writings. In today’s second reading he sums up his whole life by saying he had “competed well” and “run the race.” We know a lot about sports, but how much do we know about our faith? We put a lot of effort into competing well on the field, but what about competing for the faith? Surely God expects as much effort out of us with regard to our faith as we would put into soccer. Today’s homily shows how even the World Cup can teach us something about life.