If we type the following question into google search: “What is the most watched event in the world at the moment?” the following answer would be presented to us, “Globally, the most watched event now is the FIFA World Cup. Taking place across the USA, Canada, and Mexico, this ongoing quadrennial soccer tournament is the largest single sporting event in the world, regularly attracting a global audience of billions throughout the month-long competition”.
Who would we expect to be the most watched player by this global audience? I can give you my subjective answer. It is Lionel Messi, an Argentinian player who is now viewed to be the best player in the soccer world. He has just broken the record for the most appearances at the World Cups being 27 matches in six seasons! At the age of 38, a time when many professional soccer players end their careers, Messi is still playing. Before the first match for Argentina, many soccer fans expected him to play on the field for a short while, so that he might create a few passes for his team mates to score. To everyone’s surprise, Messi was absolutely explosive in the way he played and scored a hat-trick; he was the only player to score in that match and was voted ‘best player’ of the match.
At the post-match interview, he once again displayed such an admirable attitude with his achievement, he said: “I cannot ask for more than what I have received, as I’ve said many times, thank God; he has given me so much, that everything that comes now is a blessing.” When the reporter mentioned that he was the all-time scorer alongside German player Close and asked whether he kept track of the number of goals scored, he replied in his usual humble manner stating that he did not really keep track of such numbers and that it was an honour to play and compete against the greatest players in the world. To him these numbers were just statistics, and they did not mean very much to him. He acknowledged and honoured other great players competing in the tournament.
Messi is such a talented and humble player, one that billions of people admire, however these amazing statistics that many players desire to possess, are just numbers to Messi. Impressive statistics, in soccer, are just numbers for the greatest of players like Messi.
However, on the other spectrum of life, numbers or statistics matter, they are incredibly important for us to keep track of, when they profoundly touch the human person, its life and its dignity.
Soccer aside, another great admiration that I have is toward a young person who I know from the old parish that I served in. When discussing what message, I might share with our parish faithful at this very moment, she spoke to me with great passion, urging us to focus on global calls for peace, as the world comes together to celebrate the World Cup and talks of ceasefires in Iran become more prominent. In her own words, she said “we cannot lose sight of the brutality still happening (and that is mostly unreported now) across Palestine and Lebanon and we must maintain our prayers for peace and work towards creating true, genuine and longstanding peace and liberation of innocents.” She highlighted further, “the appalling thing is, they have almost stopped counting the dead because they have little way to keep records or track it anymore. [we should be] praying for the restoration of living standards, infrastructure, and healthcare of those displaced in war who now live in tents with little aid. Even if the bombs stop, they have little resources and the ability to start again because the devastation has been so immense.”
This is the mind and the heart of a young person who cares deeply for humanity, its dignity and its destiny. It is a heart and mind that does not want to lose sight of the pain, the suffering and hurt that many of our sisters and brothers are going through every day on the other side of our world.
One would find an inspiring article posted in the National Catholic Reporter 19 August 2025 about a vigil prayer led by Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, who decided to read out the name of every child who has died in the conflict between Israel and Hamas since the start of the war. Zuppi, along with members of his diocese, read out the names and ages of the 16 Israeli children and 12,211 names of the Palestinian children who had died following Israel’s occupation of Gaza up until mid 2025. The document, which includes all of these children’s names was 469 pages long and it took almost 7 hours to read.
He explained that, “we pronounce their names one by one, they ask us to commit ourselves to finding or pursuing the path to peace with greater intelligence and passion… It is an insistent prayer so that the war may cease, so that the weapons may fall silent, so that humanity may prevail.”
The Gospel of Matthew this week, once again reminds us that God has the authority over life and He is the God of life, not of death, and that the life that we receive in this world is precious and worth more than anything else. It urges us not to be afraid to declare this God of life to the world and in return, He will declare Himself for us in the presence of the Father in heaven.
Invitation to a Thanksgiving and Farewell Celebration for Tricia Norman
We warmly invite all parishioners to join us in a special Mass of Thanksgiving for Tricia Norman, who has been our Pastoral Associate for many years. The Mass will take place on Sunday, 12 July 2026 at 10:30am at Our Lady of Good Counsel Church. During the Mass, we will be able to thank Tricia for what has been nearly 20 years of dedicated and faithful service to our parish community. Her commitment, care and pastoral leadership will be acknowledged, as she has touched countless lives and contributed greatly to the spiritual life and growth of our parish community.
Following the Mass, a special morning tea will be held, providing an opportunity for parishioners to gather, share memories, express their appreciation, and offer Tricia their best wishes as she embarks on this new chapter in her life’s journey.
Please keep Tricia in your prayers as she prepares for the journey ahead. We look forward to sharing this special occasion with you.
19 Brenbeal Street, Balwyn VIC 3103
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Yolanda Torrisi says:
What a lovely reflection on what the World Cup star player can teach the rest of us. Nicely put Fr Sang.