Verso l'Alto Faith, Baseball, and Future Glory
Feb 26, 2026
Mike Sweeney, former Major League Baseball star and longtime Catholic Athletes for Christ leader, shares personal baseball stories and faith testimony. He recounts a private audience with Pope Leo and the Trinity bat moment. Conversations highlight promoting daily rosary, Mass, confession, and pastoral outreach through camps and mentorship.
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Put Relationship Before Identity And Mission
- Do reorder your life R‑I‑M style by putting Relationship with God first, Identity second, and Mission last.
- Fr. Burke warns athletes who tie identity to performance crash after retirement and shares his conversion and priesthood call as the corrective example.
College Meltdown That Reoriented A Priest
- Mike Sweeney recounts Fr. Burke's college meltdown when playing third base: three errors, bases loaded, and a 15‑inning loss that made him call his dad and say he quit.
- That humiliation taught Fr. Burke how tying identity to performance wrecks self‑worth until faith reoriented him.
Living The Baseball Dream As A Priest
- Do notice unexpected providence: Fr. Burke was invited to practice with the 2016 Cubs and cried when he realized God had given him a new way to live his baseball dream as a priest.
- His chaplaincy then included celebrating Mass at games and being with players at major life moments.