Coco Gauff praying, photo from Today.com
Last week, 19-year-old American tennis player Coco Gauff won the U.S. Open women’s title. Coco became the youngest American winner since Serena Williams first earned the distinction in 1999 at the age of 17. It was an emotional and memorable moment for everyone at the event. But the most memorable moment, in my opinion, was when Gauff, after winning the final match, dropped to her knees and began to pray. In our modern world, I feel it takes great courage and humility to thank God on live TV.
Seeing this happen, sports commentators initially stated that Coco “took a moment to soak it all in after winning her first Grand Slam title.” A few openly religious reporters clarified what she was doing and announced that Coco was not just “soaking it all in” but was obviously praying. This young athlete has been open about her Christian faith in the past and it seemed that she was praying in thanksgiving for her perseverance and hard-fought victory.
As I followed the back-and-forth commentary, I thought of St. Francis de Sales and his teaching on the necessity of prayer. In the first part of the Introduction to the Devout Life, the Bishop of Geneva writes: “Prayer opens the understanding to the brightness of Divine Light, and the will to the warmth of heavenly love. If you contemplate Him frequently, your whole soul will be filled with Him, you will grow in His likeness, and your actions will be molded on His.”
Talking about her faith after her victory, Coco responded that “…the French Open loss was a heartbreak for me. I realized God puts you through tribulations and trials. This makes this moment even sweeter than I could have imagined. I don’t pray for results. I just ask that I get the strength to give it my all. Whatever happens, happens. I’m so blessed in this life. I’m just thankful for this moment. I don’t have any words for it, to be honest."
Francis de Sales reminds us that prayer does not always need words. To be in God’s presence is enough. Just like Coco on the tennis court, we can “soak in” God’s love, mercy, and grace wherever we are. Later in the Introduction, Francis uses a similar analogy when he describes prayer as “the water of blessing which by its showers cause the plants of our good desires to become green and to flower, washes our souls clean from their imperfections, and quenches the passions of our hearts.”
As summer officially comes to an end next week, perhaps we can all take some time to soak in God’s presence in our world and be refreshed by the waters of blessing and the spiritual victories of the present moment.
Fr. Jack Kolodziej, OSFS
Provincial
Wilmington-Philadelphia Province
Did you enjoy this article? Click here to email Father Jack Kolodziej, OSFS.
