The Code, Prayer and Football
The Code of Canon Law does not have a lot to say about prayer. It tells seminarians and priests to pray, even why they should pray. But it does not get more specific about us, the people in the pews, who do most of the praying. Secular Law has a lot to say about prayer but in the negative. You can’t pray here and don’t put your Christmas manger over there, for example. Being such a spiritual thing, it’s hard to imagine just what any system of law could say about prayer.
That’s what made Damar Hamlin’s dying on the football field and coming back to life, so special. I heard it first on a news channel, minutes after it happened. I switched to the football channel and watched this life and death situation unfold, and I prayed for Damar. Not just a, “please God, give him a break”. I had to bring out the Big Guns for this. So, I fervently prayed the Hail Mary, over and over. And in that moment, I felt other people praying too. I could feel my prayers being uplifted from my mouth and the mouths of so many others, all at that very moment.
I think I am the only woman who can say I was full-blown tackled in a football game. When I was in law school, I was the “Blue-Chip” tutor for star athletes at Villanova University. Dr. Robert Langran ran the system and assigned me to make sure that the star athletes never actually needed a tutor. I went to every away game with the football team to keep them up with homework. During football games I was on the side-line, bored. That was because on the side-line, if you’re not six feet tall, you can’t really see much unless it’s right in front of you.
When Villanova was playing Boston College, I was on the sideline looking backwards at the crowd. They suddenly let out loud screams in my direction. I turned to see what the noise was about and saw all 6’5” and 285 pounds of Howie Long running at me, with an opposing player in between us. In a matter of seconds, Howie got his prey, and I was flat on the ground with those two on top of me.
Howie and the BC player got up, business as usual, and returned to the game. I was still flat on the ground. The first thing I saw was Father John Byrnes, the team Chaplain, and Jake Nevin, the team trainer, looking close into my face and asking me if I could hear them. I did but they echoed and seemed miles away. I was also seeing stars, literally. I felt just like I was hit by a truck or two. Everything hurt!
There was a decision to try to get me up without calling for medical help and I made it to my feet, barely. I don’t remember much after that until I was on the team bus. It was two days before I felt normal again, that is, no stars and no blurry vision. I will never forget the force of that hit.
With that tackle in my own history, I thought for sure that Damar Hamlin was not going to be resuscitated, and I prayed. But he was resuscitated. Sports Commentator, Nate Burleson of CBS Mornings, described Damar’s survival as “Divine Intervention”. Buffalo Bills’ Quarterback, Josh Allen, said what happened to him in those moments after Damar went down, was a “spiritual awakening”. I hope that’s true for many people, the football players and fans, and the people in the pews. We helped to save Damar with our prayers. No doubt in my mind. Praying in those moments after Damar Hamlin collapsed joined a tsunami wave of prayer from people watching and caring and praying. No Code can regulate that kind of prayer. Only people can.